This is a comprehensive guide on how to grow a beard.
The best part?
We’ll teach you how to grow a thick beard fast even if you’re growing one for the first time.
Your genetics do dictate how fast or thick your beard hair grows. But higher levels of testosterone can give you a better chance of growing abundant beard hair. Good news is that there are natural ways to boost your testosterone.
If you want to get rid of your “baby face” and want to add a dash of confidence to your look with a beard, then these tips are for you.
Ready to dive in? Let’s first understand the science behind beard growth.
Factors That Affect Beard Growth But Are Beyond Your Control
Genetics
Your genetic variations, ethnicity and heredity can be the reason for your scant beard. If your parents or grandparents struggled to grow a beard, you’ll struggle too.
Genetic conditions
Any genetic conditions
that damage your hair follicles,
cause build up around your pores,
or result in low levels of hormones like testosterone on your face
can inhibit growth of facial hair.
Nothing can override genetics, and that is the ugly truth.
But if genes aren’t the problem, you can grow a healthy beard,
How To Grow A Beard At Home Faster?
Technically you don’t have to do anything because it will grow on its own.
But there are certain challenges that crop up in various stages of beard growth like
From Clean shaven to small
Small to big stubble
Big stubble to full grown beard
If you’re able to maintain a good beard grooming routine during these stages, you can grow a full and thick beard.
Beard Growth Tips To Follow To Grow A Beard Faster
When you start growing the beard, it will potentially look strange for the first few days, if you’re not used to the stubble aesthetic. Wait it out.
When the stubble grows out further, there is a possibility that the beard will start to itch. It is perfectly normal, and there are ways to control an itchy beard.
Your beard will need regular washing, moisturizing, and conditioning to grow into the glorious face mane you wanted it to become.
While you need to be patient while growing it out, you also need to know when to trim and shape it properly in order to not look messy.
What Product To Use For Faster Beard Growth?
While there is no specific product that will magically give you a glorious beard, there are products you can use to deal with the problems faced while growing a beard, such as:
1. Beard wash/shampoo
2. Beard oil
3. Beard balm
4. Beard serum
5. Beard conditioner
6. Beard softener
7. Beard Brush/comb
Using them judiciously will ensure you can manage an itchy beard, and your beard will always stay maintained. Now that the basics are out of the way, let us discuss how you can actually make a difference to your beard growth rate without cosmetic intervention.
Beard Growth Tips – How To Actually Make Beard Grow Faster Through Lifestyle Modifications
1. Be patient
This may not sound very helpful, but trust us, more often than not, the lack of patience is the real reason behind the lack of a beard when it comes to some people. Everyone has different beard growth rates, and not everyone is blessed with fast beard growth. Beard grows patchy or uneven for a few weeks, and bam, the impatience makes them get rid of it because it wasn’t ‘growing properly’.
There are some baseless theories that suggest one can have a full beard within 3-4 weeks, and some that suggest it shouldn’t take more than 2 months to grow a full beard. Please don’t believe any of them. All beards are different and some just take their own sweet time. Just bear with the patchiness and uneven growth for a while, give it time, and you shall see your face bear(d) the fruit of that patience!
2. Focus on your nutrition
Applying the fanciest of lotions and potions is not going to help you, if your diet is poor and non-nutritious. Now, a good diet will not override genetics, but if we put that aside, it will definitely make your beard grow faster, and make it healthier and shinier. In order to have fast beard growth, one needs to have plenty of protein, foods high in iron and zinc, as well as whole grains and healthy fats. Vitamins A, B, C, D, and E also help, and they can be found in fruits and vegetables.
3. Exercise
You should exercise anyway to get healthier, but it has a substantial role to play in beard growth as well. Exercising facilitates healthy blood flow, and circulation helps stimulate hair follicle growth. Also, resistance training may temporarily boost testosterone, which helps in hair and beard growth. Exercising will also prevent chances of obesity, which is a contributing factor behind low testosterone.
4. Quit Smoking
Smoking impacts blood circulation in the body, and therefore decreases capillary blood flow to the hair root. As a result, the cells are denied optimum conditions that facilitate beard growth. In other words, smoking causes degeneration that is similar to ageing. Hence, for better, optimum, and faster beard growth, one must consider quitting smoking.
5. Sleep
Sleeping is of paramount importance when it comes to faster beard growth. Sleeping boosts testosterone, and also recovery of your system. In fact, the testosterone in the system is primarily released during sleep, without which beard growth will definitely be stunted. This study shows the same.
6. Washing and Moisturizing
Washing and moisturizing your beard may not directly facilitate faster growth, but will definitely help in an indirect manner. Washing your beard thoroughly will ensure the removal of debris and dry skin on your beard follicles, and moisturizing it will make sure that the skin underneath, as well as the beard itself are well hydrated and nourished.
7. Beard oil/Lotion/Balm
While it has not been proven scientifically that beard oils, lotions, and balms actually help with faster beard growth, there are theories that state some extracts may help. However, they do help with moisturizing and managing the beard, and definitely improves how the beard looks. Moreover, the circulation involved in massaging them into the beard facilitates improved blood circulation, which may be helpful in faster beard growth.
Now that we have discussed what we can do to facilitate faster beard growth, let us look at the other side of the coin.
Beard Growth Myths
Myth 1: Shaving is good for beard growth
Truth: This is one of the biggest myths. Shaving only cuts the beard hair, and in no way controls the beard beneath the skin. It has no effect on beard growth at all. Some people believe this to be true and keep shaving frequently with the hope that it will make their beard grow faster and thicker, but in reality it does not bear fruit.
Myth 2: One needs pills and supplements to make beard grow faster
Truth: According to science, there is no specific pill or supplement that will make your beard grow faster, except perhaps some specific medications such as Minoxidil, which we shall address at the end of this article.
Myth 3: A beard takes about 3-4 weeks to fully cover your face
Truth: All beards have different growth rates, and a beard can take a much longer or shorter period of time to fully grow out, depending on genes and other factors.
Myth 4: You should have a full beard by the age of 20
Truth: Beard growth depends on one’s genetic makeup and it is absolutely not true that all beards reach peak growth by the age of 20. Some people may have sufficient beard growth by the age of 18, while some may have to wait till 26-27-28 to have a full growth.
Myth 5: A patchy beard will always remain patchy
Truth: Just like different individuals have different beard growth rates, different areas on the face may have different growth rates as well. If you have a patchy beard, be patient and the areas with less beard growth may fill out eventually. Even if they don’t fill out, after a bit of growth, those areas will successfully be concealed.
Conclusion
Growing a beard depends on genetics quite a bit, but there are factors that one can use to their advantage in order to grow a beard fast. The best beard growth tips in a nutshell would be maintaining a good lifestyle, nutrition, sleep, and a good grooming routine. Have patience, and it shall happen. All the best!
