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Growing a beard can be a long-term commitment that causes many men to wonder how long the process will take. While every man will be a little different in terms of how long their hair takes to grow, hair grows an average of half an inch per month.
Whether you’re wondering how long it will take to grow a long beard or you’re intending to keep your facial hair shorter, this article is here to answer your questions about growing a beard.
What Are Beards Good For Anyway?
Facial hair helps men shape their personal style. It can give its owner confidence, while at the same time, a well-maintained has been known to make a good first impression. It’s one way for a man to demonstrate his ability to care for his appearance.
There’s also a physical health aspect to growing a beard. It protects the skin by blocking it from sun and debris, particularly for those who work outdoors. It also keeps allergens and bacteria away from the mouth and nose.
Beard maintenance, including beard oil, promotes healthy skin. Furthermore, the beard can cause men to appear younger while also preventing skin aging through infections, such as acne.
When it comes to the laws of attraction, a nice beard can draw attention to a man which could help in finding a date. However, everyone has different preferences. Some people will prefer men with a long, well-maintained beard, while others may prefer scruff or a clean-shaven look.
How Fast Does Facial Hair Grow Per Day?
For those who wonder how long it takes to grow a beard, the answer varies from person to person. The key factor in growing a long beard is time.
The average beard grows .27 mm over 24 hours. This adds up to about 1/2 inch of facial hair a month. Also, keep in mind that hair grows mostly at night while you sleep, and it reaches its peak growth at around 2 a.m.
The time it can take to grow a full beard will generally range anywhere from two to six months. This growth rate will vary from person to person. This is also dependent on individual genetics as well as personal health and diet.
Can Everyone Grow a Beard?
Unfortunately, not every man can grow a beard.
The number of facial hair follicles depends on genetics, and this is generally something that you can’t change. In other words, it’s almost impossible to make hair grow where it doesn’t already naturally grow. Some ethnicities, such as men from East Asia, will have fewer facial hair follicles, and these are generally concentrated around the mouth. Other ethnicities may have wider growth patterns.
Nonetheless, for those who can grow a beard but are having trouble achieving the length they want, there are ways to stimulate beard growth, including diet, exercise, sleep cycles, and beard care.
What Hormones Are Responsible for Beard Growth?
The main hormone for hair growth is the male sex hormone testosterone. However, testosterone levels do not always directly affect how quickly hair grows or the ability to grow a beard.
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is the major factor in hair growth, muscular development, and fertility. DHT is also primarily responsible for many of the masculine-coded characteristics that a person may exhibit. This is a bi-product of testosterone and is present in everyone. Although, men will have more of it than women.
The important factor connecting DHT to hair growth has to do with how your body reacts to it. On a daily basis, about 10 percent of testosterone is converted into DHT, which then attaches itself to receptors such as those found in hair follicles.
DHT is a big player in head hair loss, such as male pattern baldness. DHT sensitivity shortens the hair growth cycle, causing the hair to grow thinner and fall out sooner as it moves more quickly through the three phases of hair growth. Additionally, high levels of DHT will increase the rate at which the head follicles shrink, which can lead to hair loss.
However, DHT impacts the beard and head hair differently. Men who are sensitive to DHT may find that they’re losing head hair. However, DHT helps beards develop and grow more fully. In other words, a patchy beard is not necessarily a sign of low testosterone so much as a sign that the follicles of the face are not sensitive to DHT.
Ultimately, while testosterone does play a big part in the growth of body hair, it might not be the source of your facial hair troubles. Most men will actually have similar testosterone levels, and those with low testosterone will notice other, more drastic symptoms, such as infertility and erectile dysfunction.
3 Phases of Hair Growth
Hair growth takes place in a growth cycle. There is a growing phase (anagen), a resting phase (catagen), and then the hair will fall out (telogen) making way for new healthy hair.
Anagen
The anagen phase is the growth phase. This happens inside of the hair follicle, as cells multiply to make the hair shaft. Depending on an individual’s genetics, this anagen phase can last anywhere from two months to about six years.
Catagen
During the catagen phase, the hair is dormant. The hair becomes cut off from the blood supply while it separates from the follicle and attaches to the skin. This is also called the resting phase. The hair neither grows longer nor is it ready to fall out.
Telogen
The telogen phase can be alarming for many people who are concerned about losing their hair. However, it is a natural part of growing a beard.
During the telogen phase, older hairs which have gone through dormancy fall out. This makes room for new hairs to begin growing in the follicle. At any point in time, about 10 percent of a person’s hair is in the telogen phase, which may last from two to four months.
What Affects How Your Beard Grows?
The length of an individual’s anagen phase will determine how long a beard can ultimately grow. For example, if someone’s anagen phase lasts for four years, they can expect that the longest their beard will grow is four years worth at their personal growth rate.
If you’re curious about how long your beard hair can grow, pay attention to its natural shedding. This is when the hair falls out without pulling or plucking it. A beard hair that falls naturally will indicate your beard’s maximum length. On average, a long untrimmed beard will grow to about three feet long.
Keep in mind that hair growth patterns and beard texture will affect how long your beard looks. For example, curly beards may look shorter even with significant growth. Additionally, hair can grow in many directions with different grains, creating different hair growth patterns.
Mistakes That Slow Down Your Beard Growth
While beard growth is largely determined by genetics, there are a few health factors that influence how long it might take to grow.
- Having a poor diet, lacking exercise, and inconsistent sleep cycles. This includes eating too much sugar, including simple carbohydrates.
- High stress levels can slow hair growth and lead to hair loss. Consider ways of destressing, including meditation, work-life balance, and exercise.
- Impatience will also slow your beard growth plans. It might cause you to give up or shave your beard early. A long beard takes time.
Tips For Faster Beard Growth
- Take care of your beard. Keep the beard cleaned and conditioned with beard balm and beard oil. These will protect the hair and keep it moisturized.
- Brush your beard. This stimulates and carries oxygen to the blood vessels around the hair follicles, making them more likely to grow healthy beard hair.
- Consider a high protein diet. Hair is protected by keratin, which you can gain through eating healthy proteins. Consider nuts, including almonds, walnuts, and peanuts. Fish, such as salmon, and meat, such as chicken or steak, are also good staples for protein in your diet.
- Consume foods high in Vitamins A, B, C, E, and F, as well as the minerals iron, zinc, selenium, silica, and magnesium. You can find these in vegetables, such as leafy greens, cabbages, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, peppers, avocados, and mushrooms. Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids also help grow thicker hair. Additionally, some fruits including peaches, apples, and bananas can promote healthy hair.
- Consume multivitamins and supplements, such as biotin and fish oils.
- Regular exercise will help stimulate beard growth during the anagen phase. Exercise can increase testosterone levels, particularly exercises that build muscle such as weight lifting, and it will circulate blood for greater cell turnover and reproduction. Additionally, exercise can help to mitigate the negative effects of stress on the body.
- Keep your sleep cycles healthy and regular. Hair grows more while you rest, since your body temperature drops while sleeping therefore increasing blood circulation to the skin. At the same time, your body releases growth hormones during sleep, which stimulates general cell reproduction including hair growth. The ideal of seven to eight hours of sleep a night can increase your rate of hair growth per month.
- Practice good skin hygiene and care. Skincare is important for blood circulation. A good cleansing regime means exfoliating away dead skin which may block hair follicles and cause ingrown hairs. Make sure to moisturize every time you exfoliate to keep your hair and skin healthy.
What About the Patchy Beard?
When you start to grow your beard out, you may find that there are small areas where hair won’t grow. Everyone has areas of their beard that grow thinner. These are likely caused by your genetic background.
If you want your patchy beard to look great, don’t shave these spots. It won’t make the hair grow back and thicker or faster. Instead, give your beard time to fill in. The longer your beard gets, the more even it will look.
What Causes a Patchy Beard?
Uneven growth is a given, particularly for those who want to wear a full beard. No beard grows in an ideally uniform pattern or at a uniform length.
Some patchiness is unavoidable. There is no way to grow hair follicles where they aren’t already. If there’s a spot where your beard won’t grow, you’ll likely find yourself be stuck with that pattern. At least until you grow older.
Do Beard Patches Fill-In?
Your beard and patches may fill in as you grow older since beards tend to grow fuller and coarser as men age. If you tried to grow a beard when you were younger and found it unsatisfactory, you might give it another try as you age. Beards often thicken in a man’s mid-to late-twenties.
How to Fix a Patchy Beard
Allow your beard to grow for at least four to six weeks before trimming it. This will tell you a lot about your personal growth patterns, including what your full beard growth looks like. This will help you to work with the hair you do have to find your best style.
Once you know the extent of your beard growth, even it out using a beard trimmer or clippers. This will make the non-uniform growth less obvious.
If the patches in your beard aren’t growing in, consider letting the rest of your beard grow long enough that it will cover these bare patches. Then, style the beard according to your particular growth patterns, highlighting its best and thickest growth.
If your beard patchiness isn’t filling in even with length, it can benefit you to trim it shorter. You don’t need to be completely clean-shaven. You could try a long stubble style, consider a strong mustache, or style a goatee.
Furthermore, whatever beard you have, take care of it with oils and conditioning so that it’s always looking its best.
Conclusion
Many men wonder how long it takes to grow their ideal beard. While the actual timing varies for every person, there are a few measures you can take to ensure a quick-growing and thick beard, including consuming healthy proteins, exercising, and catching up on your sleep.
