How to Grow a Beard
April 25th, 2008
OK boys. Face it, women sometimes like a manly beard. But do you have what it takes? It requires patience, persistence, (and just enough testosterone) to pull it off.
- The first step in growing a beard is deciding to grow one. This is no trifling matter. Growing a beard takes at least 4 weeks including enduring an uncomfortable itchy period and having to answer ridiculous questions like: “Are you trying to grow a beard?” from your friends and colleagues.
- Don’t shave. Despite the popularly held belief, shaving will not make your beard grow faster or thicker.
- Pick a time when you can get a running start like at the beginning of a vacation or even a long weekend.
- Resist the urge to trim or shape the beard. Let it grow as much as possible before shaving, even if you are going for the “goatee” look. The hairs on your face will be in various stages of growth; not all are actively growing at the same time, so you have to be patient to see where it will fill in and where it won’t.
- What if your beard is spotty? Unlike your scalp, the hair on your face will not cover every inch. Some men will have hair from their eyeballs to their neck. If you’re this guy, then feel free to shave areas to shape it. Most men will have some areas that are spotty or thin, like on their cheeks and chin. This is determined by genetic and hormonal factors. There is little you can do about it, so work with what you’ve got.
- What about applying Rogaine (minoxidil) to your face? Minoxidil is a drug that was used to lower blood pressure until it was found it also grows hair. In topical form, it causes hair growth on the scalp of men and women with hereditary hair loss. Why it works is not really known. In theory, Rogaine could help you grow a beard, but this is never been shown in studies, nor is it FDA approved for facial hair. Applying Rogaine (minoxidil) to your face would likely be irritating and can also cause acne. If ingested or if applied in excessive amounts, it could cause serious side effects like a drop in your blood pressure.
- Biotin is a dietary supplement known to help with hair and nail growth. Consider taking 2.5 mg of biotin each day.
- You might find that growing a beard gives you an itchy, red, scaly rash on your face. Try using a little dandruff shampoo like Head and Shoulders on your beard two or three times each week. You can also apply a mild over the counter steroid cream like hydrocortisone 1% once a day.
- When your beard starts growing, the hairs are often stiff at first; they will soften over time. Consider using a mild steroid like hydrocortisone 1% everyday to help with the itching.
- After 4 to 6 weeks you should have a good idea what your beard will look like. If after 6 weeks you find people saying: “Oh, are you trying to grow a beard?” consider the clean-shaven look.
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I’m 22 years old and have been blessed with fast facial hair growing genes from southeastern Germany and Hungary. I’ve got more beard then most 20 something year olds have and much more density and faster growth rate then my 45 year old father. I can get a good beard going in just 10 to 14 days. with 1/2 to 1 inch of grow a month, fastest in the fall and spring, and slowest in the summer, but not by much. My beard can grow from the top 2/3rds of my neck to about 1 and 1/2 inch from my eyes!
B-boy4u-
There really isn’t much you can do to increase your beard growth and coverage, other then trying to eat right and take biotin and a regular multi-vitamin, that’s about it. 99% of hair growth and beard growth is dictated by genetics. Look and your father and grandfathers/great grandfathers from both your mothers and father’s side. If they don’t have much facial hair growth, or it’s scraggly, then You’ll probably never get the beard you wanted. If it’s thick and fast growing, then it just may not show up until your 30s. That’s not uncommon. Have a good beard in the low mid 20s is actually relatively rare.
TYR USING PRE NATAL VITAMINS! THOSE WORK FOR SUR!
i hear cutting down trees helps u grow a large beard
im 25 still have only few hairs on my face. plz tell me how to get beard.
ther’s any chemicals or medicine to grow up beard and mustache ??? how could i find it ?
I’m 17 now and I have fairly thick facial hair on my chin and moustache but thats about it with a little growing on my cheeks and sideburns will it grow thicker over time?
Sir, im 19, but i dont have a beard, but i have a fairly thick goatee in my chin and a mustache. But still i realy want to grow my beard .. can anyone help me .. thanks
don’t worry about the beard on your chin …. go for the bearded clam and you’ll be happier!
the absolute easiest way to grow a beard or a mustache is to cut hairs from the back of your head, and glue them to your face. If you make it thick enough, it is very hard for people to tell that it is not real. The only problem with this is people will get suspicious of how you grew your beard overnight.
@john
Something tells me your jelous
2 weeks in… Seems to be going good
i heard rubbing a raw onion on your face and chic will help start your beard growing
i just got out of the military and want a cool beard like my brothers, hes five years older and has jet black hair with a rusty red beard. I really like these tips never thought about using hydrocortisone to get past the itchy bit.
I’m just startin out on growing a beard but the hair on my chin comes in faster that my sideburns which always comes in a little patchy. Any advice here if i should take something to see if it will come in faster. Men in my family are able to grow beards my just seems to come in piece by piece.
This has to be the funniest topic I have ever seen. Very funny guys, I wonder if there is a correlation between wits and whiskers. Anyway, I am 32, I have a bits and pieces of a beard, nothing like my pa. He can grow a full fledged beard ship, mine is more like a fishing boat. The only facial hair trait that I got from my dad is the grey hair.
im 23 still have only few hairs on my face. plz tell me how to get beard.
can u tell the sollution.
im 23 still have only few hairs on my face. plz tell me how to get beard.
can u tell the sollution.
How to Grow a Beard
@Muffin man
what have you done leo?
How do i get biotin and d odas?
Im 18 and it’s been 3 days and beard is starting to grow like crazy. I wanna beard cuz i never tried to grow it b4 but it kinda makes me look completely different from what i usually look like. i don’t know if that’s a bad thing or a good thing.
Dear Sir
I need u r help plz help me my problem is i am 30 now but i dont have beard but i got good grow of mustache in my face plz help .
I have a question, if shaving doesn’t make your hair grow faster or thicker, then why has that happened to me, my dad, my brother and everyone else I know?
My advice posted on beard growing forum.
Im 35 and starting to grow my first beard and really excited about it
i have moderate growth and coverage and i am growing my beard in preparation for running the Edinburgh Marathon in May 2010. I am wearing a gimp mask during the race as my friend said it would be good fun to run as Forest Gimp. Anyway the fast beard growing method i shall employing to make sure i have a beard to be proud of on the big day is as follows. its an old method used here in Scotland from as far back as the days of William Wallace when Clansman used to need a really thick beard when marching around the highlands playin the bagpipes and chasing Haggis. It was really cold on the highland hills and glens so they really needed the thickest beards they could muster. So they would rub the spare salt that was left after making the mornings porridge on there faces, cheeks, chin, neck etc twice a day for around 2 weeks. After this time the hairs that did not want to come out because of the very cold scottish weather would start to get really thirsty because of all the salt that they were getting and eventually at this 2/3 week mark they would start to sneak out looking for a drink of whiskey or maybe even some water if there was any left after making the whiskey. It it is at this point when you feel them or a friend sees them sneaking out that you need to be very aware and grab them quickly and tie a knot in them before they get a chance to get away again and hide back in your face. This used to work really (see the attached photograph). If any one wants to buy my special beard growing salt, you can order some here at sales@scottishbeardgrowingsalt.com
I hope this has been of help.
Yours Sincerely
Angus B McLeod
why would you even want one. you would just have to shave and trim it all the time, i would be satisfied not shaving ever
Answer to Sawz: You aren’t getting a thicker beard because you shave more often; you are shaving more often because you are growing a
thicker beard. It’s a bit like saying that your feet are getting bigger because you’re buying larger shoes.
For all of the youngsters out there, I’m turning fifty-five next week, and only in the past few months have I started getting enough hair on my face to grow something substantial. (Nope, not even a mustache.) It never bothered me because I wasn’t that stressed and liked the clean-cut look. I supposed it didn’t hurt that my hair is still as brown and thick as when I was a teenager, something almost no one my age can say.
It’s weird, though. My facial hair was sparse for most of my life and had a lot of bald spots, and now it seems like (yeah, I know at my age, ha ha) the testosterone is finally doing what’s it’s supposed to do. I’ve always had a boyish face, and never minded I couldn’t get a beard, so I did the best with what I had, but now I’m getting older and more wrinkled and all the other shit that goes with it, the boyish look just ain’t going to make it, so I’m planning on the grizzled lumberjack look instead. For years I’ve kind of looked like Bill Gates or George Stephanopolis, but now I’m going to try for the Earnest Hemmingway look instead.
I also had horrible acne and oily skin when I was a kid. It sucked when I was a teen, but in later years I looked younger than most of my peers because of it, and was carded well into my late thirties. A curse or a blessing? You decide.
In short: You can’t rush life. Don’t complain about what you got. You just gotta work with what God gives ya, and things always change, for the better or for the worse.
Hint: If you REALLY want to look older and can’t grow a beard, you can always shave your head and do a comb over.
Answer to Sawz: You aren’t getting a thicker beard because you shave more often; you are shaving more often because you are growing a
thicker beard. It’s a bit like saying that your feet are getting bigger because you’re buying larger shoes.
For all of the youngsters out there, I’m turning fifty-five next week, and only in the past few months have I started getting enough hair on my face to grow something substantial. (Nope, not even a mustache.) It never bothered me because I wasn’t that stressed and liked the clean-cut look. I supposed it doesn’t hurt that my hair is still as brown and thick as when I was a teenager, something almost no one my age can say.
It’s weird, though. My facial hair was sparse for most of my life and had a lot of bald spots, and now it seems like (yeah, I know at my age, ha ha) the testosterone is finally doing what’s it’s supposed to do. I’ve always had a boyish face, and never minded I couldn’t get a beard, so I did the best with what I had, but now I’m getting older and more wrinkled and all the other shit that goes with it, the boyish look just ain’t going to make it, so I’m planning on the grizzled lumberjack look instead. For years I’ve kind of looked like Bill Gates or George Stephanopolis, but now I’m going to try for the Earnest Hemmingway look instead.
I also had horrible acne and oily skin when I was a kid. It sucked when I was a teen, but in later years I looked younger than most of my peers because of it, and was carded well into my late thirties. A curse or a blessing? You decide.
In short: You can’t rush life. Don’t complain about what you got. You just gotta work with what God gives ya, and things always change, for the better or for the worse.
Hint: If you REALLY want to look older and can’t grow a beard, you can always shave your head and do a comb over.
I’m not so sure about all this advice about applying hydrocortisone willy nilly. That stuff is very bad for your skin in the long term.
I also heard that having an axe and wearing flanel shirts will improve your beard as well. Some say if you smoke Marlboro Reds you will grow one in 2 days, but it has yet to been seen.@lumberjack
I heard wearing the steel-toed boots with the levis go really good with Paul Bunyan and Lumberjack’s statement
i’m 19 and have more “peach fuzz” than whiskers. how can i grow more whiskers and make it thicker too. i use an electric razor twice a week. my dad has a full beard so would having some indian genes cause me to take longer to fully mature a beard? i don’t really want to take pills but i would like a nice beard soon. i don’t really want a full beard, just a nice 5 o’clock shadow or goatee really. Thanks for any help!
hello, i am 25 years old, my face hair groth is very very slow,
all what came out till now is a little soft hair from the both sides of my face and the botton side with alittle soft mustache…
i need a solution, a clear one and if possible a name for a good medicine that i can take to help it going out completely…
for my genetics, in my family one of my brother like me and the rest all have complete beard and hairy body too… so ???!!! any one can help
am 24year old .am getting very abnormal growth of beared and mustache,like right side very very less hairs dat i can count,and left side more hairs nd its luks normal side,side burns are very thin,coz of shaving am getting thickness on left side but no hairs on right…………..plz plz sugest me the medicine nd wer i will get that medicine…..
Right then I’m 2 weeks in……..And I’m following the advice above in the article. It’s all going good, some itching but all good. But what do I do about the Grey!?!
need a solution, a clear one and if possible a name for a good medicine that i can take to help it going out completely…
for my genetics, in my family one of my brother like me and the rest all have complete beard and hairy body too… so ???!!! any one can help
DR JOE,am 24year old .am getting very abnormal growth of beared and mustache,like right side very very less hairs dat i can count,and left side more hairs nd its luks normal side,side burns are very thin,coz of shaving am getting thickness on left side but no hairs on right…………..plz plz sugest me the medicine nd wer i will get that medicine,PLZ TELL ME THA SOLUTION FOR MY PROBLEM
i need 2 a beard like NOW!! PLZ help.
I Also can like to have a beard. Where is can get medical attention… Need help!
umm im 14 and i have few hairs on my chin, moustache, and sideburns my dad grows an amazing beard what are the chances mine will?
@lumberjack
ahahah cutting down trees. hilarious
Listen to Metal
Well despite all the reading i have come a conclusion, i will buy the lumberjack outfit…. ahh and the axe i see that’s a plus….. i have a decent medium mustache and beard, some hair on the cheek’s but still uneven . i never met the old man…….. so who knows what’s in store lol!!
I’m currently 16 years old,and I can pretty much grow a full beard. My friends all envy me because I’m always mistaken for a man in his twenties, special capabilities and opportunites approach me
. I can only conclude one thing from my situation…Greeks are hairy as shit. But good luck to everyone!
I’ve also realized that I’m able to grow a bit of length, so to hide a thin beard, comb it down and it looks more filled in.
sir
my age is 23..m doin pg.
my beard is nt gud.only mostaches and on cheek.
i feel very bad…
plz recomend smthng on my mail.plz
My boy friend is currently 32 years old, and he can’t pretty much grow a full beard. My friends all laugh because he’s always mistaken for non-adult in his thirties. Pls, i need a cream that would make him grow beard and sidebeards. Need your help.
Eat your crusts!
hello sir
this is asim and i have a major problem ie.sir my age is 22 and i have completely childish look.i have just little hair on my chin otherwise i am completly beardless and it sucks when i go out and people laugh at me.i have very childish skin n i have little soft moustache.i am the first one in my family to have this problem.please help me sir i am very disturbed,.thanx hope to hear from you soon.please mailme any solution
Hi,
Use Zink And Minoxidil,Cuttting Beard, for long time
Dear sir,
I am 27 years old now and i don’t have beard, i don’t have mostache, i don’t have sidebeard. I look younger than my age and most times people address me like a 19 years old boy and i am really very worried about this. I need you to please help me suggest a cream or a good and fast growing medicine that would help me grown my side beard, mostache and gotee. Please help me out and email me on my yahoo id.