Growing a beard is a challenge that every man should try at least once. Seeing how rugged facial hair will update your look is an exciting prospect, but a lot of men lose patience before reaching their beard goals.
While there’s no one way to do things when it comes to facial hair, there are some ‘need to know’ pointers for how to grow a beard that will help you stick with the journey through those tricky early stages of growth.
Knowing which beard shape is the best fit for your face is a great place to start. Men with a square or round face will rock a goatee well, and those with a longer or more angular jawline may want to try a chinstrap. Working out how to highlight your best features is a great place to start for facial hair success.
Check out our guide to choosing the perfect beard style to suit for your face shape
Beard growth stages
How long does it take to grow a beard? An eternal question for men the world over, there’s no one hard and fast rule to live by, but to give your facial hair the best chances of success we suggest letting your beard do its thing for at least a month.
If you want to get more scientific, beard hair tends to grow about half an inch every month so the best way to grow a beard is pushing through this stage before shaping and styling your growth.
It’s also an urban myth that shaving makes hair grow back thicker, so you’ll have to step away from that razor for at least a few weeks to start with.
Getting frustrated at patchy growth and want to know the secrets to how to grow a full beard? It’s worth knowing that facial hair won’t necessarily grow at the same rate and cheek hair will often take more time to fill in than in chin hair.
How to trim a beard
Once you’ve braved the first steps on the journey to your new bearded look, it’s time to think about beard trimming. Just as the skin around your beard requires daily care and attention, a beard needs to be looked after and shaped.
The best way to trim a beard is to ensure you’ve got the best trimming tools available to modern men. The ultra-precise technology of Braun stylers and trimmers let you define your neckline with ease and avoid unappealing and uneven facial hair growth.
Once your facial hair has some length to it, it’s time to shape that beard as it grows out. Even a stubble style takes shaping and our beard trimming tip is to start shaving at the bottom of your neck and define the line where your beard stops somewhere between the top and bottom of the Adam’s apple.
Try our styling guides to find the perfect beard look for you – why not start with stubble
Beard maintenance
Once you’ve grown and shaped a beard style that complements your face, it needs just as much love and attention as the hair on top of your head.
One of the biggest hurdles to growing a beard is the infamous itchiness that can be the breaking point at which men abandon their facial hair goals. Itch can be a sign of grooming issues like dry skin, and washing with beard shampoo and moisturising daily are both great tips for beard grooming.
Another secret to success is learning how to brush your beard. Running a comb against the grain of growth is a great way to untangle any knots and spot any uneven growth. Brushing the beard also distributes natural oils from the skin underneath, helping to keep your beard comfortable and healthy.
Can everyone grow a beard and other common questions
When has my facial hair fully developed?
Looking around at men’s huge variety of facial hair you may wonder, can everyone grow a beard? Many people think that once men are past puberty their facial hair is fully developed, but this is incorrect. In fact, many men find their facial hair growth keeps increasing until the age of 30. So if you think you can’t grow a beard, it may just be a matter of time and patience.
What effect does shaving have on hair growth?
The hard feeling of stubble on the skin of your face after a shave leads many to think that trimming must create thicker growth. This is simply not true, and the key to whether or not you can grow a full beard is simply time and inherited genetics.
Will I have to shave off my beard in the summer?
You might picture the sun beating down on your face on a hot summer’s day and imagine the last thing you’d want would be more hair. In fact a beard can offer much needed protection from UV rays for your skin and cut your chances of getting burnt. A good beard can also help to bring sweat off the face keeping you comfortable on those hot days.