How to Grow a Beard – Top Tips from Leading Barbers

On the surface, the secret to growing a great beard seems pretty obvious – you just stop shaving. In the real world however things don’t always work out quite so black and white, as while some men will find it easy to grow the beard of their dreams seemingly in a matter of days, other have no luck after weeks, months or sometimes years.

Of course, the problem in some instances is that those affected are just naturally predisposed not to be able to grow beards – in which case there’s very little that can be done other than to call in the professionals. Treatments are very much available and wholly more effective than they used to be, but more often than not it isn’t wholly necessary to take such drastic steps.

So, with those in mind with the very real potential to grow a beard though desperately in need of a little direction, here’s a quick look at the top five tips to bear in mind from the experts at EnvyBeards.com:

1 – Start With the Skin

First of all, you cannot expect to grow yourself a proud beard unless you first have the healthy and well looked-after skin needed for the stuff to grow out of in the first place. If your skin is damaged and unhealthy, so too will be your beard. Worse still, once your beard really starts growing in you’ll find it harder and harder to treat your skin to the kind of TLC you should have given it before getting started. So, for the sake of the greater good…that being your greater good…be sure to get your skin in good condition before getting started.

2 – Ignore the Itch

At some point between smooth skin and beardy bliss, you’ll find yourself struggling with what can only be described as the mother of all itches. This is the point at which the men are well and truly separated from the boys, proving to be the point at which the vast majority of men give up and reach for the razor. The key here is not to lose sight of your goal and to remember that contrary to popular belief, this kind of itching is temporary. All you need to do is brave it out, keep your skin in top condition and keep the faith until the itch subsides…which it will.

3 – Stave Off the Trimming

Over the first month or so, the best advice is to always let nature take its course and to allow your beard to grow however the hell it wants with no heavy-handed trimming on your part. This may present you with a slightly more ‘rough and rugged’ look that you were going for, but again it’s just a temporary measure to get things started on the right foot. Let it do what it wants for a while and then you can take out the scissors and start giving it the kind of shape you’re looking for.

4 – Quality Products

It might sound a little strange, but just as is the case with your hair you cannot expect to grow a wonderfully strong and full beard unless you give it what it needs. This means investing in the very best oils and conditioners you can get your hands on and using them on a regular basis. Not only will this add strength and shine to your beard, but will also give the skin below the best chance of remaining as strong and healthy as possible. And as was mentioned above, you simply cannot expect to grow a good beard unless your skin is as healthy as can be!

5 – Avoid Aftershave

You won’t of course be shaving, but at the same time you should do your best to stay away from both aftershave and any other facial products that are loaded with alcohol. The reason being that alcohol will do nothing but damage each and every hair of your beard increasing the likelihood of it falling out or ceasing growing properly.

6 – Good Grooming

Last but not least, there’s much to be said for good grooming in general so if you find yourself growing a beard that’s rather too tangled and in some cases becoming matted, giving it the occasional brush may well be a good idea. It might sound and feel a little on the silly side at first, but you’ll be glad you made the effort when you’re ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with your true beardy brethren.