HOW TO GROW A BEARD LIKE A BOSS

There are many paths to beard enlightenment and at NIVEA MEN, we've decided to boil them down in a compact grooming guide for you. Genetics is a significant factor in how to grow a beard growth but testosterone levels, diet, stress levels and rest can all influence beard growth. This grooming guide is here to teach you how to grow a beard and maintain it.

A beginner’s guide in how to grow a beard

When it comes to learning about how to grow a beard there are many questions that men have. How long does it take to grow a beard? Why can't I grow a beard? Why do some people's beards grow quicker than others? What can I do to stimulate beard growth? How do I look after my beard? How do I style my beard? The list of beard themed questions goes on and on. Luckily, we are here to answer them, so at the end of this article you will know how to grow a beard like a boss.

Skincare for bearded men

Much like building a house, when you want to grow a beard you need to start with the foundations: the skin. Growing and maintaining a beard requires a lot of skin care, cleansing should be the foundation of your beard care routine.

To best stimulate beard growth you should begin and end each day by washing your face. NIVEA MEN Protect & Care Deep Cleansing Face Wash uses aloe vera and pro-vitamin B5 to remove impurities, cleaning the skin underneath your luscious facial locks. Another aid to stimulate beard growth is to keep it clean. Just like the hair on your head, NIVEA MEN Active Clean Shampoo helps clean your beard (and beneath your beard) without drying it out. Afterwards, wash your face with a splash of cold water, then pat dry to prevent beard frizz and give your beard a brush.

Exfoliating cleanses the skin, removing dead skin cells and oil, allowing for better beard growth. Exfoliators like NIVEA MEN Protect & Care Exfoliating Scrub are great for cleaning pores. The scrub refines and smooths skin by removing dead skin while the aloe vera and pro-vitamin B5 reinforces the skin's natural barrier. Make sure to reach the skin underneath where your beard is growing for a thorough clean.

To keep your skin looking healthy, remember to moisturise. NIVEA MEN has a wide array of moisturisers to keep your skin healthy and hydrated. NIVEA MEN Protect & Care Rehydrating Moisturiser is designed to regenerate your skin after shaving, helping prevent skin from drying out.

how to grow a beard

The beginning of beard growth

So you've now learnt how to care for the foundation of where your beard will grow from, it's time to learn the first step in actual beard growth. It is important to realise that at this stage the biggest obstacle for beard growth is time: most men can grow a beard much bushier than they realise, as when the hairs are given time to grow they thicken out. It takes perseverance to power on through the patchy early stages of beard growth to reach the luscious lumberjack phase. We recommend that you go through the early stages of beard growth when you have a week or two off work as you will probably look scruffy. We also recommend that you do not attempt to grow a full beard until you know that hair grows fairly evenly across the regions of your face where you would like to grow a beard.

Prior to letting the hairs begin to grow you are going to want to fully prepare your face for beard growth. Do this by wet shaving every day for a week, whilst washing your face both morning and night every day with an exfoliating scrub, ensuring you apply a post shave balm such as NIVEA MEN Protect & Care 2 Phase Post Shave Lotion after each shave. Wet shaving each day will help to stimulate the hair follicles, which in turn will stimulate beard growth. This will also ensure that you are starting with an even length (or should we say non-length) all over your face.

How to grow a beard

Shape the beard growth

It may be tempting to go full Castaway and let your beard hair grow all over your face at will. The difference though between a scraggly nomad beard and an strongly styled beard is the shaping. By this we mean taking control of the perimeter areas of growth - the neck and cheek lines. Even in the early stages this is important as it will help to define the overall style of your beard.

You can shave these areas with your razor as normal, however if you would like a particularly sharp look it would be best to use a beard stencil as this will give clearer beard definition. Just like the rest of manscaping your body hair, shaping will keep you looking well groomed and can give you a confidence boost.

how to trim your beard

Trimming your beard as it grows

Trimming your beard to remove split/loose ends often helps keep your beard looking clean and healthy. You should trim your beard even if you're trying to grow it to keep it healthy and well groomed, or else you may end up looking like Forrest Gump running across America. You should also trim your beard if you are trying to grow stubble.

We recommend using a beard trimmer for a more even cut and scissors to detail. These are the recommended steps for how to trim your beard:

1. Comb it all out so all the hairs are settled in the same direction and are not matted.
2. Follow the contours of your face. It’s also a good idea to keep your beard comb handy so that you can comb as you trim your beard to check all hairs are being cut to the same level.
3. The general rule of thumb is to place two fingers on your Adam’s apple and use the position of your top finger as the marker for your neckline. Trim below this line, fading your cheek and neckline into the main beard.
4. To complete the look and finish off your neckline trimming, shave a u-shape on each side of your face from behind the ears, to behind the jawline.
5. Clean up any stray hairs from your beard using scissors.
6. Follow up with NIVEA MEN Post Shave Balm and apply liberally to reduce redness and tightness after shaving and trimming.

Beard growth tips

How long does it take to grow a beard?

If you're thinking about starting to grow a beard you are probably wondering how long it is going to take. To grow a full beard it usually takes around 2 months, although it can possibly take much longer.

The fact is beard growth and how fast your beard will grow is largely based on genetics. Average hair growth is approximately 0.5 inches a month - although as you are probably aware, just like the hair on your head, some people's grows a lot faster than others. So how fast and thick beard hair is going to grow varies person to person, however there are a few things you can do to help your beard grow quicker and longer which we will now discuss.

Beard growth tips

BEARD GROWTH AND HORMONES

The higher your testosterone levels, the more likely you'll be able to grow a proud mane of hair. However, it should be noted that higher levels of testosterone can result in acne or hair loss. Testosterone levels also vary with age, which can also be a factor in growing a beard faster.

If your next thought was “OK great, but how do I increase my testosterone levels?” We've got you covered. Your testosterone levels peak 48 hours after lifting weights, the harder you train, the higher your testosterone levels. So not only will you have a glorious new beard on display, but you'll also be a bit closer to that Arnold Schwarzenegger body.

Beard growth tips

BEARD GROWTH AND VITAMINS

If you want to grow a beard faster, you're going to need to provide your body with the nutrients it needs. There are many vitamins that lead to greater facial hair production, so get that diet in check and think about stepping up your supplement game. A balanced diet including meat, fish, eggs, and nuts will all work to up your beard growing potential. Several vitamins, including Vitamin E and a laundry list of B vitamins, both of which can be found in most meats, dairy, and leafy greens, will also promote growth. It probably wouldn't hurt to get a multi-vitamin in the mix as well, so stock up.

Beard Itch Tips

Itchy beard tips

Chances are you're going to experience a bit of an itchy beard stage, but don't sweat it, it's only temporary. In those first couple weeks you'll want to take extra care to keep it clean - NIVEA MEN Deep Face & Beard Wash works great for that, leaving a soft and smooth beard & skin feeling. Anti-dandruff shampoo also works well to minimize itching, use a facial moisturizer incase of dry skin under your beard, and if worse comes to worse, a little aloe vera never hurts.

While hardly exhaustive, following these simple tips will have you well on your way to growing a gorgeous man mane. Good luck, budding beardsman.