In order to grow a full, thick beard, goatee or any other beard style, there are some changes you will need to introduce to your day to day lifestyle. If you are looking for faster beard growth also, these changes are essential.
These changes include your nutrition and your daily grooming routine. There are also some lifestyle changes that will need to be made and maintained.
Nutrition Changes Needed
Before we jump into the nutritional changes that are needed, I would like to point out that regardless of your nutrition, your beard will still grow. That being said, this article is based on how to get faster beard growth, which is why nutrition is at the top of our tips.
Nutrition plays a big part in better beard growth because of the science behind it. So whether this is your first attempt at growing a beard or you currently sport a beard but you want more growth, the science behind nutrition will certainly benefit you.
It isn't a secret that our bodies supply nourishment to all parts of our bodies, including our hair follicles. If we supply our bodies with healthy foods, our bodies will break down these foods and deliver the nutrients to different parts of our body.
Let's say we snacked on some nuts, which are a good source of biotin (a compound that is known to improve hair growth.) Our bodies will break down the proteins, carbs and fats from the nuts and deliver the nutrients to our hair follicles.
Biotin which is also known as vitamin B7, will help increase the growth rate of your hair as well as strengthen it as it grows. This will help towards a healthier and fuller looking beard. There are plenty of choices when it comes to biotin rich foods, some you may already eat daily. These foods include nuts, seeds, eggs, avocado, sweet potatoes, broccoli.
If you decide to add more biotin rich foods into your diet, please be sure to add it to a well-balanced diet.
Here is a list of more biotin rich foods...Biotin rich foods
Another compound that is linked with faster hair growth is Keratin. Keratin is an important building-block for healthier hair and faster growth. You can easily boost your keratin intake naturally by eating a well-balanced diet which includes foods such as eggs, sweet potatoes, salmon, kale and sunflower seeds.
Keratin and biotin can be taken in a supplement form. Just please consult your doctor before you take any supplement.
It is essential to stay hydrated, water plays a major role not just in beard growth but in every function of our body. Water plays a big part in the growth process of our facial hair and it also plays a vital role in keeping the skin beneath our beards hydrated. But if you are not fully hydrated, hydrating our hair follicles or the skin beneath our beards will not be on our body's priority list.
Lifestyle Changes
Stress is a major factor that will slow beard growth. When we are stressed our bodies release a hormone called Cortisol.
Cortisol does two negative things to our bodies, it reduces testosterone that contributes largely to beard growth and it also restricts the supply of nutrients to the hair follicles.
Therefore, managing your stress levels is vital if you want faster beard growth. Of course we know that lowering your stress levels is not easy, but we would like to highlight 3 lifestyle changes that have the potential to help you manage your stress. Nutrition is one way, which we have already covered. Therefore, I would like to talk about the other two ways which is improved sleep and exercise.
Sleep
When we sleep, that's when our bodies heal, repair and grow. The suggested sleep time is between 7-9 hours every night. I know from my own experience that finding the time to sleep a full 7-9 hours a night is next to impossible, when we live busy lifestyles. Myself, everyday was non-stop, walk the dogs, work, gym, wife time, look after the kids and make sure they are fed, bathed, done their homework and so on. Some of you reading this article, may relate to this.
There is however a way to better your sleep overtime. I started reducing my activities that were not essential and organised myself better, which gave me more time for myself and lowered my stress levels. I also set myself a bedtime routine which was tough at the beginning, but got better overtime.
So I would encourage you to look at your lifestyle and find ways that work for you.
Exercise
Exercise provides amazing benefits not just for our bodies but also our minds. If you are feeling stressed, exercise is a great and healthy way of letting out some frustrations and stress. If we lower our stress levels, we will allow a better flow of nutrients to our hair follicles which like I have already mentioned, links to faster beard growth.
Exercise also increases our testosterone levels which play a huge part in our beard growth. You may remember back in school, there was always that one boy who looked like a yeti at the age of 14. Why? because his testosterone levels due to puberty were a lot higher than our own.
Another good reason why exercise is good for beard growth is because testosterone also increases blood flow to our hair follicles.
If you can try to incorporate some form of exercise into your daily life, you will create a healthier body and mind, reduce your stress levels and increase your beards growth.
Change Your Grooming Routine
Now we have covered the internal ways for faster beard growth, now let's take a look at the external ways, largely being your grooming routine.
1. Better Grooming Products
The first thing you need to do is stop using bar soap and/or shampoos on your beard. These products remove the good natural oils that are important for beard growth and they also cause dryness to your facial hairs and skin which causes your beard growth to slow down.
Instead you should opt for a natural beard wash. Beard washes are designed specially for your facial hair. Beard Beasts plant-based beard wash for example is designed to remove all the dirt, grime, dead skin cells etc from your beard, but provide hydration and softness to your beard.
When growing a beard, the health of the skin beneath the beard is very important. If the skin beneath the beard is unhealthy, your beards growth will slow down a lot. Therefore, investing in an all natural beard oil is a must.
Beard oils are designed to supply the skin under your beard with moisture and nutrients which will create an healthy environment which will lead to healthier and faster beard growth. I advise that you check out the benefits of using beard oil so that you can have a better understanding of why beard oil can help you.
2. Let Your Beard Grow
If you have already chosen a beard style, you still want to let your beard grow without touching it for several weeks. You can clean your edges, but don't be tempted to touch the rest. Even if your facial hairs start growing over your lips, resist the temptation for a little while.
(If you want to learn how to grow stubble the right way we have an article full of great information on that subject.)
These few weeks are frustrating for many men because they suffer from patchiness in their beard growth efforts. This is the reason we suggest you do not trim your beard for several weeks and just let it grow, because after a few weeks, you'll be able to cover the patchy area's better.
If you suffer from patchiness, an all natural beard balm may be worth investing in, as it can make your beard hairs a little fuller and enable you to cover your patchiness better. Learning what the beard balm benefits are would be a good idea before purchasing a beard balm as well as learning how to use beard balm.
I will warn you, in the first 6 weeks of growing a beard you will experience a very annoying beard itch. This happens because your facial hair tips are sharp and they irritate the skin below. Therefore, if you are asking yourself "why does my beard itch", that is most likely the reason.
The way you can help relieve this itch is by applying a beard oil to the skin beneath the beard, at least once a day. After a few weeks, this itch will gradually pass.
You may also notice as you grow your beard, that your facial hairs become rough feeling. You should look into how to make your beard soft if this happens to you, as no one likes a rough beard.
3. Choose Your Beard Style
If you are about to start your beard journey, then you should look and select a beard style you wish to sport. If you are seeking a beard style that is considered long then you need to know it will be a long process and you'll experience different stages.
(we have an article showcasing the best beard styles which you may find useful.)
One thing I would like to stress is, don't select a beard style just because someone else looks good with it. You need to take into consideration a few things first, your hair type (straight or curly), your facial hair thickness and your face shape.
If you starting your beard journey without any experience on growing a beard, we always recommend that you grow your beard out for 4 - 6 weeks, then take a trip to your local barber shop for a trim. You will be new to trimming your beard, so you don't want to make any mistakes.
By going to your local barbershop, you can watch how the barber shapes and trims your beard and ask them questions. A barber will also be able to give you some advice on beard styles given they can see what you are working with.
4. Beard Grooming Products And Tools Are Your Best Friend
They are many different beard grooming products and tools you should look at. A razor for shaping is a must. A beard comb and/or brush plus a beard trimmer are also very helpful tools to have.
We recommend that you start with a premium beard oil first when you start to grow a beard, this way, you reduce the chance of experiencing beard itch in weeks 2-4 and you encourage healthy growth. As your beard gets longer you may experience an unruly beard. If this happens you may wish to switch to a natural beard balm.
As your beard gets longer, you may notice white flakes in your beard, if this is the case then you should look into how to get rid of beard dandruff as it can slow your beard growth.
And that's a wrap. We hope you enjoyed this article on faster beard growth and that is was filled with value. We always aim to provide the best information for our audience.
