1. Decide on a style

If you're going to grow a beard then there's actually alot more to it than just putting down the razor and waiting. If you don't decide on a style then you will grow a scruffy mess of a beard and end up looking dishevelled!
A good way to make a choice is to pick a style of beard that suits your face shape. 

The other consideration you need to take into account is the amount of facial hair you can actually grow. Do you have a splendid amount of hair that sprouts from your upper lip but not much on the cheeks? Then maybe a style that emphasises your moustache would be best. Maybe you have glorious sideburns but struggle to grow anything on your chin? In that case a mutton chop style beard would suit you

2. Beards are messy. Keep yours clean!

Beards are pretty brilliant, but of course like everything in life they have a downside. Beards have an unfortunate habit of attracting mess. Food, dandruff and just general grime. If left unchecked then pretty soon your beard can go from a glorious mane to a matted mess. You wouldn't walk around with a greasey, dirty head of hair would you?

The best thing to do to keep your beard clean is to wash it with a good quality beard shampoo as often as needed, this will keep your facial hair hygenic and clean.

3. Be patient!

There's not much to this tip! A good beard takes time. There really is no better solution to growing a better beard than allowing some extra time. If you're not satidfied with your current resuts then don't give up! Wait another couple of months and see how you feel about your beard then. This however requires patience, but just remember, good theings come to those who wait!

4. Trimming your beard can keep it healthy.

As great as hair is, it isn't invinsible. Your beard hairs will eventually get split ends. It's a natural part of growing your beard hair follicles out to such a length. A split end is no good for the hair, if left unchecked then the split can travel down to the root of the hair and ruin it. The best way to co bat this is to trim the hair. This will leave the freshley trimmed hair whole and healthy. It's a good idea to trim your beard a general trim every few months to remove split ends and keep your beard healthy.
The other reason to trim your beard is to keep it neat. If you're growing your beard out to a significant length then you'll stat to find that some parts of your beard grow at different lengths to other parts. This may lead to the overall shape and style of your beard changing from how you originally wanted it to look.
Trimming your beard doesn't need to be a drastic thing, just neaten up a few areas and ensure that all the hair follicles are healthy.

5. Encourage growth with combing/brushing

You can help speed along the growing process by combing and brushing your beard. Doing this on a regular basis helps to stimulate the hair follicles and encourages blood flow to the hair cell. This will help to ensure that it receives vital nutrients for growth. The more nutrients that it receives, the more growing potential the hair has. It won't have a magic effect and allow you to grow a beard in a matter of days, but it will help to add an extra bit of length to your beard over the course of a few months.

6. Either keep your moustache short or grow it out.

The moustache. If you're growing your beard out then you've got a decision to make. Are you going to keep it short or are you going to grow it out? Growing it out can be a pain but it is worth it. it looks great but it takes time to achieve, you must not trim it until it is long enough to brush to either side of your lip (you can help to keep it in place with a bit of moustache wax). Until it has grown out properly and you can style it properly it will be tickling your lip and getting in your mouth and fozod etc.
However if you decide you don't really want it then it is important to keep it trimmed, there's nothing worse then trimming your moustache wrongly and keeping it perpetually stuck in the 'growing out' phase. A regular trim to a short length will keep it neat, tidy and out of the way while appearing full and impressive.

7. Don't keep trimming

Contrary to number 4. there is such a thing as trimming too much. Many people get really over-enthusiastic with trimming their beard and snip away weeks of growth. Then they'll leave it for a few weeks, then they'll trim away all the growth they've gained over those few weeks! This is fine if you're happy with your current length and consider your beard 'finished' but if your goal is to go for a longer style then it's important to allow your beard to do what it does naturally.

8. Don't let your skin dry out!

You may be growing a glorious beard but are you doing so at the expense of your skin? A common side effect of growing a beard is that you may experience dry skin. Obviously this isn't ideal and you're going to want to hydrate your skin to keep it at its best. The best thing for this is to use a beard conditioner or a beard oil. Not only will this nourish and hydrate your beard, but the oil will also seep down the length of your hair and onto your skin. The ingredients in the oil will repair and soothe the dry and irritated skin, this should also help with any itching you may be experiencing.
We recommend trying some of high quality beard oil or conditioner.

9. Don't listen to the critisism of others

Beards are highly fashionable but they are also a polarising subject. People seem to love that bearded look and other seem to preffer the classic clean shaven look. Therefore it's only natural that people will tell you that 'you should shave' or that growing a beard 'doesn't suit you'. It will be tempting to give in to peer pressure and shave off your facial hair but remember, you're growing the beard for yourself, not them. You will need to remind yourself of this whenever people try to plant the seeds of doubt in your mind.

10. Eat a healthy diet.

This is an overlooked but pretty obvious when you think about it. Your diet impacts your overall health and by extention your skin, hair and nails. This means that your beard is affected by your diet to some extent. Even with a por diet you can grow an imprerssive beard but if you have a healthy diet then your beard will look that extra bit more glorious and envious.

11. Be prepared to look and feel older

Many people that are clean shaven complain that they look 'baby faced' and get mistaken for being younger than they are in general. An obvious remedy to this is growing some sort of facial hair as it will do the opposite and age you. However you must be prepared to look significantly older and for people to treat you as such. This isn't really such a bad thing but it may take some getting used to!

12. Work with what you've got!

Some guys are blessed with the ability to grow a full beard by the age of 18 (or even younger!) Alas, many guys are unable to grow much in the way of a beard. All hope is not lost however, you may be able to grow some part of your facial hair significantly. If this is the case then we recommend that you work with what you've got and power ahead and grow that facial hair anyway. Who knows, after 6 months your beard may look better than you thought it would. Over such a long time even a patchy beard will begin to fill out and look quite impressive

13. Go to the barber for a proper trim

Okay, let's assume that youve been growing your beard out for 6 months or so and its really starting to look rather grand. The problem is that it looks busy and messy since you haven't done much in the way of trimming (except to remove split ends) and now you want to shape up your beard so you can wear it proudly when you're out and about. You could tackle this task yourself if only a very light trim is needed or you're particularly confident in your skills, but it's always going to be a risk. Once slip and you've messed up months and months of growth and hard work.
The best solution is to visit a barber that offers professional beard trims. If you think about it then it makes sense. You wouldn't cut the hair on your head yourself would you? Then try visiting a barber, they can offer a steady hand and a proffesional eye to see how best to trim your beard. Try it and you won't regret it!

14. Don't be afraid to style it!

Another tip we have for you is this; don't be afraid to style your beard. Maybe just the moustache, maybe just the beard itself, perhaps both! Adding a little bit of Beard & Moustache Wax can go a long way in finishing off your beard. You can tease your moustache into a number of styles and also help to keep your beard held in a certain shape or position. If you've spent all this time growing your beard then why not spend the time in showing it off properly!

 

15. Relax...

A not so obvious bit of advise is to relax. Hair growth in general does best in the absence of stress. You've heard of people losing hair due to stress or stressful circumstances? This is simply the opposite of that. When you are stressed your body releases cortisol, and this can have a significant effect:
"The stress hormone, cortisol, is known to affect the function and cyclic regulation of the hair follicle. When cortisol is present at high levels it has been demonstrated to reduce the synthesis and accelerate the degradation of important skin elements, namely hyaluronan and proteoglycans by approximately 40%."

16. Exercise

The opposite to avoiding stressful situations is to engage in activities that stimulate your body such as exercise. Regular exercise has lots of benefits, one of which being a release of hormones into your system. Testosterone is one these hormones which can have a benficial impact on your ability to grow a beard. Many female bodybuilders take testosterone to help with muscle growth, however one of the side effects from taking the testosterone is that they grow some small amount of facial hair (amoung other hair!).
Now we obviously do NOT advice that you should take testosterone to help with your beard growth. However we do advocate exercising to increase your bodies natural ability to produce testosterone.

17. Get a hairstyle to compliment your beard

One thing to consider when growing a beard is what kind of hairstyle do you currently have? It's a good idea to pick a style of beard that compliments your hair style and vice versa. Many guys that have a short back and sides choose to blend their hair into their beard. this works best when your hair colour is the same as your beard colour and the length of your sideburn is the same from your head to your beard.
If you have a beard that is a different colour to your hair then you don't need to worry about blending them as much since there is already a clear distinction.

18. Make your beard appear longer

A little sneaky tip when growing a beard is to comb it out as part of a morning grooming routine. Combing your beard has many benefits but the main focus here is to add length to your beard. Now this isn't going to magically make your beard suddenly grow, however it will give your beard the apparance of being longer. This is because your beard hairs will be pulled out to their full length when you're combing, rather than them curling up too much.
For best results do this after you've had a shower and carefully blow dry your beard as you comb through it, the hair dryer will act like a pair of hair straighteners and help to set the beard hairs at their new, slightly longer length.

 

And that's it!  Hopefully you're well on your way to growing a magnificent beard.

Be sure to check our other blog articles for more advice and help.