There’s no denying that a beard helps enhance our facial features. That’s why a lot of men try to grow beards. But the question is, at what age can you really start growing your beard? If you’re curious about this and many other things about the beard, keep reading.
Most men start growing facial hair at the upper lip’s corners in their adolescent years, around 15 years old. On the other hand, full beard growth is possible, starting at around the age of 18 for average men. But that’s not always the case, some men can’t grow beards at an early age, and sometimes, for many men, it can take until they’re 30 years old to grow one.
However, when testosterone levels are growing, the optimum age for hair growth is 25 to 35 years of age, and usually, the hair that has more time to mature has a better growth rate.
How To Grow A Beard
If you want to grow your beard successfully, note the following steps and tips on how to get started.
Set your plan straight.
First things first, before you start growing your facial hair, decide what beard style you want to achieve. It’s what people see when they first look at you. If you have what style suits you, you can refer to one of our articles.
Along with this step, you also need to set a goal for how long you want your beard to be.
Don’t rush, be patient.
Waiting might be the hardest part of growing a beard. As much as you want it to grow faster, it doesn’t work that way. It takes at least 30 days for your beard to fill in, if not longer, so don’t give up on it too soon. Remember how great you’ll look with facial hair.
Maintain it!
There is one important difference between letting your beard grow thoughtlessly and actually taking care of it. The hair growth in the line of the neck and jaw should be maintained. Also, trim your neckline just above your Adam’s apple after 30 days.
Eat healthy.
Eating a healthy diet will help you get all the necessary nutrients and prevent shortages of micronutrients that could have a negative effect on your hair growth.
It’s also widely discussed whether vitamins and supplements could help to improve the hairs on your face, just like the hairs on your head. And though they probably won’t develop any new hairs, in addition to helping your facial hair grow faster, it’s a safe bet that vitamins can help thicken and soften the already existing hairs. In this attempt, taking Biotin will also help you achieve a healthier and thicker beard.
Besides eating a well-balanced diet, enhance your beard growth by getting enough sleep and exercising.
Trim it.
It’s a no-brainer that you’ll need to trim your facial hair every once in a while. Use beard scissors to trim stray beard hairs that grow longer than others.
Other tips on how to grow your beard
- Using beard oil or utility balm can help you minimize itchiness as soon as you start growing.
- To exfoliate the skin under your beard, use a 100% boar hair brush.
- At the end of each day, brushing your beard will guarantee its long-term health and tame-ability, and even for the next days.
How Long Does It Take to Grow a Beard
Like the hair in our scalp, facial hair develops in stages and phases. As facial hair tends to grow between 0.3 and 0.5 millimeters every 24 hours, a full beard can take 2 to 4 months to grow. This is about a third and a half of an inch every month.
There are three (3) phases for facial hair growth: anagen, catagen, and telogen.
Anagen
Anagen is the hair’s active phase. The cells divide rapidly at the root of the hair. A new hair is developed and pushes the hair that has stopped growing up the follicle and finally out. The hair grows about 1 cm every 28 days during this phase. For two to six years, scalp hair remains in this active growth period.
Catagen
The catagen phase is the transition period, and about 3% of all hairs are in this phase by this time. This phase lasts around two to three weeks. This is when the hair stops growing, and the sheath of the outer root shrinks and sticks to the hair root.
Telogen
The hair follicle is completely at rest during this phase, and the club hair is entirely developed. In this phase, pulling a hair out will expose a solid, hard, dry, white substance at the root. Per day, approximately 25 to 100 telogen hairs are usually shed.
So, in a nutshell, it takes several months to grow a good, full beard because the average beard growth rate is 1/2 inch per month. Also, your beard will be the longest it will ever be at six years.
How To Solve Your Beard Problems
Growing your beard, as we repeatedly stated, is not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of patience and care, especially when you encounter the following beard problems.
Beard itch
We always shave our beard at an angle that leaves it with a sharp edge. The hair will begin to curl as the beard grows, and those sharp points will poke the skin, hence, the itchiness.
This beard itch period will usually last for one to two weeks when you’re first growing and subside as the hair gets longer. Using a beard oil will help to smooth the hair as it develops in the early stages, relieving the itchiness.
Beardruff
Well, you know it already – it is dandruff that comes from your beard. Beardruff is a warning in most cases that you need to exfoliate the skin under your beard. Using your beard soap or softener, hairbrush, and beard oil, you can now start cleaning and exfoliating the skin under your beard.
Beard waves
Some beards grow straight, some that grow curly, and some that grow wavy. It’s pretty easy to tame a wave in your beard by just using a hairbrush. You will also need to blowdry your facial hair, but you must apply some beard oil to protect your skin from the heat before doing that.
The Bottom Line
Growing your beard indeed takes time, but the truth is, how long and fast your beard grows also depends on your beard care routine. Your facial hair needs to be taken care of, too. So, as you grow your beard, remember all the tips that we listed for you.
