How to Grow a Thicker Beard
You can’t help but take notice of the influx of men in various forms of media with thick, luscious beards. They’re everywhere: on television, on YouTube, in movies, and in sports. There’s a good reason for that, too. Big, well-groomed beards are eye-catching and masculine and they look great on just about every guy. There’s no denying that thick, full beards are in, but what if you can’t seem to grow one?
Despite the fact that filled-out beards seem to be everywhere, it’s common for men to struggle with growing a bushy mane and you might be surprised to find out that some of those men with glorious whiskers had to work to grow them. While it’s true that patchy beards can be genetic, there are tips and tricks that beardsmen all over the world use to achieve that full, healthy beard despite struggling with slow growth or patchiness.
In this guide, we’ll go over some of the best of these tips on how to grow a thicker beard. You’ll learn what to avoid, best practices, and what to expect so that, with time and commitment, you can achieve that glorious mane you’ve always wanted.
What Makes a Beard Thick?
The first step to achieving that thick, luscious beard you’re after, is understanding what contributes to a beard’s thick appearance. There are several factors to consider, each of them having the potential to make your beard appear thicker, fuller, and less patchy. These factors include:
Factors that Impact Your Beard Growth
Your beard and its growth can be impacted by a number of different variables. Some of them are easy to change with a few simple lifestyle changes, while others are more concrete and there isn’t much we can do about them. However, making those simple changes will give your mane its best chance for consistent, healthy growth. Here are the factors that contribute to your beard growth.
Genetics
The one factor that has the biggest influence on how your beard grows is genetics. A great indicator of the type of beard you’ll be able to grow is to look back to your lineage. If your dad could sprout a gloriously thick mane, chances are you’ll be able to as well. Some beardsmen are lucky, having been born with all the good beard genes: fast, dense, and even growth. If that’s not you, though, don’t fret. The beardsman who lacks the optimal genetics for a full beard can often make up for it using the tips below.
Testosterone
Every molecule in your body is affected in one way or another by hormones and, in men, the hormone that has the most power over your beard is testosterone. Testosterone is an androgen, which means it’s a sex hormone known to help trigger puberty. Androgens are responsible for more hair during puberty as well as continued hair multiplication for many years after puberty. Testosterone can actually awaken more follicles and increase the size of the strands of hair that grow on your face. Men with lower testosterone production might find their beard contains finer hairs that grow in a more patchy pattern, while those who have a higher testosterone production will often have thick, dense beards.
Age
Your hair is in a constant cycle of growth, rest, and shedding. However, when we age, sometimes hair follicles stop producing hair after old strands of hair are shed. This can result in the thinning out of your beard and the hair on your head. You may find that it becomes more challenging to grow a thick beard as the years go by. Younger men may also struggle to grow a full beard as some of their follicles may not be active yet.
Daily Habits
Like most other aspects of your health, your lifestyle choices will have an impact on how easily your hair grows.
Your diet can either slow growth or promote it, depending on what you’re eating. A diet rich in vitamins A, C, D, and E, zinc, B vitamins, iron, biotin, protein, and essential fatty acids will help ensure your beard grows, while a diet high in saturated fats, processed carbs, and sugar can slow down the rate of growth in your beard.
Exercise gets the blood flowing, which helps to deliver more nutrients and oxygen to the various tissues in the body, including your hair follicles. Even just exercising for a few minutes a day can have a positive impact on your beard and overall health.
Another lifestyle factor to consider is stress. Stress produces cortisol which is a hormone. There is evidence that cortisol may obstruct the follicle’s overall functioning. Meditation, downtime, rest, and exercise can all help lower your stress and cortisol levels.
Your beard needs moisture and a great first step is using a quality beard oil or beard butter to deliver hydration from outside the body. But getting that moisture in your body is just as important, if not more so. Keeping your body hydrated is going to keep your beard hydrated so make sure you’re drinking enough water each day.
Our sleep cycle is a crucial time for hair growth. During sleep, your body produces another hormone called melatonin. Melatonin can actually promote hair growth. Additionally, when your body sleeps, it goes into healing and repair mode sending nutrients to areas of the body that need it most, including underperforming or damaged follicles.
Finally, smoking has a negative impact on every part of our bodies including our facial hair. Smoking is known to damage the follicle’s DNA as well as slow down the flow of blood to the facial hair, reducing the number of nutrients getting to each of your whiskers.
How to Grow a Thicker Beard Faster
If you’re struggling with a patchy beard, there is good news. There are a number of ways that beardsmen can coax a thicker, more evenly growing beard out of their follicles. From changing various lifestyle habits to taking care of your skin, these methods are tried and true and will bring you the best results your genetics will allow. Let’s learn how to promote beard growth.
Be Patient
Growing a beard is a slow process, even for the beardsmen with the biggest, most full-bodied beards. Patience is going to be your number one tool in the process of building out your glorious mane. If you’re in your early twenties or younger, you may still have some formant follicles as well, and the only thing that will trigger them into production is time. So, sit tight and commit to this process for the long haul and you’ll be glad you did.
Focus on Skin Care
Nothing grows hair better than a healthy follicle. Follicles are part of the skin, which means skin care helps to keep everything healthy and in good working order. Dead skin and product build-up around the base of the hair can also prevent normal growth, and a gentle cleanser and source of moisture treatment will prevent this from happening. Our recommendation is to get yourself a good beard care kit to care for the skin and hair together.
Improve Your Diet
A diet rich in vitamins A, C, D, and E, zinc, B vitamins, iron, biotin, protein, and essential fatty acids will help improve beard growth as these are each essential nutrients that a full beard requires. That means lots of lean protein, loads of fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats like avocados and coconut oil. You might even consider a daily supplement to ensure you’re getting the recommended daily dose of each of these nutrients. Food trackers like MyFitnessPal can be a huge help in calculating how much of these nutrients you’re getting in your diet.
Get Good Quality Sleep
Sleep is when melatonin kicks in and can help trigger more hair growth. As such, it’s essential to get a good night’s sleep every night. If you struggle to sleep, consider incorporating more exercise into your daily routine. You might also avoid eating before bed, as well as avoiding anything with caffeine after dinner. Your beard needs that sleep for healthy growth, so if you continue to struggle to get a full night’s sleep, there’s no harm in speaking to your doctor.
Exercise More
Exercise doesn’t just increase the blood flow, delivering more nutrients to the hair follicles in your face. It also helps with many of the other beard growth tips in our list. It can help you get a full night’s sleep. It can help keep the skin healthy (as long as you wash it after exercise). Exercise is also known to reduce stress and it can even help you crave more good nutrition and less processed or junk food. Additionally, hormones produced during and after exercise, such as endorphins, are known to help promote hair growth.
Reduce Stress
As we already learned, stress produces the stress hormone called cortisol which can actually inhibit hair growth and even cause hair loss. There are many ways to reduce stress including meditation, exercise, a healthy social life, downtime and rest, and engaging in hobbies. Always make sure you take time for your mental health.
Trim and Shape Regularly
The longer a hair gets, the weaker and more brittle it becomes. Split ends are more likely to occur in long beards, as well as breakage. Maintain that full look by trimming your beard enough to avoid too much thinning out of the beard at the bottom.
Trimming and shaping your beard is easier with the right tools. Poor quality trimmers, combs, brushes, and clippers can actually cause more damage than they prevent. Find the best affordable beard care tools and learn how to shape a beard from Kingsmen Premium.
Use Beard Oil
Beard oil is your number one weapon against a patchy beard. Good beard oil will be overflowing with nutrients that your whiskers need to grow evenly, acting as a growth treatment. When you apply beard oil daily, ensuring you get that oil down to the follicles, you’re moisturizing the skin and the hair in one. This prevents dry, flaky skin and dead skin build-up around the follicles. The oil also helps to protect each hair from the dirt, dust, and UV light it will be exposed to throughout the day. Your daily beard oil application is essential to a healthy, full beard.
Use Shampoo and Conditioner
Beards are not the same as the hair on your head. Your scalp is thicker and the hair on it grows more densely, resulting in more oil production. As such, your head needs a harsher detergent to get rid of the grease. Your beard on the other hand is located on the delicate skin of your face. A harsh shampoo designed for your scalp is not going to do good things to the skin on your face. Regular hair shampoo will dry out the skin on your face, and eventually leave your whiskers unhappy and unhealthy.
Beard wash or beard shampoo is the answer. Designed to be gentle enough for the skin on your face, beard wash gentles loosens dirt, oil, and product build-up, leaving your mane beautiful and clean, and smelling great. Restore its moisture with beard conditioner immediately following beard wash each time, and you’ll have a happy, healthy beard that is ready and eager to grow more evenly.
How to Get a Fuller Beard with Kingsmen Premium
While much of our beard’s growth is determined by genetics, there are still ways that exist for the committed beardsman on how to grow a beard to coax a fuller beard out of their follicles. From changing what we eat and getting more exercise to the tools and products we use to care for the whiskers we have, there are options out there for how to make your beard thicker.
At Kingsmen Premium, our products are designed with your beard’s health in mind. Each ingredient is carefully chosen to provide your whiskers with the nutrients they need. Each of our products is available in all of our coveted scents, from the noble ambrosia of Holy Grail to the clean, fruity scent of Wizard. Shop our full line of transformative beard care products to maximize your beard growth now.
