How To Grow A Beard: Fundamental to Actionable Guide

Despite the flood of grooming products, “How to grow a beard faster” remains one of the top questions for young men. So this article is my determined effort to bring a solution to this question.

You must have already gone through how age, genetics among other uncontrollable things affect your beard growth. All of that BS is sadly not in the scope of this article. We focus only on the things we have control over. And that’s precisely the essence of Stoic philosophy that great souls like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, and many others have endeavoured to teach us. You look after the things you can change, and the rest falls into place.

That said, this article aims to address all your queries about beard growth, to help you figure which practices best suits you. Because, something that worked for others might not work for you. So equip yourself with knowledge – to take better action. In other words, read through!

How Long does it take to Grow a Beard?

All in all it might take anywhere between 2-4 months to grow a beard. For some people it might take less than that & more for others, all depending of various factors, discussed below in detail.

But before exploring the factors that help you grow a beard, let’s first review the 3 phases of growing hair. Understanding the fundamentals shields you from being swayed by myths.

Hair growth divides in 3 phases – Anagen -> Catagen -> Telogen

Anagen – This phase is where the hair follicles are producing new hair. This stage can last for several years, where the hair shaft forms and grows on repeat.
Catagen – In this phase the hair follicle shrinks and stops receiving blood, resulting in a temporary halt in hair growth. Being a transitional phase between Anagen and Telogen, it lasts only for a few weeks.
Telogen – It’s the final stage of hair growth. Here, hair follicles are in a resting state, and no new hair grows. This phase lasts for weeks to months, until new hair pushes out the old hair.

The crucial takeaway here is that the hair growth process is cyclical, not linear. Which means that fluctuation in hair density, texture and appearance is natural. The best thing to do to grow a beard faster is to not concern about this organic process of growing and shedding. And to allow your cells the necessary time to produce new hair follicles.

Factors Influencing Faster Beard Growth

Going through the following list you might notice most things are inter-related. That’s because all these tips to grow a beard are, in-fact, also well-being tips.
That said, I recommend you not to jot down this stuff & implement everything in your life. You’re a man. If you’re determined enough to grow a beard, you will definitely grow one. But that doesn’t translate to making it your life purpose and altering your complete lifestyle to promote it.

Keep it simple. One step at a time. Make good habits not a goal, but a way of life. As said before, these tips are not only to help you grow beard faster, but also your improve wellbeing.

1) Testosterone boosts beard growth

Testosterone is the backbone of a man. Ergo its significant role in helping you grow a beard is not so surprising.

Testosterone influences the Anagen phase of hair growth cycle. It contributes to production of sebum, an oily substance responsible for lubrication as well as nourishment of facial hair. The development of hair follicles is also stimulated by testosterone. And along with stimulation, it also triggers the activation of androgen receptors in hair follicles.

What’s surprising tho is that testosterone affects androgen receptors relatively, not quantitatively. Meaning, it’s the surge in testosterone responsible more than the quantity. That’s the reason why beard first starts to appear when we hit puberty. Even if you are way past your puberty phase, you can still do a lot of things to improve your testosterone levels.
According to MU, the top 4 tangible factors influencing your T-levels are :

2) Optimal Nutrition to grow a beard

Nutrients are the building blocks of a healthy body’s functioning. From forming the hair follicles to nourishing them, nutrition plays a big role. Various vitamins & minerals mentioned below play their specific role in the development of a beard. And these nutrients are not found in any kind of junk you eat. So it’s important that you source those nutrients either from whole foods or high quality supplements & avoid highly processed foods.

Here are the 5 top nutrients (& their sources) which help you grow a beard on autopilot.

Vitamin B7 (AKA Biotin)– Most important vitamin for beard growth. B7 plays a crucial role in synthesis of Keratin, the world famous hair growth protein. Found in Eggs, Nuts, Legumes (Dal), Seeds.
Vitamin D– Helps stimulate hair follicles & regulate Testosterone levels essential to grow a beard. Present in Dairy products, Fish, Egg Yolks.
Vitamin B3 (AKA Niacin)– Very helpful in enhancing blood circulation along with cell repair & regeneration. It also helps in moisture retention of skin. Meat (chicken, tuna, salmon, pork), Green peas, Peanuts & Dairy products are rich in vit B3.
Zinc– Apart from production of testosterone, Zinc aids in maintaining healthy hair follicles. Consume Oysters, Lentils, Red Meat, Chickpeas & Lentils to boost zinc intake.
Protein– Provides necessary building blocks for hair growth & repair. Most commonly found in meat, Eggs, Lentils, Dairy products & Beans.

It’s important to have a balanced diet, consisting of all essential nutrients. So here are some foods containing many (if not all) of the top 5 nutrients which helps you grow a beard faster.

Red meat

Lamb, pork, mutton

Poultry

Eggs, Chicken

Sea Food

Tuna, Salmon

Nuts

Brazil nuts, Macadamia nuts,
Walnuts

Legumes & pulses

Lentils(Dal), Chickpeas,Oats, Barley, Beans

Citrus Fruits

Oranges, Lemons

3) Gut Health for beard health

When addressing how to grow a beard, gut health is perhaps the most overlooked factor. Maintaining good gut health aids in proper nutrient absorption, the building blocks of beard hair growth. It also plays a vital role in regulating inflammation throughout the body. And that’s very crucial as high inflammation impacts hair follicle health and hinder beard growth process. Gut health also has a huge impact on your testosterone levels, which directly affect the hair follicles on your face.

The functioning of our body & brain significantly relies on gut flora, as it influences not only digestion but also immune function, hormone regulation, and even mood. Therefore, prioritizing gut health can have far-reaching benefits beyond beard growth.

Maintaining optimal gut health in itself is a very lengthy topic, given the huge impact it has. Hence, in the context of this article, maintaining good gut health is broken down into 5 key points.

Quality sleep– Total sleep duration varies among individuals, averaging around 7 hours. Though what’s more important is the quality of that sleep. Which translates to uninterrupted, restful sleep.
Diet– Incorporating high fibre and fermented foods into your daily diet is essential. This results in the growth of live beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Physical activity– Adding just 30 minutes of physical activity daily. Even a simple 30 minute walk has a significant impact on your digestive health.
Avoid antibiotics– This doesn’t mean skip painkillers when you have a screw stuck in your head. Minimise. Avoid when unnecessary.
Avoid processed foods– Although, availability of fresh whole foods can be a challenge sometimes. So even if you have to, consume only those processed foods having less than 4-5 ingredients & avoid items with an ingredient list as depicted below.

Processed foods ingredients — Ingredients list

Adhering to just these 5 points can have a significant impact on your Gut Integrity. This will in-turn help you grow a beard faster, fuller & thicker.

4) Sleep helps you grow a beard

Sleep is the best natural remedy for your body, and in-turn beard growth. Apart from helping regulate hormones, testosterone & DHT, sleep also affects growth of beard hair directly.

When you sleep, your body goes in repair mode, rebuilding cells throughout your body. These cells include the hair follicles. Keratin synthesis also ramps up during sleep, providing strength and structure to beard hair.

Apart from that, blood circulation is significantly improved during sleep. This increased blood flow allows for essential nutrients delivered to your hair follicles. Lastly, restful sleep is important to reduce unnecessary stress, creating a more favourable environment for faster beard growth.

That said, it’s important to understand that the quality of sleep is equally, if not more, essential than the amount of sleep. So, here are a list of actionable things which can actually help you improve your sleep quality:

Regularity- Establish a routine for bedtime and waking up every day.
Temperature- Set a cold environment for favourable sleep. Ideally around 18-19 °C
Lighting- Embrace darkness at bedtime. Keep your room lights dim or warm.
Regulated caffeine and alcohol intake. It’s equally important to time them.

5) Grooming tips for beard growth

A lengthy skin care routine is definitely associated with our lovely opposites, women. No arguments over there. But that doesn’t mean hygiene should also be out of the door.

Getting your body rid of dirt is not a gender specific task. It’s our responsibility to keep the body, that God gifted us with, clean and fresh. That said, it doesn’t mean to have a bath every time you sweat. You take a shower at the start of your day, all you need to incorporate in your life is a cleaning when you day ends.

It’s even more important for your beard, which is exposed to dirt, sunlight and what not thought the day. The beard can grow itself faster once you take responsibility of its cleaning.
Include these 3 tips in your evening shower & make way for a faster beard growth.

Clean your beard with a good quality soap or beard shampoo. This helps you get rid of anything that is about to block your hair follicles.
Apply oil (preferably a good beard oil) on the beard scalp. This helps your beard with the moisture it needs for a favourable growth environment.
Brush your beard. It has many benefits apart from shaping your beard.

Apart from this if you have spare time and unused mental bandwidth, you can use a derma roller every 2-3 days to open up new and unclog old hair follicles. You can also use a beard oil to speed up the process of beard growth & tackle problems like a patchy beard with specially designed oils.

Summary

High testosterone, optimal nutrition, well-functioning gut, quality sleep, and grooming. Optimising for these 5 factors can help you grow a beard faster, on autopilot.

That being said, none of these steps would help if you lack one thing – patience, & overlook another thing – stress.

The reason a full, thick beard is so attractive, and also considered a reflection of one’s personality, is because it shows the dedication one puts into developing it. So if you want a beard worth flaunting, you need to give 0 f-ks about how it looks during the growth phase and give it the time it needs to transition into its next phase.
Equally important is to understand that beard growth is a phase of life, not its purpose. Avoid doing things that might help you grow a beard, if they cause you stress to do so. Relax and let your highly capable body do its work, while you focus on what actually serves your purpose.

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FAQ

If you really have to know, these things do affect beard growth in some ways. Although what’s important to understand is that it mostly affects those who lack patience and, more importantly, the belief in their ability to grow a beard. So don’t waste your energy on things you can’t change & start focusing on things you can.

No, shaving does not help beard growth. During the process of beard growth, it’s important to keep trimmers and razors away & give the hair follicles freedom to grow. It’s not gonna look good initially but it’s absolutely necessary to overcome the urge of shaving if you want to grow a beard worth having.