Are you dissatisfied with your slow-or-no beard growth? Wondering how to grow a beard and get yourself some luscious thick facial hair quickly and easily? Well look no further - we’ve written the ultimate breakdown for keen beardaholics to get you all on the right track.
How to Grow a Beard - The No BullS**t Guide
Whether you’re after a rugged Game of Thrones style beard or a sharp clean-cut bristle, getting your facial hair out of the blocks can be frustrating. Not to worry - here’s our top five killer tips for faster growth…
1. Keep it Clean, Son!
The number one rule of beard growth - wash your beard! If you’ve decided to grow it you need to show it some love.
Just like all the new fans you’ll have once you look like Jason Momoa, your beard needs regular care and attention. Once your beard starts growing, the natural oils produced by your body will keep it healthy and happy - scrub it too often and you’ll wash these out. Unless you’re playing regular sport (or getting it mucky for whatever other reason), twice a week is plenty.
No matter what beard style you’re after, washing is a crucial part of your how-to-grow-a-beard 101. It removes dead skin and dust which builds up. This is important because once your precious beard hair follicles get clogged up your growth will slow right down. Oh - and you’ll probably get super itchy as well. Not cool!
If you want your beard to grow faster just remember: cleanliness is next to Godliness. And God has a great beard.
2. Shave it Regula- Wait a sec…
If you want to start showing a beard you might have heard that shaving it regularly will increase your hair growth. Newsflash - this is a bit of an urban legend! It’s not a shortcut to the full beard you’re after, nor will it help your facial hair grow any thicker.
In fact, shaving man-fur from any part of your body is unlikely to change the thickness, colour, growth rate or chance of you looking better. When we shave, our hair takes on a blunt tip - which means it can feel thicker or more ‘stubbly’ (that’s a word, right?) when it grows out. The bad news is this is pretty short lived!
If you’re looking to grow a full face of luscious beard hair then your best bet is to leave it be for at least six weeks before you even think about trimming it. Of course that depends on how fast your beard grows - aim to start occasionally trimming it once it reaches one and a half inches or so.
3. Give it a Massage (Yep, We’re Serious!)
So no-one here at Mission Beard would ever tell you to do something just so that we could watch and laugh. Okay, that’s pretty much a total lie - so you’ll have to trust us on this one…
Occasionally massaging your face can help improve circulation, which means nutrients can easily make their way down to the hair follicles on your face. If you’re serious about stimulating growth you can create your own beard oil - simply mix a few tablespoons of warm olive oil and a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil together, before rubbing in circular motions for five to ten minutes.
Sounds unconventional right? But a light massage should genuinely stimulate thicker and faster hair growth.
4. Invest in some Quality Product
We’ve already talked about the importance of removing dead skin by keeping your beard nice and clean, as well as massaging some oil in to potentially stimulate growth. You’ve probably got the hint - quality beard products like these are important!
There’s a whole plethora of crazy products out there and here at Mission Beard it’s our goal to help you get to grips with them. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Whilst your beard is still relatively short and stubbly, natural oils from your face will be plenty to keep it healthy and you can stick to humble face-wash to keep it clean. Nice and simple so far!
After that, every type of beard will benefit from a specific beard shampoo - instead of just lathering your regular head-hair shampoo on there. As beard shampoo is a lot milder you’ll enjoy the benefits of a soft, itch-free, healthy beard. Oh - and it’ll smell great too.
Whilst beard shampoo is for your bi-weekly washes, beard oil is crucial to any healthy beard growth and should be used every day. “What does it do?” we hear you cry, “and why do I need it?!” Great question - why not check out our A-Z guide to beard oil right here.
5. Don’t Just Focus on Growing Your Beard Faster
Improving your life will help your beard grow faster - and as we all know, having a thick, healthy beard will improve your life. Kind of like a big hairy circle of improvement. But seriously - does looking after yourself really have an impact?
Turns out it kinda does.
If you're wondering how you can grow your beard more quickly, remember - all hair (including beard hair) needs the right minerals and vitamins to grow quickly. Stacking your diet with fresh fruit and veg will genuinely help beard growth. Drinking enough water and quitting smoking are also good ways to naturally boost blood flow to your cheeks, stimulating that all important growth.
Avoiding stress can also help, insofar as getting stressed out is linked to hair loss. If you want to start growing a beard, exercising more could be key - it will boost your testosterone, improve your circulation and lower your stress. Three for one baby!
Now you know how to grow your beard faster - so the rest is up to you! Think we’ve missed any golden tips? Dazzle us with your wisdom in the comments...