If you’re not sure how evenly your facial hair is growing in, shave your entire face and look for stubble. Does it grow on the tip of your chin as quickly as over your lip? Does it grow under your neck at the same rate as it does on your sideburns? If so, you’re ready for growing a beard. [1] X Research source If your beard doesn’t grow evenly, there’s a bit you can do to speed up the process and ensure that your hair will eventually grow in as thickly as possible. Genetics has a lot to do with your ability to grow facial hair. Some people simply won’t be able to grow full beards.
Exercise. Doing intensity training, cardio, and some strength training a few times a week encourages testosterone growth in males, helping to get facial hair growing. Warm up for three minutes, then do on/off sets, with 30 seconds of all-out exercise, then 90 seconds of moderate exercise. Do sets of seven of these circuits. Get your Vitamin D levels up, either by taking a supplement, or by spending some more time outdoors in the sun, absorbing Vitamin D naturally. According to some recently published research, ashwagandha is an herb that stimulates testosterone in men. It’s also known as adaptogen, and is commonly sold as a supplement.
See your dermatologist while you are still shaving regularly. Apply the prescribed or over-the-counter medication for at least one month before growing facial hair. Keep your face moisturized, to keep the follicles healthy and stimulated. Use a natural foaming cleanser on your face to keep the skin healthy.
Consider having a hot shave at a barber’s shop. This is typically the closest and most even shave you can get, to start off. After you shave, just stop for a period of about four weeks and do nothing, other than wash your face regularly and take care of your skin. Your facial hair should start to come in normally.
Use a moisturizer, or a natural beard oil on your beard follicles to soften the hairs and to keep the beard from itching too much. While there will always be some itchiness associated with the growing of body hair, it’s possible to control somewhat. Read the third section for more information about beard care.
For some guys, growing a beard out will happen in two or three weeks, while for others it may take as long as several months to get real results.
Beards offer a variety of other health benefits, including trapping dust to help you avoid asthma attacks and upper respiratory infections, and act as windbreakers, helping to shield your face from cold weather blasts.
If you hope to end up with a Gandalf-style wizard’s beard, it’s still good to shape and trim using a beard trimmer, or scissors, to keep things growing evenly. If you want a very short beard, and have especially coarse hair, you might find you need to trim it more regularly, like every two or three days. Always keep your neck trim, up to your chin-line, or at whatever point along the neck looks best to you. If you don’t trim the neck hair, beards typically look pretty caveman-like. [5] X Research source
Use a regular beard trimmer for shorter beards or the first few months of beard growth, and try a more hefty hair trimmer for thicker beards. A common mistake is learning to use a trimmer for the first time and shaving off too much. If you have some stubble, practice with the trimmer before you shave, to get a feel for how it works, and which guards are most appropriate for you. Start with the longest setting first, you can always take more off if you wish, but can’t put it back on once it’s been cut.
Decide on a cheek line. You will need to choose how high the beard should go on your cheeks. Most people leave this section to natural growth, but if it seems to be creeping up to your cheekbones, you should trim the upper section.
Goatees involve trimming off the cheeks, leaving your chin beard and your mustache. Pencil-line beard involve leaving only a thin line of beard along your jawline, connecting to your mustache. This typically looks best with very short hair, or a bald look. Pharaoh beards typically involve shaving everything but the chin, and growing out the chin, sometimes braiding or beading the beard as it grows. Wizard beards, or American Civil War-type throwback beards will take some time to cultivate, but essentially involve growing the beard out as long as possible, but still trimming the neck periodically, as well as the mustache, so it gets out of the way of your lip. [7] X Research source
You can use a hair shampoo or a special beard shampoo, depending upon how your skin reacts, but it’s normal for most guys to just use the same soap they use on their faces in the shower. People with longer beards may prefer a special shampoo, such as Bluebeard’s brand. It leaves less residue than facial washes and some shampoos.
Sometimes beards are called “flavor savers” for a reason. It is possible to get food, lint, and other junk stuck in your beard, if it grows especially long. Comb it regularly to keep it from becoming a bird’s nest.
Lubriderm and other lotion brands are perfectly fine for using on your face and making sure your skin doesn’t dry out.
Take a small dab of oil on a comb and lubricate the comb with the oil before combining your beard naturally. This is the best way to distribute the oil evenly throughout the hair. Coconut oil is excellent for the hair and makes for a perfectly natural substitute.
