Just let it grow? It’s not that easy! Follow our tips and you will soon be rewarded with a magnificent full beard
What separates a good beard from a great beard is the shape; it should accentuate the jawline and make it appear more square. And while genes determine how quickly and how thick your beard grows, there are a few steps every man can take to ensure his beard looks great at the end of the journey, whether it lasts 2, 3 or four months:
The first few weeks: Stop shaving
Yes, that’s obvious. But if you’ve ever tried growing a beard (and failed), you know that not shaving isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds.
Most men don’t struggle with impatience but rather with the “side effects” of a new beard: The hair stings quite a bit at first and can cause skin irritation. And even if your beard looks patchy at the beginning, it’s worth sticking with it: as the hair gets longer, the gaps close (visually). Try to last 2 months. Then the beard looks quite full and the initial aches and pains subside. Sometimes beard rollers also stimulate your beard growth.
From now on, every day: relieve the itching with beard oil
A beard oil nourishes the skin under the beard, which is particularly interesting for men who are starting to grow a beard because it relieves the itching that some people experience until the facial skin gets used to the new splendor.
It is very easy to use: rub 2-3 drops into the palms of your hands, run it through your beard, and massage it into your skin and beard hair. It is best done twice a day, in the morning and evening. We can recommend these oils to you:
Buying tip: It’s best to get a beard oil based on argan, grape seed, or jojoba oil. These oils are absorbed particularly quickly and do not leave the hair with a greasy shine. Stay away from heavily scented care creams, as they can clog your pores and make itching even worse.
Brush your beard regularly
Just as combing your hair is part of your daily morning ritual, your beard should also be brushed every day. This way you can hide any gaps in your beard and immediately see whether the beard hair has grown evenly or whether it might need to be trimmed again soon. It’s best not to use a comb, but a brush.
Beard combs pull on the hair too much. This is useful for shaping a mustache but not intended for detangling the entire beard. If you’re unlucky, you’ll end up pulling out some of the hair you’ve laboriously grown.
Much gentler: a special barber brush with natural bristles. Brushing with it also stimulates blood circulation, which gives the hair optimal growth conditions.
Just trim the contours weekly
Yes, you should let it grow first. But not shaving for two months is not recommended either. If you grow a beard out of nowhere and let your hair grow the same length all around, it will initially make your face appear rounder instead of more prominent. And nobody wants that. Many men, therefore, give up breeding and resort to razors. The beard just needs some shape.
The easiest way to create more contour in your beard is to look straight into the mirror and trim only the hair that is now visible below your chin with a trimmer—without lifting your head. So shave from about halfway up the Adam’s apple.
Clean your new beard properly every day
Just because you can no longer see the skin under a beard doesn’t mean you should stop caring for it. Because the better your skin is, the healthier your beard will grow. The best way to clean your beard is with your daily shower. But please don’t use shower gel, as that would dry out the beard hair and quickly make it look brittle.
Better: wash with a mild beard shampoo and use a scrub once a week to loosen dead skin cells that get caught between the hairs.
By the way, just like for your hair, there is also a conditioner for your beard. A beard conditioner makes the rough hair a little softer, so it doesn’t scratch as much and is easier to style later. Simply massage a small amount into your still-damp beard, rinse, and you’re done. When drying, please do not rub too hard with a towel or blow-dry with hot water; both of these damage your beard hair. And only detangle with a brush when it is dry. Otherwise, the beard hairs can break.
See: The coolest beard hairstyles of celebrities
Style your beard instead of cutting it
Especially in the early stages, when your beard doesn’t have a professional cut yet, it can quickly stand out strangely and look unkempt and not cool. Instead of trimming it yourself, you should get a beard styling cream. You can rub it in your hands like hair wax. Then use flat hands and the beard brush to create the sides. Then pluck the hair on your upper lip and chin into shape.
Never just trim yourself in between
You are welcome to clean the contours of your beard during the growing phase. But you should never trim the “inside” yourself. If you use the trimming attachment of your electric razor, you will trim everything back to a uniform stubble length and the beard should ultimately get a distinctive shape that (unfortunately) only a barber can achieve. So go professional!
After 2 months off to the barber
When your beard reaches about 2–3 cm in length, it needs a decent trim. You definitely shouldn’t take this into your own hands, because now it’s time to pave the shape for the future: a distinctive contour. Only a professional can do that.
A barber can also trick the length on the sides so that the beard fits your face shape and flatters you. Either way, the hair on the sides should be shorter than on the chin, also so that the beard blends well into your sideburns and thus into your hairstyle.
A good beard trim will last up to 3 months if you do your homework.
This means (only) shaving the specified contours once a week, washing thoroughly every day, and caring for the hair with oil and a brush.
It can take months to achieve your #beardgoals. And this time can be annoying. You will probably often think about simply shaving off your beard.
But it’s worth persevering: The first few months are the most maintenance-intensive, and over time, it becomes more and more relaxed for beard wearers. Then it’s just a matter of maintaining the status quo with a little care.
