New to Beards? Must-Know Tips for a Great Start

New to Beards? Must-Know Tips for a Great Start

Beards can be challenging to grow initially, and maintaining one can often feel daunting. If you're seeking tips on growing a beard for the first time, you're in the right place. While a clean-shaven look is a timeless trend, growing a beard can be a great choice if it suits your style and personality.

A good starting point is experimenting with a mustache. Not only does it draw attention, but it also helps you express a distinct personality. Additionally, it's an excellent way to enhance your appearance while maintaining a simple and clean grooming routine.

 

What Influences the Growth of Beards?

Hormones and genetics are the most significant factors determining the speed and fullness of a man's beard growth. Additionally, lifestyle choices and daily habits can influence beard development.

• Testosterone: This hormone plays a vital role in facial hair growth; its levels vary among individuals. Men aged 19 to 38 typically have testosterone levels ranging from 264 to 916 nanograms per deciliter, representing the 2.5th to 97.5th percentile.
• Low testosterone can negatively impact beard growth. Supplements prescribed under a physician's supervision may help stimulate beard development for men with lower testosterone.
• However, if testosterone levels are within the normal range, supplements are unlikely to affect beard growth significantly.
• Genetics: Genetics also heavily influence beard development. Some individuals are genetically predisposed to grow thick, full beards, while others may naturally experience patchy or uneven growth patterns.

How Should You Prepare Your Skin for Growing a Beard?

Before a beard can flourish, the foundation must be set. As an artist prepares a canvas before creating a masterpiece, you must prepare your skin to support healthy beard growth. Follow these steps to ensure your face is primed for optimal growth:

Start With a Clean Slate

Your face is the foundation for your beard, so ensure it's clean and ready. Begin by thoroughly cleansing your skin to remove dirt, oils, and dead skin cells that could hinder growth. 

A gentle facial cleanser is an excellent choice to eliminate impurities without stripping essential moisture. Starting with a clean, healthy base is the first step to encouraging robust beard growth.

Exfoliate for Excellence

Dead skin cells can clog pores and obstruct the natural growth of facial hair, making the beard-growing process more challenging. Exfoliating your skin once or twice a week can help clear the way for new hairs. 

This reduces the likelihood of ingrown hairs and improves blood circulation, ensuring your skin is well-nourished for beard growth.

Moisturize to Minimize Irritation

Beard itch is a common issue during the initial stages of growth. Keeping your skin hydrated with a quality moisturizer creates a protective layer that reduces irritation and promotes healthy skin. 

Hydrating products enriched with essential oils and soothing ingredients can help alleviate discomfort and set the stage for a smooth beard-growing experience.

Prime With Oils

Even before your beard is fully grown, incorporating beard oil into your routine conditions your skin and prepares it for new hair. Beard oils are formulated to soften the skin, reduce dryness, and nourish hair follicles from the root. Early use of beard oil creates a solid foundation for a manageable, healthy beard as it grows.

Tips to Grow Your Beard

The health and well-being of an individual significantly affect how their body functions, including how their beard grows. While it's impossible to change one's genetics, adopting healthy lifestyle choices can help you achieve a fuller beard.

Exercise

Regular exercise boosts blood circulation, which stimulates hair growth. Weightlifting and strength training, for example, can increase testosterone levels, which play a critical role in facial hair development.

• Testosterone Fluctuations: Testosterone levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day, with higher levels in the morning and lower in the evening, particularly in younger men.

Benefits of Exercising

👉🏽 Improved Circulation: Physical activity increases blood pressure, enhancing blood flow. This improved circulation delivers more oxygen and nutrients to hair follicles, promoting healthier, stronger hair growth.

👉🏽 Testosterone Boost: Consistent physical activity can boost testosterone levels, accelerating healthy hair growth. Activities like weight training, strength exercises, and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) are particularly effective, as they engage multiple muscle groups.

👉🏽 Metabolism Increase: Exercise elevates metabolic activity, which can contribute to growing a thicker, fuller beard. Resistance training, in particular, has been shown to cause a significant spike in testosterone levels, further supporting beard growth.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Prioritizing your overall health is crucial, especially if you are growing a beard for the first time. Focus on incorporating regular exercise, a nutrient-rich diet, and sufficient sleep into your routine. These practices increase the presence of growth hormones in the blood, enhancing the growth rate of hair and cells.

Diet

A balanced diet supports beard growth and promotes a healthy lifestyle. Proper nutrition ensures your body receives the vitamins and minerals it needs to support hair health.

• The Testosterone-Obesity Relationship: A 2015 study found a bidirectional relationship between testosterone and obesity. Low testosterone levels can contribute to obesity, while obesity can reduce testosterone levels.
• Nutrients and Hair Growth: Key nutrients like zinc are essential for maintaining healthy testosterone levels. While diet cannot change genetics, it can help existing hair grow stronger and fuller.

Foods That Promote Beard Growth:

• Lean proteins, like salmon and chicken
• Iron-rich foods, such as liver
• Whole grains and complex carbohydrates
• Zinc-rich foods, like chickpeas and nuts
• Healthy fats, such as those found in avocados
• Fruits and vegetables high in B vitamins and vitamins A, C, D, and E

Supplements

Certain supplements can support overall health in ways that encourage beard growth, as genetics allow.

• Multivitamins: Taking a multivitamin with zinc and iron can be beneficial if your diet lacks these essential nutrients.
• Limitations: No supplement can create a beard where genetics don't support it. Focus on maintaining health naturally and using supplements to complement a balanced diet.

Skincare Regimen

Maintaining a proper skincare routine can significantly influence your beard's growth and appearance. Clean, healthy skin provides the foundation for strong, vibrant facial hair.

• Exfoliate Regularly: Exfoliation removes dead skin cells and debris from hair follicles, allowing hair to grow freely. It also reduces the risk of ingrown hairs beneath the beard.
• Use Leave-In Conditioners: Beard conditioners nourish and moisturize facial hair, reducing dandruff and making the beard appear fuller. Before committing to a product, test it on a small skin patch to ensure compatibility.

Sleep

Sleep is essential for overall health and beard growth. Testosterone levels naturally rise during sleep, supporting the growth of facial hair.

• The Importance of Rest: A 2015 study found that reducing sleep significantly decreased testosterone levels in young, healthy men. Adequate sleep ensures your body has the energy and hormonal balance necessary for optimal hair growth.

Tackle Challenges Head-On

Growing a beard comes with its share of obstacles, but persistence and strategic care can help you overcome them:

• Patchy Growth: Style your beard to complement its natural growth pattern. Over time, consistent grooming can help fill in sparse areas.
• Beard Itch: Use moisturizers or beard oils to hydrate the skin beneath your beard, alleviating dryness and irritation.
• Flakes and Dandruff: Moisturize regularly to keep your skin and beard flake-free.

Organize Stress Levels

Managing stress is vital for healthy beard growth. High cortisol levels—a hormone released during stress—can lower testosterone production and restrict blood flow to hair follicles, depriving them of essential nutrients.

• Stress and Hair Growth: Stress disrupts the growth cycle of facial hair, causing follicles to enter a resting phase, which stops the development of new strands. Chronic stress can lead to hair loss and slower growth.

Tips to Manage Stress:

1. Limit screen time to reduce overstimulation.
2. Practice breathing exercises or meditation.
3. Engage in regular physical activity to release endorphins.

Set Realistic Goals and Be Patient

Growing a beard requires time, commitment, and realistic expectations. Depending on your genetics and growth rate, the perfect beard may take months or even years.

• Celebrate Small Milestones: Appreciate incremental progress, such as achieving a softer texture or a more uniform growth pattern.
• Consistency is Key: Stick to your grooming routine, adjusting it based on the development of your beard and your skin's needs.

Following these tips and maintaining a disciplined approach can maximize your beard growth potential while addressing common challenges. The journey to a fuller beard is as rewarding as the result, so embrace the process with confidence and patience.

Keep Your Beard Healthy With The Right Products

Congratulations! You’ve completed the first few months of beard growth. Now, it’s time to take things up a notch and adopt the grooming habits that will set your beard apart.

Failing to properly care for your beard using the right products is a common rookie mistake, but with the right guidance, you can avoid this pitfall.

What Happens if You Don't Care for Your Beard?

Neglecting your beard can lead to a host of problems. Initially, your beard may become dry and scaly, feeling rough like steel wool and itching incessantly. In contrast, a well-hydrated, moisturized, and neatly groomed beard is far easier to manage. It looks better, feels better, and even smells better, helping you feel more confident and relaxed in your appearance.

Here are a few essential products that can elevate your beard's health, look, and feel.

Beard Oil

You've likely heard of beard oil—it's a classic grooming staple, and every man with a beard should have at least one bottle in his arsenal.

What Does Beard Oil Do?

Your beard depends on sebum, the natural oil produced by your skin. However, showering can strip away these essential oils, drying your skin and beard. Dry skin leads to brittle hair, which is prone to breakage and harder to manage.

Beard oil is designed to replenish and moisturize your skin and hair, keeping your beard healthy and easy to style. Its lightweight, liquid form allows it to be quickly absorbed, and it often carries a subtle fragrance that enhances your grooming experience.

Beard oil isn't just for long beards. Even during the early stages of growth, applying a few drops daily can help prevent itchiness and dryness, making the transition to a fuller beard more comfortable.

Read Also: What is Beard Oil

Check Our Beard Oil Range

• BEARD OIL - TOBACCO VANILLA
• BEARD OIL - SANDALWOOD BOURBON
• BEARD OIL - BAY RUM
• BEARD OIL - CEDARWOOD

Beard Wash & Softener

One of the most common complaints about beards is that they can become dirty and unkempt. However, this can be avoided with proper washing and conditioning.

The Problem with Regular Shampoos:

Most shampoos for hair and skin contain high levels of surfactants, which are ingredients that remove dirt and strip natural oils from your face. For beards, this can lead to excessive dryness, which we've already established is bad news.

Tips for Cleaning Your Beard:

1. Use gentle cleansers specifically designed for beards. Products like beard wash bars or beard-focused shampoos clean without drying out your beard.
2. Avoid washing your beard daily. Instead, adopt a " co-washing " practice to maintain moisture and balance.

Co-Washing

Co-washing, or conditioner washing, involves cleaning your beard regularly with a beard conditioner instead of shampoo. This method removes dirt while preserving natural oils, ensuring your beard stays soft and healthy.

• Use a beard softener formulated with mild cleansers that manage daily dirt buildup while keeping your beard silky to the touch.
• Two or three times a week, follow up with a thorough cleanse using a beard wash. Always finish with a beard softener to restore hydration and shine.

The balm is a versatile grooming product designed to stay on the surface of your skin and hair for longer, offering the benefits of a leave-in conditioner.

Although not a styling product, utility balm provides more control than beard oil, helping to tame unruly flyaways. It also absorbs slowly, delivering lasting hydration for your beard and the skin underneath.

Utility balm offers all the benefits of beard oil but in a balm-like form, giving you additional control. It's excellent for soothing dry skin, enhancing the appearance of your beard, and even revitalizing healed tattoos.

• Read Next: What is Beard Balm?

Hair Beard Brush

Dandies beard brush and comb are essential grooming tools for any man. What makes them superior to synthetic brushes?

Benefits of a Brush

✅ Scaly Bristles: The bristle surface mimics human hair, drawing dirt and product buildup away as you brush.

✅ Stimulates Sebum Distribution: The stiff bristles help distribute natural oils from your skin throughout your beard, keeping it clean, shiny, and healthy.

✅ Improves Hair Health: Regular brushing with a brush keeps your beard polished and promotes stronger, healthier growth.

Investing in the right products and tools can elevate your beard care routine, and you can enjoy a beard that looks, feels, and smells fantastic. Proper care enhances your beard’s appearance and boosts your confidence, helping you stand out wherever you go.

Are There Any Effective Beard-Enhancing Supplements?

With facial hair's rising popularity, some supplement manufacturers have begun targeting individuals who struggle to grow stubble. These companies market products and supplements that promote fuller and thicker beards. However, the majority of these claims lack scientific backing.

Research indicates that certain vitamins and nutrients may play a role in supporting hair health:

• Vitamin D: Studies suggest that vitamin D may help stimulate dormant hair follicles, potentially encouraging hair growth.
• B Vitamins: Nutrients like B-12, biotin, and niacin can strengthen hair and improve its condition. These vitamins are often found in products marketed for hair and beard health.

One example of such a supplement is Beardalizer, which claims to promote beard growth by providing vitamins such as biotin, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Similar to products targeted at women's hair health, these vitamins and minerals are believed to contribute to stronger, healthier hair.

However, it's important to note that supplements are unlikely to significantly improve beard growth if your genetic makeup does not support it. A typical daily multivitamin often contains similar ingredients and is generally more affordable.

Final Words

The journey to growing a beard isn't just about reaching the end—it's about embracing the process with confidence and style. Every beard is unique, and at Dandies, we encourage individuals to develop a beard that reflects their identity.

With the right tools, techniques, and confidence, you're well on your way to crafting your distinctive style. Keep it strong, keep it clean, and most importantly, make it yours. Let's look forward to more good beards and exciting adventures to come! Remember, the most desirable beard makes you feel bold and confident in who you are.

FAQs

How can I encourage the development of my new beard?

Maintaining a consistent skincare regimen and keeping your beard clean can significantly improve your facial hair's growth and appearance. Regular exfoliation helps remove dead skin cells and debris around the hair follicles, allowing hair to grow naturally and unimpeded.

What's the secret to growing a beard?

Your beard's health reflects your overall lifestyle. Regular exercise, reducing stress, eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and increasing testosterone levels can enhance your beard's growth and appearance. Higher testosterone levels are linked to a greater facial and body hair development likelihood.

How can I grow a beard faster for the first time?

The best ways to encourage faster beard growth include:

• Maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
• Getting quality sleep.
• Eating a nutrient-rich diet.
• Applying beard oil to nourish hair follicles.

However, patience is key—consistent grooming and care over time are essential for achieving your desired results.