A beard is more than a style statement. It is a symbol of masculinity and shows a male’s confidence. So, each teenager or adult male wants to have a fully-grown, healthier, and stylish beard.
As you notice no or patchy hair on your face, you look for practical tips on how to grow a beard naturally. In your search, you will come across numerous options, steps, or tips. They may work or may not work for you.
This post is a good read. In this post, after a few basics, learn about:
- How Does Beard Growth Work?
- What Factors Affect Your Beard Growth?
- How to Grow Beard
When Do Males Start Having Beards?
Males notice hair on their face during puberty, which usually runs between ages 8 and 14. Many of you can see hair on the upper lip first and some can see facial hair first on their chin and other facial areas.
Facial hair, or a beard, grows differently to each male. Some of them can see a fully-grown beard earlier while some males have to struggle a lot to get full beards even after crossing 21 years of their life.
How Does Beard Growth Work?
As a male, you should be aware of the beard growth cycle before applying any tips on how to grow a beard faster. Here is a general view of the beard growth cycle and how long your beard growth may take:
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Anagen Phase - A male’s beard hair grows around half an inch a month. It keeps growing for three to five years, even if you keep cutting it.
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Catagen Phase - Hair follicles shrink or become shorter due to external factors like cold, heat, and dryness while beard hair growth continues. This phase lasts for around 2 to 3 weeks.
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Telogen Phase - The hair follicles remain idle for a few months. After that, they start growing again. It removes the old hair and helps grow a new one.
Therefore, the growth and regrowth of your facial hair keeps going on itself. You can see a different beard pattern if you wait for some time.
What Factors Affect Your Beard Growth?
You have known facial hair growth cycle. Did you know several factors affect this growth cycle? For you acknowledgement, the factors affecting your beard growth are as follows:
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Genetics - The growth of your hair follicles closely relates to your genes. It means you would face difficulty in having a healthier beard if your parents or grandparents had such a problem.
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Genetic Conditions - Conditions like low testosterone levels can be a barrier in your beard growth.
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Poor Diet - In the contemporary fast-paced world, many of you do not eat healthy food. You prefer processed, fast, or packaged food items that lack the nutrients that you need for proper beard growth.
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Stress - Constant high cortisol levels can make your hair fall and influence the overall health of your facial hair. Cortisol is a stress hormone.
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Skin Care - You differ from others in many terms, including your skin type. Based on it, you should know what your skin needs and what skin care regime suits you well. Proper skin care will help in your beard growth journey.
How to Grow a Beard?
Here are some practical beard growth tips to assist you in your beard growth journey:
Make a Firm Commitment
Patience and a strong will are key elements in growing a healthier and stylish beard. Keep in mind that growing a beard is completely different from shaving a beard. In a few early weeks, you can face problems like itchiness and discomfort. You will strongly wish to rub, shave, scratch the mess.
You can wish to leave it immediately. However, you need to keep your beard growth journey continuing. Patiently follow the steps you have decided to move on. Let nothing distract or discourage you.
Follow a Beard Growth Diet
Maybe you would be taking a healthy diet every day. The diet may not have the nutrients you need to support a healthy beard growth.
Some vitamins and minerals can help hair follicles that have stopped growing new hair. They can make them (follicles) active again. While taking your diet, ensure it has vitamins B and D. These vitamins and minerals are available in:
- Eggs
- Meats
- Dairy products like milk, curd, etc.
- Plant-based milk
- Fish
- Wholegrain bread
- Nuts and chickpeas
Exercise Regularly
There is not enough study to show a direct link between beard growth and exercise. However, exercises enhance blood circulation throughout the body, including the face. It improves nutrient supply, which stimulates hair follicles.
A 2020 NCBI study states that exercises like strength training and weightlifting help enhance testosterone levels. Increased testosterone, a male hormone, supports healthy beard growth.
Use Beard Growth and Care Products
To support beard growth, you should try natural beard care products such as serums, oils, and shampoos. Take a few drops of a beard growth serum on your palm. Rub your face with both palms around the facial hair area. Keep rubbing until the serum gets fully absorbed. Use such a product for 4-12 weeks for better results.
Have a Sound Sleep Every Night
Sound sleeping is crucial for overall health. Any interruption, poor sleep, can disrupt your beard growth. It can lead to a decrease in testosterone levels. A 2015 study suggests that poor sleep decreases testosterone levels in young males.
There is an increase in testosterone levels when a male is asleep. So, you need to improve your sleep quality to maximise the outcomes of your beard growth effort. Aim to sleep for 7 to 9 hours a night.
Quit Smoking
Many scientific studies have found a direct link between smoking and hair loss. Chemicals in tobacco products cause DNA damage and inflammation to the blood vessels. Damaged vessels interrupt blood and nutrient supply to the face and the whole body.
Quitting smoking helps lower inflammation and blood vessel damage. It can be difficult. However, you can easily quit smoking with your doctor’s support.
Exfoliate Your Face
Exfoliating the facial skin can stimulate your beard hair growth. It helps remove dead skin cells and generate new ones. Regular exfoliating, 2-3 times a week, helps unclog pores, prevent acne, and make beard growth products go deeper.
Here is how you can exfoliate your facial skin:
- Use lukewarm water to wet the face.
- Apply a herbal or home-made face exfoliating scrub to all around the face.
- Keep the scrubbing motion circular.
- Use normal water to rinse off the face.
- Use a soft towel to dry your face.
- Apply a soft and organic mousturiser to your face.
Have a Solid Beard Line
Following tips on how to grow a beard faster naturally can be worthless if you do not decide what beard line you should have. Comprehending how beard hair fills in the face and what its growth pattern is can help you a lot in this regard.
Further, know the face shape to decide a beard line. Usual face shapes are:
- Round
- Heart
- Oval
- Oblong
- Rectangular
- Square
- Triangle
- Diamond
Trim Your Beard to Give a Shape
After a period of 4 to 6 weeks, you will have a clear idea about what your beard can do. Do not hesitate to go to a barber shop and get professional help in trimming and shaping your beard for the first time. Based on a mutual understanding, choose the right one from the following options:
- Cheekline
- Neckline
- Backline
- Allied others
Final Words
Applying the above-stated tips on how to grow a beard naturally can help you a lot. With full dedication, consistency, and execution, you get the beard you usually dreamt of.
While working on the above-mentioned beard growth tips, be very careful. If anything goes wrong or you notice a particular step is not working, consult an experienced dermatologist to get a personalised plan for your beard growth support.
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