Hi STPErikB,

Here is my understanding-

Oils are primarily for keeping the skin underneath the beard healthy which in turn keeps the hairs healthy. Other benefits are adding a little shine to the beard and a minimal amount to help for styling. Many also have nice smells.

Balms can help improve the health of a beard as well, though I havent found it to be as beneficial as oil. Balm helps a fair amount with shaping beards with hairs that stick out in odd directions. I like to sometimes put this in overnight to keep my beard from drying out, especially in the dry winter.

Wax has a much stronger hold and there are products made specifically for mustaches and specifically for beards. I cant say Ive ever tried a beard wax though. They do nothing to improve beard health, as far as I know.

So, I use oil everyday for my beard, sometimes twice. Balm is an occasional use product for me, and once in a blue moon I will put wax in my stache, but I now primarily just use a hairdryer and comb to style it.

For you, judging by your pictures, I would suggest all you need is some oil. Many like jojoba, but I like nice smelling oil blends, so I use an oil from Wild Man Beard Oil. I hope this was helpful!