Hey everyone,
So I’m 22 now, and for the first time ever, I’m starting to grow a decent beard. It’s still in the early stages, but it’s real this time.
Most of my friends started growing beards years ago, so I’ve always felt like a bit of a late bloomer. But now that it’s finally happening, I want to make sure I’m doing it right.
I’ve seen guys walking around with irritated, patchy beards and rashes on their chin, and honestly—it looks rough. I really want to avoid that whole mess.
If you’ve been through this before, what should someone like me not do while growing a beard? And what are some basic things I should be doing to keep it healthy?
Comments
Wash it with baby shampoo.
Put oil in it.
Keep it tidy.
Visit a barber now and then.
Be awesome to each other – but now, with a beard.
Growing a beard is not the same thing as failing to shave.
Huge unkempt beards rarely look good, and are a sign of laziness. You need to shape your beard based on how it grows and your face, and you should trim it to a consistent level just like you’d get your hair cut.
Edit: Not everyone can grow a beard or should wear one. If your facial hair genetics don’t allow good coverage, you need to be very discerning about letting it grow. In particular, chins traps and neck beards need to be avoided at all costs as they accentuate the wrong features.
Symmetry is key, and also weight vs face shape. If you have a tall/oval face, a long beard or beard with no mustache may make it look worse. In general, having good upper lip coverage is important for most styles. If you can’t grow a stache, really think twice about the whole look.
In many cases well kept short beards will offer the benefits of facial hair (maturity, defined features) without looking unwieldy or unprofessional.
Use Oil, shave the neck always
Keep it evenly trimmed
DON’T EVER SHAVE WITH A 🪒.. USE A SHAVING MACHINE INSTEAD! I TOOK THIS L SO YOU DON’T 😮💨
For the first few weeks it’s going to be itchy as hell so be prepared for that. As for care, get yourself some beard oil (I used Honest Amish when I had my beard), and get a boar bristle brush. Again be prepared for the itchies. Don’t use regular shampoo/soap or conditioner in your beard, plain old water rinse will do fine. There is beard shampoo on Amazon you could pick up. Also decide how you want your beard to look once you’ve got some growth. That’s about all I can think of. Good luck with your beard.
Time, patience and lots of brushing.
First thing is let it grow for a while. When I first really wanted to grow a beard, I let it grow for almost 3 months without touching it to figure out what it would really look like. Then I cut it back to how I wanted it to be.
Also, get a cheap boar’s hair brush. After trying oils and balms and all sorts of stuff, the boar’s hair bruch was the best basic tool for keeping the beard hair healthy and getting rid of the dead skin that can accumulate.
clean shaven is better than a bad beard 9/10 times
If you can avoid it, try not to shave high up on your cheek bones. If you can, grab some tweezers and pull those hairs. Our skin tends to toughen up the more we shave but you want the skin around your eyes and high cheeks to stay soft and move with your expressions.
It is more work to have a beard than to be clean shaven.
Invest in a trimmer, and try to keep it somewhat uniform in length. Look on YouTube how to keep neck beard
As it starts to reach 2 mm, go to 6 mm. After that you go to barber and find a style.
Wash it gently, and give it oil.
6 mm is shortest that does not scratch.
It is the beard on the inside that counts.
Get yourself a nice electric razor that’s worth the money and keep it in shape. Use an oil or conditioner to reduce irritation. I like using pine tar products but experiment with different products to find what you like best.
Wash it with warm water. Brush it daily. Find a nice oil you like the smell of, and use sparring ( like when you first learn to use deodorant)
I would say the thing that was a game changer in getting my beard good were the following:
Learning how to use a straight razor, not necessary but to get the edges beautiful and looking sharp this is the best tool for the job.
I use this technique for trimming using clippers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paUSXWMboxM
Get a nice beard brush, beard oil and beard wash. I use the brush everyday and beard oil every 2 days and wash every 3 ish days or when it feels dirty.
Dont forget to trim your stache correctly too.
Take care of your beard hair and the skin below.
This means shampooing and conditioning, as well as moisturizing.
Get a beard oil to apply as part of your morning routine. Use a boar hair brush to apply and distribute.
Perseverance. It’ll probably look shit for a while. I’m blond/mousey so mine looked bad for a long time!
Don’t grow a beard unless you have an ugly face that needs hiding. Handsome men look better without beards — or maybe a little scruff. Guys who love beards are usually the ones who need them.
Invest in a beard trimmer, even if it is a cheap one. Before I had mine I would basically grow it until I had to use the Gillette and remove the whole thing. For what ever dumb reason it never occurred to me that all I needed was some clippers and a guard to keep that monster under control. Also, mind your oral health. Don’t get lazy and skip brushing your teeth at night because you got under the covers and realized it. You will break out when your bacteria ridden slobber rolls out of your mouth and down your chin.
For shorter beards: Trim the border edges. Have a nice clean line of skin/beard. Until you get to mountain man length, i feel a beard should have an edge.
Carry a beard comb. Beard hairs re-curl and coil and collecr togerher at an amaxing rate. If you truly want it to look good, get used to combing thru it multiple times a day. I find myself often doing it before i get out of the car, before i go up the hall for a meeting, and obviously after i wash in a restroom.
I would say, get off Reddit n get a job. Back in the day our beards would just grow around the time you start getting uncontrollable erections. Or do kids not get those anymore either?
Not saying this to you, this is what I would tell my sons personally
Shampoo and condition and make sure you get right down to the skin. Grease buildup will cause dandruff and skin irritation.
Beard shampoo, trim off excess hairs, leave it be
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Not everyone can pull off the wolverine or handlebars. Get input from people whose opinions matter to you.
If you do not oil your beard, you may aswell forget any other rule 😁
Beard brush before shower, beard shampoo in shower and beard oil after. Keep that bad boy and the skin under clean and healthy
Second advice on moisturizing and having some sort of oil or shampoo. I personally have really wire-y beard hair and a tendency for flakey skin, so it’s easy for my beard to be very scratchy and also covering up some gross patches of skin.
In terms of patchiness, just… the goal is looking clean, which needs consistency more than length. When I was a kid I grow a crazy hobo beard partly out of frustration that I only had a pretty whispy mustache. Woulda been better off sticking w/ stubble until the patchy parts “grew in.” Probably there are people online who will have your pattern of hair growth, so you can look up what looks nice – you don’t need a thick forest of hair, obvious Pedro Pascal benefits from being extremely hot but he’s a good example of a guy who can wear a “patchy” beard.
Wash your beard with a gentle shampoo
Apply beard oil. Remember to gently massage the roots, it helps with blood circulation and growth
If its curly/wavy, then blow dry it lightly to get the shape you like
Use a trimmer to keep it clean from the cheek and neck area
Visit your barber every 3 weeks to get it in shape. Remember, the beard grows unevenly. Some hair will grow faster and others will grow slower. The barber will help in fixing its shape
Thats it! Feel good and enjoy your day son!
If you look at John Wicks facial hair, I gave his beard. Those gaps where it’s open? Nothing grows there for me. I wish I could have a full beard. I’ll never be able to have a goatee and it plagues me.
Don’t neglect the skin underneath. Beard dandruff is itchy and nasty.
My advice? Shave
Generally speaking, as a rule of thumb. Beards are for homeless or men with weak jawlines. Most men can’t pull off a beard due to how poorly their facial hair grows.
Think Jon Hamm, Tom Selleck, etc. Those men absolutely can pull off a beard.
Majority of men have “pube” style beards and it just looks disgusting and unkempt.
Agree with letting it grow for 3 months untouched to see what you’re working with.
After that you can think about shaping it a bit. The aim of the neckline is to give visual separation between your head and your neck. Look up some guides online.
Never have a neck beard.
Oil your beard and brush it in. This keeps the skin underneath your beard happy and will stop it being itchy and irritable.
Always remember you can trim more off but you can’t put it back on. Go slow with your trimming as you are figuring it out.
be aware you may not be able to pull off a big one. I just don’t have the fullness on my face that I have on my neck; if I keep it trimmed it looks great, if I don’t I look amish.
Figure out the shape of your face and match your beard to it
I’ve a pointed face with my chin ending in an upside down triangle
I’ve learned to keep the sides short and the goatee part longer which I then trim to a point.
Match your beard style to the shape of your face
Beard oil helps with the itching
Be incredibly patient because people in our family age slower than molasses and we don’t grow beards until our mid 30s
My brother and my father literally didn’t even shave until they hit 30, i could grow patchy garbage. I couldn’t grow an actual full beard until 36. Trade off is we peak in our mid 40s and live to like 100.
Keep it clean! They aren’t called soup strainers for nothing! You will get food and drink in it. Comb and brush it daily. Beard oil, balms etc are your friend.
Personally I found investing in a straight razor to keep the edges and neck tidy was a game changer. On that note, invest in the tools to maintain your beard. Low quality items will cause more damage over time. Notice how I said quality, not cost. Some cheaper items are good quality just do your due diligence.
A wood pocket comb will save a lot of embarrassment.
Babies will yank on it, hold onto it like an “oh shit” handle and spit up onto it.
Some people can’t grow long beards some can don’t compare your beard to someone else’s.
A beard isn’t a personality.
A lot of this is going to depend on how thick your beard grows and the hair type it’s made of.
Let it grow longer than you think you need to, then shape it with scissors. This will allow the hair to layer and your beard will look thicker.
Shampoo your beard. They get dirty. Some people use beard shampoo, I personally can get away with regular shampoo, not everyone can.
If your beard doesn’t want to lay down, Bryl Cream for hair works surprisingly well for that.
Let it grow out a bit everywhere (your neck will itch).
Trim it down to like a 5mm guard or so.
Let it grow some more. (Maybe trim again if it’s uneven)
Go to the barber and get them to help you line it up.
If you like how it looks, do what the barber did for the rest of your life. If not, try again with another barber.
Oil is for the skin not the beard, combs are your friend.
Keep it clean. Use beard oil and a bristle brush to comb it. Trim wayward hairs…and don’t rush ti grow it as large as possible. Always grow slowly and shape it as it grows.
Also……….never pick at it. I wish I hadn’t.
Having worn a beard for a while and done bees wax and oils and other nonsense, I’d suggest just buying this stuff and rubbing a bit in after every shower: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C82M2VZB?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3
Also get your beard trimmed and shaped by a barber. Makes a huge difference.
Wash it with the same decent shampoo you use for your hair.
Removes all of the dry skin and keeps it nice. Always use a nice balm on it as well to moisturise and keep it fresh.
And tidy it up, no one wants to see an awful neck beard.
Biggest thing is get some beard trimming scissors and trim the longer-stragglers to match the rest of the beard length (even if super short, people will notice stragglers. Trim the neck (I like to keep my neck completely shaved where my beard meets the top of my neck. Also trim around your lips so the hairs aren’t reaching over.
Worry about the beard later in life. Now is the time to grow your hair long while you still have it. When you get there, just let it grow and keep it trimmed.
Mine just pops up in a couple of weeks after a full shave. My skin is already oily, so oil isn’t a good idea. The hair is thick enough to hold up to regular shampoo.
It’s not convincing unless you throw in a little PDA. Oh wait ? Did I read that topic line wrong? /s
Learn to use a multi-function beard trimmer to maintain the beard. Once in a while, spoil yourself at a barber.
Let is grow for at least 3 months without trimming it, using a razor to shave your neck and lining up the cheek. It will have an ugly phase, just like when you are trying to grow out your hair. Just gotta push through.
Use a proper beard shampoo and conditioner, do this twice a week. Don’t use shampoo meant for your head on your face; the skin is different, and head shampoo can irritate/dry the face skin. Post shower, blow dry it, dont let it air dry. Apply a beard oil every other day, brush the hair downwards with a beard brush daily. Apply a beard butter to keep the hair soft and healthy.
After the 3 months, go to a proper barber who can trim it and shape it to your liking. From then on, you can either learn to trim it yourself, or just go to the barber regularly for a trim. Buy some beard balm or wax to keep it shaped how you like it too.
Get used to using a napkin when you drink or eat pretty much anything and everything. It will get messy and there’s no real way to avoid it.
Follow up question: any tips to make the shave symmetrical every time or is that just a skill issue
“If you look like a drowned rat when your facial hair grows, you are a stubble man or a clean shaven man… trust me…”
Shave in the shower!
lather up with ordinary soap then shave in the shower.
Tip one is to never type in all caps.
Tip two is to grow a yeard. A yeard means let the beard grow for a year without trimming it in any way.
Take your yeard to a professional barber that is good at bearding.
Honestly, jest listen to The Beards – they sing songs STRICTLY about beards, and their love of beards. There’s some good pointers in the lyrics 😉 enjoy!
The tree falls the way it inclines; pain is temporary but happiness is forever (if you trust in Jesus)