How to grow a beard

Over the past few years, beards have been popping out a lot more, with many men rocking a variety of beard styles. Back in the day, men used to clean shave for proper etiquette and a more “professional” look. But those days are now behind us. Cultivating facial hair requires patience, dedication, and a touch of artistry, whether you’re going for the short five o’clock stubble, or a long and full lumberjack beard. Follow along and you’ll learn how to grow the beard of your dreams.

Before we continue, I have to inform you that growing a beard ultimately comes down to your genetics. There’s not secret formula to achieving a specific growth or thickness. Just like your hair, your beard pattern is decided by your genes. If you’re 30 years old with a bare face, it is highly unlikely you will suddenly pop out a long beard. That’s just the reality of human nature.

However, if you’re a man that struggles with a patchy beard or slow hair growth, there are measures you can take to accelerate hair growth and promote a healthy looking beard. The secret isn’t focusing on the beard itself, it is more so maximizing your body’s potential to promote more beard growth.

I can almost guarantee that most men with struggling beards are living with bad habits that will hinder beard growth. But worry no longer, just follow these tips and soon you’ll have a “James Harden” – esque beard.

1. Be patient, let the beard grow

The biggest and most important key to being able to grow a full beard is to have patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a majestic beard. You must understand that beard growth varies from person to person, influenced by multiple factors including genetics and lifestyle factors.

Some guys are able to grow a full beard in less than a month, others can only grow a light goatee in that same time span. Whatever style you’re shooting for, achieving it may take longer than you expect. It’s all about patience.

And please, resist the urge to trim or shape your facial hair prematurely. It can become tempting to give up once you start dealing with the itchiness and discomfort, especially after the first couple weeks. Just trust the process and hang in there, you can deal with it for a few weeks. And if someone tells you that shaving it will make it grow back thicker and faster, DO NOT LISTEN. This has been a myth for years now, so just get that out of your mind.

Going to your local barbershop will help your beard shape in the rough stages. The most they will do is trim the stray hairs off and give you a line-up, which will help the shape of your beard and give yourself a defined neck line and cheek line. You can also do this yourself if you would like, but if you don’t trust yourself then I highly recommend taking a trip to your nearest barber.

2. Use the right products for your beard

There is no need to wait until your beard is full to start applying products. Actually that is the last thing you want to do. The sooner you start developing a consistent beard care routine, the better your future beard will be. Just like the hair on your head, your beard needs care. But that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank on purchasing a bunch of unnecessary items.

You should be using a shampoo to regularly cleanse your beard. Shampooing will keep both the skin and beard clean so that the follicles don’t get clogged up. There are shampoo’s specially made for beards out there, but whatever you’re already using for your hair should do just as good. Just be sure to rinse the shampoo out thoroughly, you don’t want your magnificent beard to be dried up.

Beard oil will also work wonders for your beard. It provides hydration and keeps the hair well nourished for a healthy and soft looking beard, and once again promote healthy hair growth. It will also help with the beginning stages of flaking, dandruff and itchiness, so be sure to invest in a nice beard oil.

3. Eat better, exercise regularly, sleep well

A healthy and full beard starts from the inside out. If your diet consists of nothing but twinkies and hot Cheetos, I promise a beard is the last thing you should be worried about. All jokes aside, you should have a well balanced diet that consists of protein, collagen, biotin and zinc. All these nutrients contribute to beard growth and thickness.

Make sure you’re taking care of your physical health and hitting the gym a few times per week. When you workout on a regular basis, your body will produce a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). According to cremocompany.com, this extra potent form of Testosterone attaches to receptors on each follicle of your beard hair to stimulate growth. Basically to sum it up, more testosterone = more beard growth. Working out consistently will also increase the flow of blood and nutrients, again promoting growth.

Most of your hair growth will happen when you are asleep, which is when cellular turnover is at its highest. If you’re not getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night, you are leaving a lot of potential growth on the table. Another major byproduct of sleep deprivation is decreased blood flow, which as I mentioned above is an important factor in your hair growth. So for all you late Netflix watchers, limit yourself to one episode a night and get those zzz’s in.

4. Don’t compare your beard to others

The biggest misconception men have is that the only beard that is worth growing is the full-on lumberjack beard. This is the furthest thing from the truth. Beards come in all different lengths and styles. Everyone is different and you should take the time to figure out what beard style fits you the best.

For me, I find that having my sides trimmed down and keeping the hair around my chin longer. I wasn’t a huge fan of how the long beard looked on me, but this will be different for everyone. I personally like the trimmed look because it fades into my long hair a lot better and looks sharper. Having long hair can also compliment your beard very well. If you want a detailed guide on growing your hair to complete your look, then check out How to grow long hair (men).

Literally every beard will have go through some type of awkward phase. Even those with the full and perfect beards had to endure the struggling phase. The average daily growth rate of a beard ranges between 0.3 and 0.5 mm, which equates to around half an inch per month. The point is that no one wakes up one day with a full beard. Embrace the process and don’t think that this type of beard will happen overnight.

There’s nothing wrong with finding inspiration from looking at how others rock their beard, but you should never try to compare yours to your other beard friends. You will never be successful in attempting to grow someone else’s beard, just focus on your own and have fun with the process.

Conclusion

Growing a beard takes time and patience, sometimes a lot of it. But the process isn’t complicated, it’s very simple. Be sure to take good care of your body, physically and mentally, and practice good hygiene. Don’t listen to those “beard masterminds” that say you can take a pill and you’ll the beard of your dreams. I promise you will be disappointed.

The biggest takeaway from this article? Wait for it to come in. That’s literally it. Let all your fears of the awkward stages and having a pity beard go away and grow that manly beard you’ve always dreamed of!