How to grow a beard? The single most asked beard related question on the internet...

And since growing and grooming beards are what I do for a living, I'm going to cover everything you need to know how to grow a beard in this article.

You see, here at Live Bearded, we get questions every day about beards. All sorts of questions about better beard growth, trimming and style advice, products and more.

So many so that we thought we would start to answer them ALL in hopes to help more bearded brothers like you who are looking for the answers. And for starters, we figured we would explain the most asked question out there.

How to Grow a Beard

Now, before I get into the details on how to grow a beard, I have to get the obvious out of the way upfront. If you really want to grow a beard, you must first stop shaving. Crazy I know.

Genetics will take over and your body will start to sprout the most glorious newborn baby beard hairs that will soon take over your entire face. If you don't have the best beard genetics and your beard only covers part of your face don't worry, we'll give you some tips to deal with a patchy beard and get better beard growth.

The truth is, learning how to grow a beard isn't really as simple as putting the razor down. Growing your first beard brings up all sorts of new questions (not to mention an entirely different looking you in the mirror week after week). When do I trim? How do I trim? Why does my face itch so dam bad? Why does grandma keep asking me to shave? And more....and more...and more....

For the sake of this article, I'm going to cover the highlights on what you need to know to grow your beard, and what to expect along the way.

If you want the FULL DETAILED write up covering How to Grow a Beard and absolutely everything you need to know from month to month, you can check it out HERE.

Phases of Growing a Beard

When you decide to put the razor down and grow a beard, you are really just making a decision to stop shaving. Growing a beard is natural, your body naturally wants you to have a beard, so good on you! You'll experience a few phases, some more awkward than others...

Initial growth phase

When you first start growing past the five o'clock shadow, you'll start to look a little unkempt. People will start to wonder if you just got back from a vacation or if you're just being lazy. This phase usually is the first few weeks to a month.

There isn't much beard grooming you need to worry about at this point except for one inevitable thing every guy experiences when growing a beard. 

BEARD ITCH.

This painful experience happens to us all, and it's really quite simple. Your skin is dry. Extremely dry actually, which is why it itches so bad and if left alone will start to flake and peel and trust me, that's not a good look.

Your body produces oil naturally to keep your face moisturized, called sebum oil. This oil usually does a good enough job on its own but when you grow a beard, those oils get pulled away from your face leaving it extremely dry. 

This is why Beard Oil exists. Your body can't produce enough oil naturally so by applying beard oil under your beard and onto your skin, you will eliminate the itch and irritation and provide a healthy environment for better beard growth.

When are you going to shave?

If you've never grown a beard, you'll learn that this question does come up from time to time. Initially in the early stages, but usually at least a couple more times later on by certain people in your life. 

Most of the time it's those close to you, family members, usually female and usually only because it's "different" then the way they see you normally. Grandmas and moms often prefer to see their "baby boy" looking like a baby boy with a shaved face. 

I can tell you from my experience, these comments aren't because they don't think you look great with a beard, but rather because it's just different than what they have known in the past. Remind them that change is good, and know that they will come around in no time.

One thing you can do to eliminate the questions and keep your beard looking much more put together is to line up and shape your beard. You can do this as early on in the growth stage as you want, and I recommend it to keep it looking great.

How to line up a beard

When it comes to lining up a beard there are three primary lines you need to consider. The top line, back line, and neckline. All three of these come with their own challenges at first, but they get much easier with time and practice (and good tips!).

How to trim a beard top line

Your top line is probably the easiest to get right. You want to make a line from your sideburn to your mustache and really keep this line as high as naturally possible. Trim only the hairs that grow above the bulk of your beard.

How to trim a beard back line

When it comes to your backline, you want to trim a straight line from the back of your sideburn down to the corner of your beard. Really you are just looking to trim any hairs the grow back towards the back of your neck. Using a hand mirror definitely helps make this a bit easier to do on your own.

How to trim a beard neckline

The neckline is the most commonly gone wrong when trimming your beard. You do not want to trim your beard in on your jawline, but rather a bit lower where your head connects to your neck. By trimming this line in lower, your beard will have a much fuller look and grow in thicker with the additional hairs from your neck.

If you want to see the full examples of this, read the full article of How to Grow a Beard where we cover and show examples of the trimming process.

What you'll learn as you grow your beard

In terms of learning how to grow a beard, the steps I outlined above really do cover what it takes to grow it, or at least get you started. As you get some length going, you'll learn that you need to keep it organized which means you'll have to trim it and find the right beard style and throw some products in to really keep it looking, feeling, smelling and growing great. You'll also need to learn about beard butter as your beard gets a couple of months growth and if you're like me and want to rock a handlebar mustache, you'll need a few tips with that as well!

None of these things are difficult, but if you try to tackle it alone you will make mistakes along the way. We all have. If you're really looking to grow an amazing beard that stands out above the rest, check out our detailed writeup How to Grow a Beard so you can learn even more in detail on the next steps. 

I hope you found this helpful and are encouraged to keep it growing strong. We are here to help along the way so don't hesitate to contact us with any questions. 

Our mission here at Live Bearded is to help Beardsmen look, feel, and be their best, so let us know how we can best support you. 

Live Bearded, Brother!