The secrets to growing the ultimate beard – words Agatha West

You can see a lot of men today wearing beards, certainly a lot more than just 15 years ago. This is because beards are in again. For this reason a lot of guys are considering growing one themselves, as they feel a bit jealous and want to appear more masculine. However, growing the ultimate beard doesn’t come easy for everyone and it could be a longer journey for some.

The first thing you need is patience and the composure to get through that stage where your beard looks funny. After this period has passed you will get the result you wished for, but it will take a lot of effort and know-how to achieve this, especially if you don’t have the “beard genetics” that you would want.

Growing a beard takes time

There are several different factors that affect the time needed to grow a beard. These include genetics, how long you want your beard to grow and how thick or full you want it to be. A short but noticeable beard that is short cropped can take from about a week to three weeks, depending on genetics.

On the other hand, getting a long, full beard that has a lot of thickness could take years of care and grooming. The best age for growing a beard is from 25 to 35, and some of the things you can do to increase the speed of growth is to sleep regularly, eat nutritious food with a lot of protein and exercise. With that said, caring for your beard while it grows is also important.

Beard care products have become extremely popular in recent years – and there are quite a few of them, mainly beard oil, beard balm and beard shampoo. While the third product requires no explanation, the difference between the first two can get blurry for some. To catch up on your beard grooming education, check this overview of beard balm vs beard oil.

Beards also need iron to be healthier and not fall apart. This is why you should try to eat foods rich in iron. Your beard needs to be hydrated to be healthy as well, so make sure to eat food with omega 3 fatty acids, such as sardines or salmon.

Let your beard grow

Depending on how sensitive your skin is and how strong your facial hair is, the first few weeks can feel more or less itchy, but rest assured that it will itch. Most people, and especially those that never let their beards grow, feel frustrated during this period and they quickly give up.

Another issue to consider during this transition period is your appearance, especially at work. While you can go disheveled at home, workplaces are usually a bit more uptight about how their workers look, especially in the service industry. So beards in the workplace are an issue. Even today some employers are reluctant to allow their workers have a beard. As weird as it might sound, it is an indication that beards still carry a stigma of sorts.

Apart from shaving their beards, people start to scratch themselves, twirl or trim their beards. Some simply shave because they see that it’s growing slowly – they’ve heard stories about how shaving a beard makes it grow faster next time. Well, sorry to tell you but this is a complete myth, so don’t fall for it.

Avoid any type of grooming during this stage – you can work on your beard only after the first couple of weeks have passed. Instead of scratching the itch, get a moisturizer, or a good quality beard oil. Put on the product as instructed on its label gently and without irritating your skin even further.

The only exception when you should groom your beard is if you start to notice that you have ingrown hairs appearing. Tweeze these, so that they don’t irritate your skin further or cause you problems in the future. Wash your beard with a shampoo to make sure it’s clean and soft, which can in turn reduce the itch.

Taking care of your beard

Once the first couple of weeks have passed and your beard has grown significantly, you will notice random individual hairs that have grown out of the beard or simply stick out in the wrong direction. Trim away these hairs, but make sure that you only cut those stray hairs down and not those around them.

Once your beard has taken its form, it’s a good idea to start styling it and creating the shape you want. Given the fact that you are probably new to this, you should evenly trim your beard while keeping its already established shape. Take small steps in changing it until you start understanding your beard better and get an eye for trimming it so that it looks good.

If you want to grow a longer beard and have a line shape, use beard oil, as it straightens out the hair. This will allow you to grow it in the right direction and make it grow slightly faster. On the other hand, you can shape it better with beard oil and make sure that the ends on your beard don’t break.

This is all you need to know about growing a beard. When you grow it for the first time, consider going to a barber and let him give you some personal grooming suggestions about how you can shape your beard and which beard styles suit your face.

The secrets to growing the ultimate beard – words Agatha West