How to Grow a Beard: A Beginner's Guide

The colder seasons are a perfect time to make an excuse to grow a beard. In case you need one, it keeps you warmer when those blustery winds start blowing. However, there are many guys that never grow a beard, and why might that be? Well, they just don’t know how.

At face value, a beard is easy for some men because they just grow, but for others, the itching and trimming can be a challenge. Just because you’re a lumberjack doesn’t mean you need to look like you haven’t showered in a month. Here are some tips and tricks to make it a bit easier.

1. Get a Good Beard Oil

Beard oil is a fantastic tool for growing and maintaining your manly mane. It helps with the itch, which is probably the worst thing about growing a beard. Beard oil not only nourishes your beard, but it’s mainly for the skin under your beard. It’s a moisturizer that keeps your skin from drying out and makes the hair feel like you’re dancing on a cloud.

Not just any beard oil will do, but you need one with quality ingredients, such as Dapper Yankee’s beard oil with ostrich oil, which isn’t cheap, but it works far better than other things we have tried. That stuff on Amazon just doesn’t cut it if you want a beard that will make the gods envious. Throw on some Dapper Yankee beard balm to get even more protection, and a bit of hold as well.

2. Beard Growth Products Rarely Work

I am sure you have seen vitamins and serums that promise beard growth. While they can make a minor impact on beard growth, they simply don’t live up to the hype. It mostly comes down to genes, but you grow it out and some of the patches might be covered by thicker hairs, or they may grow out on their own. There isn’t a standard answer for everyone. If you are concerned about your beard growth, maybe you can ask a dermatologist if there is anything that can be done.

Eating a balanced diet may help. Your hair needs vitamins to grow and be healthy. Not feeding your body what it needs is a good way to have it not function properly. I would advise speaking to a dietitian if you don’t know where to start with your diet. Keep in mind that a registered dietitian is different than a nutritionist. They are food scientists and know their stuff. If you have ever been in the hospital, the food they give you is scheduled by a dietitian to cater to your condition. However, don’t be afraid of them, they aren’t going to suggest that you eat hospital food.

3. Uneven Growth

Just like your normal hair, beards can grow to be uneven. You do need to trim them every once in a while. Also, sometimes trimming them slightly can cut off dead ends and make it grow faster. If you don’t want to do it yourself, barbers can do it for you. Just be sure to tip!

Once you get it to the length that you want, it’s much easier to keep it that way. Don’t fret about it not growing in sync, that’s just how it works for some people, and it’s totally normal. Just tuck away some stragglers with a beard balm until you get that fresh cut.

4. Don’t Wash Often

Beards have natural oils in them. Washing too often may result in a beard that is stripped and dried out. Just like the hair on your head, beards shouldn’t be washed daily. I wash mine around twice per week and it seems to work well.

However, if you work a dirty job, then it might be good for you to wash it daily, but make sure to follow up with a good beard oil, or else you might end up with a dry, itchy beard, and no one wants that. It may also cause “beardruff,” or dandruff in your beard from the skin beneath it drying out. You can minimize that with Dapper Yankee’s beard wash. It’s a lightly herbal-scented elixir that won’t dry you out or strip your glorious beard.

5. Don’t Use Shampoo

Shampoo is made for hair, so I don’t need to buy a beard wash, right? Wrong. There are specially formulated beard washes and conditioners for a reason. It’s because the pH is different and beard oil nourishes the skin underneath, which requires different ingredients.

Alternatively, don’t use beard wash in your hair. It might work in a pinch, but doing this often will not work well for your hair long term. You wouldn’t put normal unleaded fuel in a Porsche, would you? I know gas is expensive, but you take care of nice things. Your beard and hair are no different. Give yourself the best.

6. Tough it Out

While there are products that aid in reducing itching, you still may experience it. You just need to tough it out. It will stop once it grows out a bit. It’s totally worth it.

You may experience this more in the cold and wind, since these conditions are favorable for dry skin. So, during the winter, you may want to apply some beard oil to it just before heading out to make snowmen with the kids, or for yourself. We don’t judge here.

7. Brush it, Bro

Yes, beards can get tangled. If it gets too tangled, this can be a painful experience. As soon as you feel that your beard is long enough, give it a daily brush. There would be nothing worse than growing your mighty mane, then having to start over because it’s tangled and you had to shave it off or pulled some hair out while brushing.

Also, a heated brush may help. My beard is quite curly, so it straightens it out, so it looks much longer. Just be careful not to go too hot. Read the instructions for the device that you purchase. Burnt beards don’t even smell good at a campfire.

Conclusion

There are many steps that you can take to nourish your beard while it grows and make it easier. Just don’t fall for gimmicks. If it feels like it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Magic fixes aren’t for people that aren’t wizards or witches.

Keep at it. Beards are in, so let’s keep riding the trend and showing the ladies how nice a beard can be without looking like a beggar. Cleanliness is key to making it work, just make sure to shower with our soap as well. A beard is no good without a clean body as well. Soap is an actual magic fix for body odor, so we should embrace it while Christian cooks up a new potion in his cauldron.