How long does it take to grow a beard?

“Wow! How long have you grown that for!? How long did it take for you to grow that beard?” That’s actually a question I’ve heard quite often. Mostly by intoxicated younger men, but they tend to be pretty much honest when they’re drunk, haha!

I was with a friend on a cruise a few months back, (before all of this Covid-stuff), and I and my also very bearded friend were stalked by two guys for a few hours. It later revealed itself that they have been curious about our beards, and wanted to praise us for them, and also if we could give them any helpful advice on their own beards.

To answer the time it takes to grow a beard, it’s very hard to give an exact answer. Many factors go into the general health of your beard and also your growth rate. For example, my beard has always grown insanely fast. If I were to clean shave in the morning, I would have some stubble by the end of the day. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

But enough of that, let’s break down the general facts:

The average beard grows about 1-1,5cm per month. However your beard will grow more sometimes, and less sometimes.

Most men (and I can relate to this) will have their biggest beard growth from about when you turn 25 to about 35. As I’m closing in on 35, this somewhat scares me. We’ll see if I’m lucky enough to keep my beard at this thickness even later in life.

How fast your beard grows really depends on a number of factors, for example; ethnicity, age, and your overall genetics.

Beards, in general, will never grow longer than six years of accumulated growth. However If you have six years of beard worth, your probably not reading this post 🙂
Also, there are studies that show that the average beard will grow to about 90 centimeters if you left doing nothing with it.

It will take about 2 – 4months to grow a full beard. However, as stated above this varies from person to person. Talking from my own experience.

Let’s discuss a bit…

“So how long does it really take Rikard, give me a straight answer.” The simple answer to that question is that it takes about 2 – 4 months for most of us to grow a significant beard. However, as we talked about before genetics and ethnicity play a significant role in our beard growth.

You have a few stages for your beard. Your first week will be stubble-heaven when you progress from a cheese-greater to a sleeker feeling (your partner will not appreciate the cheese grater btw).

The simple option you have is to put down your razor and just ignoring it. Easier said than done. I would recommend you to actually book a barbers appointment in about 4 weeks time from when you start. Then you have something to look forward to, and also a goal, which makes it easier to stay off that razor.

Don’t shave it!

You will enter several emotional states when growing a beard. The one we’re probably all afraid of is the beard-itch-stage. It occurs thankfully pretty early on in the process. And I like to think that this separates the boys from the men. If you can endure you will be granted a glorious beard. If not. Well, sorry 🙂

There is help to get for beard itching. Like for example beard oils. It works wonders for your skin.

When buying a beard oil, be sure to buy one that does not cost just a dollar. Those oils tend to be diluted and they do not offer the same quality as a few of the more expensive ones.

The need to be patient when growing a beard. This may be the hardest part for people nowadays. To be honest there is no need to even think about shaving something before you get into the phase where you actually can sculpt your beard with a trimmer.

With all this being said. You need to trim your neckbeard during this stage. all below your Adam’s apple is a good reference.
DO NOT SHAVE UP TO YOUR JAW. If you do, please stop 1-2 centimeters below your jawline. This is a classic rookie mistake.

Main factors that can affect your beard growth

• Genetics
  Often you can look to your dad or grandfather to see a glimpse of what you are to become. Most often I’ve seen that you tend to look more like your gramps than your father, in terms of hair that is. However this is no guarantee, but only an indicator.
  
• Age
  We’ve discussed earlier that between 25 and 35 is the optimal time for your beard growth, however, this is really generalizing and will not be true for everyone.
  
• Ethnicity
  This will probably factor in to some degree. If we take Caucasian men for example (which is my category) we tend to have pretty thick facial hair. But if I compare myself to my Asian friends they have a harder time growing a full thick beard. African-American men also may find it difficult to grow a full-length beard. However, this is obviously not true in every single case.
  
• Exercise
  There are many health factors that encourage exercise and wellness. You should really get your cardio in, both in terms of hair-quality but also to help mitigate cardiovascular diseases which is quite common in men.
  It also helps to increase testosterone levels, and that is the primary fuel for your beard!
  
• Diet
  You need to get vitamin-rich food in your diet. A. B, C, and E can help to enhance your beard. You also need a lot of protein if you wish to further enhance your beard growth. For example fish, chicken, and salmon are good sources of meat protein.
  
  Get in the habit of eating fruits and vegetables in every meal. That will help you get a daily dose of much-needed vitamins, but it will also help in your general well-being as well.
  
• Sleep and stress
  As being a father of two, I can only dream of a good night’s sleep at this point.
  A lack of sleep often leads to stress, and stress is really bad if you’re trying to grow a beard. It affects your immune system, and a lowered immune system means less hair growth.
  You probably need about 8 – 9 hours of sleep each day to help promote a healthy immune system.
  Also when you’re sleeping your body cools down and that leads to easier blood circulation, which leads to fuller hair!
  
• Smoking
  Not really going to address this as much. Smoking is bad for you. Smoking is bad for your heart and lungs; and also your beard. Plus, you’re in the danger of putting yourself on fire with that soon-to-be glorious beard.. 😉
  
• Last but definitely not least, Testosterone
  Testosterone really promotes beard growth. This is because it’s our basic male hormone. Testosterone regulates red blood cells, fertility, fat, muscle mass.
  Generally speaking, men with high amounts of testosterone can grow a thicker, longer beard than other men.
  We’ve talked a bit about DHT in previous posts. and that is something called dihydrotestosterone. Which is somewhat linked to male pattern baldness as well, (check links down at the post..). However, DHT isn’t all that bad. It helps give men their typical manly attributes, which in my opinion is a pretty good thing.
  
  So in my case, I probably have a high level of testosterone, which means a high level of DHT. I have a thick beard, but my hair is really starting to thin out. So it seems you’re less likely to have the one without the other. Ying and Yang some might even say. But hey, even with no hair, you can still look fabulous!
  

If you made it this far you probably have come to the conclusion that there is no simple answer to the initial question. There are quite frankly too many variables to give one answer for all.

What about supplements?

Supplements have never really been scientifically proven to work towards beard growth. However, beard thickness and dormant follicles are stimulated by getting vitamin D in your diet. Also, vitamin B-12 and biotin have been known to strengthen your hair.

Atop of this, we’ve discusses previously that you need to:

• Excercise
• Eat right
• Rest up
• Don’t smoke

I would recommend you also starting to use some kind of beard moisturizer. Being it beard oil, beard balm, or any other conditioner. I’ve discussed the differences in this article.

A good start kit can be found in the link below

What have you learned?

To sum it up, growing a full beard takes time. A lot of time. But that time is different for every single man, and there is no silver bullet to be used in this case. However, there are things you can do to speed it up and set yourself up for the best conditions. Be sure to eat right, exercise, beard oils and consider using supplements to boost your growth.

But you do need to pass the test and stay committed to the growing process. This, as I mentioned before, separates the boys, from the men.

So, where are you in your beard journey? Let me know in the comments!