No Shave November Complete Guide To Growing A Beard (2018)
No Shave November...or as some of the guys call it "Amateur Beard Month", has grown insanely popular over the years.
Now we use the term Amateur Beard Month in the most respectful of ways..in fact, many Beardsmen grew their first beard because of No Shave November. Once they realized how great a beard is, they never looked back! So we look at this month as a way to raise awareness for mens health, and also a great way to recruit new bearded brothers!
The goal of No Shave November is to “grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free” says the organization.
“Donate the money you usually spend on shaving and grooming for a month to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.
For those of you growing your first beard this No Shave November, this guide will cover everything to expect along your way to greatness. There are a few things that you'll experience when growing a beard, and the purpose of this guide to to give you everything you need to overcome what's ahead.
Our brother Nathan has true balls of steel, and he decided to shave his beard to go through the step by step process with you. Nathan hasn't been clean shaven since serving in the army, a decade ago!!
I truly hope after going through this guide, and after a months worth of your beard growth, we'll have convinced you to keep it growing well into next year! Let's get into it...
No Shave November Ultimate Guide
Week 1: Stash the razor
You really should be donating your razors for good in our opinion, as we advise November 1 should be your Beard Independence Day! In this first week there really isn't much to worry about. You'll simply stop shaving and save some much appreciated time in the morning that you would normally waste carving a blade against your face.
One thing Nathan recommends is to use a boar hair brush to help stimulate blood flow to the surface of your face which will help stimulate better beard growth!
If you want a leg up on the competition this month, a guaranteed way to better beard growth is to use a high quality beard growth supplement like Beard Boost. It packs all the known vitamins to help support healthier, fuller and faster beard growth.
What About A Patchy Beard?
A lot of guys decide against a beard because they feel their beard is much to thin or patchy. The truth is, nearly everybody has patches and thin spots in their beard and you'll be shocked as to how much they start to disappear as you get longer beard growth.
Week 2:
After your second week of growing your beard, you may start to feel a bit uncomfortable. Your beard isn't quite a beard yet, but it's starting to get longer than stubble. And why does it itch so bad!?
Beard itch is caused by one simple problem... Extremely dry skin.
Your body produces oil naturally, called sebum oil. Without a beard, your body does a pretty decent job producing enough oil to keep your face moisturized. However, as you start to grow a bead, the hairs actually pull that oil away from your skin leaving your skin very dry. This is what causes beard itch and irritation, as well as flaky beard dandruff if not taken care of.
The solution? Beard Oil.
Beard oil is designed specifically for the skin under your beard, and will moisturize to eliminate the dry itchy irritated skin, while promoting healthier and better beard growth. Everybody who has ever grown a beard can understand the pain of beard itch, and this is one of the primary reasons guys opt to ditch the beard growth and shave it off.
Week 3:
After your third week if you haven't felt the beard itch yet, you will. If you don't want to drive yourself mad and scratch your face all day, throw some oil on before you leave for the day and really make sure you apply it to the skin directly. Here's a video to show you exactly what I mean.
In addition to beard oil, as you get some more length you'll start to get some unruly hairs. Your beard hairs aren't used to being there and at first they'll be a little scraggly. You'll want to start to train these hairs by applying Beard Butter and brushing your beard down with a boar hair brush. As your beard continues to grow, you'll train the hairs to lay down giving your beard a better shape.
Week 4:
At this point your beard is starting to come to shape! As Nathan explains in the video, you'll want to make sure you start to wash your beard every few days with a soap that won't dry your beard and skin out. We recommend an all natural beard wash to give you the deep cleanse you need without damaging your beard and drying out your skin.
The next (and final) step in what we recommend for No Shave November is shaping your beard. Now this is not the easiest thing to do at first, so here's a second example to reference.
And with the beard shape up you are officially at the tail end of No Shave November! And fortunately for you, you're also through the hardest part of growing a beard! The itchy phase is behind you, as is the awkward growth where people aren't sure if you're growing an actual beard or just being lazy.
We really encourage you to keep growing your beard, and we'll be here to answer any questions you have along the way! Contact us anytime, we are always here to help!
Live Bearded!
