It is incredibly rare for a man to be totally unable to grow a beard. This begs the question: why do so many men think they cannot grow a beard? The largest culprits are misinformation, improper growing support & a lack of patience.   

There are a few easy changes that you can make to grow your beard faster, thicker, and better than ever before. 

First, know that you have a beard growing potential based on age and genetics. Think of this like a restrictor plate that dictates the maximum rate or thickness that your beard will be able to grow. No force but time (your age) will alter this rate. But the good news is that very few men consume a diet or have the grooming habits that allow their beard to grow at its maximum rate. 

Your objective on this front is to put the right nutrients into place for your face forest to blossom to the best of its ability. 

If in-depth research to the anatomy of hair growth isn’t on your weekend to-do list, then a beard support vitamin will be the most effective way to achieve your maximum growth rate. Regularly taking the beard vitamin of your choice fills in any nutritional gaps that may affect facial hair growth.

Once you have the nutrients in place, you want to avoid anything that subtracts from your maximum beard growing potential. This would includes unnecessary trimming that shortens hairs and unnecessary roughness that pulls out hairs. Every hair you trim sets you back from your goal of a thick, healthy beard. Trimming is a sacrifice of long term growing potential to superficially and short-sightedly alter your beard’s shape in the present. The best method to shape your beard involves no trimming. 

The best looking beards require a strong commitment. Every time you bring a trimmer near your face it invites primping and preening that directly contradicts your commitment to a long-standing, powerful beard. Habitually bringing cutting implements to the boundary of your face forest forces the safe keeping of your beard to the whim of your exhaustible willpower. We want to design out the situation where you would ever have a cutting implement to your beard on a bad beard day or with other frustrations on your mind.  

Even with proper shaping, you must guard against general roughness on the beard. Shampoos with harsh chemicals, vigorous drying, and frustration-filled beard stroking all create an unnecessary loss of beard hair that can limit maximum growth. Develop more gentle grooming habits for your beard.  

The decision to grow a beard is a set and forget endeavor. Now that you have decided to grow a beard, set a simple grooming routine and carry on with your life. Beard oil and a natural shampoo are the cornerstone of a simple, high-quality grooming routine. There are ample sources for beard oil & natural shampoo online. Since you have committed to growing your beard for many months, a subscription service like Dollar Beard Club makes sure the products you need are delivered to your door monthly. I’m a big fan of their oil and shampoo, and their commercials are pretty entertaining too:

If you prefer one time purchases, go for Okamura Farms’ Comfort Beard Oil. It has to be one of my all time favorite scents. It’s simply delightful. 

One of the most common issues faced by new beard growers is the beard itch phase. One of the most beneficial uses of beard oil, then, is its ability to sooth beard itch. If you are suffering through beard itch, apply beard oil daily to the skin beneath your beard daily until the skin has been able to properly rehydrate.

Another frequent complaint of a would-be-beard grower is patchiness. Patchiness is a hoax. It’s a lack of patience. What appears patchy at 3 months can be totally concealed as early as 6 months by facial hair that has been given the opportunity to grow unhindered at its maximum rate. If the “attempt” to grow a beard that lead you to believe you were incapable of bearding lasted less than 6 months or occurred before you were 25, try again with more commitment. 

Let nothing stand in the way of your bearded destiny.

Big Beard

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How to Trim a Beard

Those with a weak stomach may want to skip this video of Kristofer Hivju trimming his beard:

But in seriousness, to ask “How to Trim a Beard” would be to miss the point of bearding entirely.

As you learned in my article on beard growth,

“Trimming is a sacrifice of long term growing potential to superficially and short-sightedly alter your beard’s shape in the present.”

What most people seek when growing a beard for length is a way to tame and shape the beard on the way to bearded greatness. Every trim takes you farther from your end goal of a glorious beard. There are simple steps you can take, outlined below, to keep your beard looking presentable as it grows into its full glory.

How to Shape a Beard without Trimming

Developing a simple grooming routine can help shape your beard. The routine doesn’t have to be daily. It can be 3-5 times per week if you prefer.

The Beard Shaping Routine

1. Start with a wash of your beard and skin underneath using a high-quality, all-natural shampoo. My go to shampoo is the one offered by Dollar Beard Club. Their shampoo is one of the main reasons I’m a die hard fan. It’s got a strong manly scent of fir and pine but doesn’t have any harsh chemicals or unnecessary foaming agents.
2. Gently comb your beard while still wet. This can be during your shower or after its complete. It might even be a good idea to do this combing while your conditioner still sits in your beard.
3. At the end of the shower, it is important to towel dry your beard with incredible finesse. Vigorous drying is one of the most costly things you can do to needlessly remove beard hairs and set back your path to a thick and beautiful beard. While drying your beard imagine your facial hair as fresh cut flower that would easily be damaged if dried with brute speed and roughness. A gentle patting motion can be used with towel over hands. This puts no pulling force onto the facial hairs yet still allows for water to be absorbed into the towel. Your beard should still be slightly damp at the end of this step as it allows for tools of the steps to come to have better effect.
4. Apply beard oil to your facial hair and the skin beneath. Use of ample beard oil can eliminate any beard itch you may have. Beard oil helps soften the beard and improve its shapability. The shaping motion you want for your beard sides is to gently slide your open palms down the sides of your face. Repeat this now and with any other products desired. Beard oil isn’t yet available at most locations that sell men’s grooming products, for reasonable prices at least (I’ve seen it sold at $40/ounce at some high end department stores). You can easily make your own beard oil or spend $2/ounce with Dollar Beard Club or $24/ounce with Okumura Farms or Beard Kings etc.
5. If you want to apply mustache wax, now is a good time to insert it into your routine. Scrape a small amount of wax with the back of your thumb and rub with firm pressure between your finger tips until it is soft and warmed up. First time was users rarely get the wax warmed thoroughly, which can lead to a clumpy application. It just takes a little practice.
6. Final step is to comb once again. Alternate rounds of combing and gentle open palm shaping until complete. This is also the time to add in any personalized styling touches or shaping.

And there you have it, the secret to shaping a beard without trimming.

The explanation may be wordy but the process itself is brief once you have the motions down into a routine. There is never a reason to rush your beard grooming. If running short on time, skip a step rather than rush. And, as always, experiment with what works for your beard and let me know what you come up with.

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Beard oil is an essential for the beard of any length because it stomps out beard itch, nourishes maximum growth, and functions as a natural alternative to cologne.

Beard oil is straightforward to make once you have invested in the required ingredients.

The Recipe:

• 1/2 ounce (15 ml) bottle [Container]
• 1 tablespoon sweet almond oil [Base oil]
• 3 drops orange essential oil [Essential oil]
• 2 drops vanilla essential oil [Essential oil]

Combine carrier and essential oils into container. Shake. The end. Your beard oil is ready for use immediate use (allow 24-48 hours for full penetration of essential oil into the carrier oil).

The Ingredients:

• Container
• Base oil
• Essential oil

Container

Any glass vessel of the appropriate size will do. Smaller containers of 1 oz or less are best for your first batches while you experiment with different scent combinations.

You will be rubbing the contents onto your face and beard, which means the investment in a clean and empty container is justifiable. Many natural foods stores have a small selection of glass bottles in this size range. I have seen single containers priced $2-$4 in health stores, which seems steep but may be worth it if you want to complete this project today. Alternately, there are many choices for buying packs of 1/2 ounce (15 ml) bottles or 1/3 ounce (10 ml) bottles on Amazon for less than $1 each ($6-$7 total).

Base Oil

The base oil you select will vary the effect of the beard oil on your skin and hair. Sweet almond oil or grapeseed oil are good, lower-cost choices for skin moisturizing and follicle nourishment. Jojoba oil is slightly more costly but gains praise as an oil that prevents oily skin by inhibiting excess activity in the sebaceous glands. Manufacturers of beard oil often use a mix of carrier oils to gain the benefits from multiple types. The down side of multiple carrier oils for the home mixer is of course the additional upfront cost of buying multiple oils. When I first made my oil, grapeseed was the cheapest on the shelf so I bought it. It worked fine and so has recipes only containing sweet almond oil.

Essential Oil

The essential oils selected must create a scent that is appealing to you but can also vary the effect of the beard oil on your skin and hair. For example, peppermint essential oil can help stimulate blood flow to the roots of your beard hair and facilitate the access to nourishment needed for maximum growth. Lavender and tea tree are other oils with widespread reports of benefits to hair and skin. I used a citrus blend of essential oils for many years simply because the scent was enjoyable. There are many other aromatherapeutic essential oil blends that you could pick from to spice up your beard oil if you want to save on costs of buying individual scents. Essential oils are also available at most health food stores if you want to create your oil immediately or if you simply would like the chance to smell essential oil combinations before buying.

The Costs:

Using the recipe above, it will cost you between $25-$30 to get started hopping at a local health food store. If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you should be able to get the same ingredients and many additional glass containers while staying within this same price range. This startup amount will be enough to make you 4 oz of beard oil, which comes to $6.25-$7.5/ounce.

Because the essential oil will go so far, the cost off creating additional beard oil beyond this first 4 ounces (using the same scent) will be approximately the cost per ounce of your base oil, which can be bought for as little as $5 per 4 oz of grapeseed oil.

Another factor consider in making your own beard oil is the time involved.

If spilling oil all over your bathroom counter while trying to fill tiny bottles isn’t high on your list of desired weekend activities, give the Dollar Beard Club a try. It’s $1 per month, plus shipping and handling, to get their smallest bottle delivered monthly. You can get a larger 2 ounce bottle of their burly fir scented oil for $4.

If you want to treat yo’self to something that is functionally equivalent but a bit more costly, try Okamura Farms’ Comfort Beard Oil, which has a delightfully light and meadow-like, refreshing scent.

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