At stubble length you are not really conditioning hair, you are moisturising a face with hair on it. That changes what to buy and how much to use, and it is why beard oil often disappoints at this length.
Why short beards itch as much as long ones
Two things at once. Freshly cut hair has a blunt end that presses back against the skin around it as it grows out, which is the classic week-two-to-three itch. And the hair has already started wicking oil off your face, so the skin underneath is drying out while still being fully exposed to wind and cold.
So short-beard itch is mostly a skin problem with a hair problem on top, and the skin half does not resolve on its own.
Balm, not oil, at this length
Oil is designed to travel along a hair shaft. At a quarter inch there is barely any shaft to travel along, so most of it sits on the surface and does nothing for the skin underneath. A balm goes where you put it, which at this length is directly on skin.
You also want less hold, not more, because there is nothing to shape. The beeswax is earning its place here by keeping the fat on the skin through the day, not by styling anything.
How much, and it is less than you think
A pea-sized amount for a whole face. Warm it between your palms until it turns to oil, then press and smooth it in as you would a face moisturiser, rather than raking it through as you would on a long beard.
Every other day is usually enough at this length, daily in winter. If your face looks shiny ten minutes later, halve it. More on quantity.
If you shave and regrow constantly
The cycle of shave, regrow to stubble, shave again is hard on skin, because you are combining razor abrasion with new-growth pressure and never letting the skin settle. Balm after shaving and through the regrowth helps both halves. Razor burn and post-shave.
Growing it out
If you are heading past stubble on purpose, the timeline and what to expect week by week is here: new beard itch. The short version is that weeks two and three are the worst of it and most people who quit, quit there.
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