How fast does facial hair grow, and can you speed up beard growth?

Smiling man with a trim beard. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s time that you decided to do it; you finally decided to join the ranks of actors, musicians, and style icons who rock the flawless beard look. But, you have hesitancy. There is something slightly holding you back from fully committing. You fear that it will take too long, let alone having to endure some of the awkward stages of growing one out.

Contents

How fast does facial hair grow?
Does shaving help grow a beard?
How to grow a beard fast

So how long will you have to wait for your facial hair to grow out? Many factors affect beard growth, such as age, ethnicity, genes, and even lifestyle — so there’s no one answer to that tricky question. But a few lifestyle changes can help influence facial hair growth and get you to obtain the beard you’ve always wanted, as quickly as possible.

Man combing his beard. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

How fast does facial hair grow?

Facial hair grows at about one-quarter of an inch a month. While your body does have ways of governing the maximum length of different types of body hair, all of your hair grows at roughly the same rate.

Man shaving with shaving cream and razor — PeopleImages / Getty Images

Does shaving help grow a beard?

No, shaving doesn’t help grow a beard. In addition to what we’ve already explained above about this myth, some people believe that shaving helps grow a beard because the hair may appear thicker and darker when it first grows back. However, this is only because the newly grown hair has blunt tips, which makes it feel coarser. The hair will eventually return to its normal thickness and color as it continues to grow.

Regardless of when or how you shave, your facial hair will always grow at approximately the same rate: about one-quarter of an inch per month. There’s no evidence that shaving has any effect on hair thickness.

Your shaving method can play mind games with you, too. Higher-end razors with multi-blade designs lift your facial hair before slicing it, resulting in a deep shave that means new growth of your freshly shorn hairs will take longer to become visible since they will start from much closer to the surface of your skin.

The same happens if you use a standard double-blade razor and shave multiple times in a row to get a perfectly smooth shave. A single-pass shave with a traditional razor or a beard trimmer will result in a more shallow shave, meaning the new growth starting from the cut ends are already a bit past the surface of your skin. Hence, these shaving methods make your beard appear to fill in again more quickly.

How to grow a beard fast

Man putting beard oil on his beard. — Parilov / Shutterstock

If you’re trying to grow a beard, the best thing you can do is to be patient and give your beard time to grow the one-quarter of an inch per month. There are no magic potions or pills that can make your beard grow faster or thicker. However, there are some things you can do to support beard growth, such as:

Eating a healthy diet
Getting enough sleep
Exercising regularly
Managing stress
Keeping your skin clean and moisturized
Using a beard oil or balm

Below are tips that go into more detail on some of the things on the list above.

1. Pamper your face fuzz

A smooth, fluffy beard is a thing of pure beauty, but let’s get real for a second: Even the most well-maintained beard lives a rough life. Besides acting as a loyal crumb-catcher (even when you wish it wouldn’t), your beard sits proudly on your jaw, soaking in all the sunlight, dust, dirt, heat, cold, spittle, and other elements you encounter daily. You probably wouldn’t ignore taking care of the hair on your head or the sensitive skin on your face, so why should your facial hair be any different? If you want to touch up your chin curtain, there’s just no way around it — you need to care for it properly.

Beard oils contain ingredients that condition your beard, protect the skin underneath, and leave you looking downright classy. If you live in a particularly cold or dry environment, it’s a good idea to upgrade from beard oil to beard balm, which typically contains beeswax for extra conditioning and protection. Keeping your beard squeaky clean helps the hair stay strong and healthy, so you’d be wise to freshen up between washes. If you’re a ramblin’ man, consider picking up some beard wipes to keep those whiskers tidy while you’re on the go.

2. Up your protein intake

One of the best things you can do to help your chances of growing competition-worthy scruff is to eat a diet high in protein. The outer layer of your hair is made mainly of keratin, and eating foods high in protein, such as nuts, meat, and eggs, boost the production and strengthening of keratin. This means your beard won’t just gain some girth. It will be stronger (and shinier!) too.

3. Work hard and rest hard

Regular exercise increases blood flow, and proper sleep gives your body a chance to recharge at the end of the day. Both help ensure that the systems responsible for hair growth and strength keep running smoothly.

While improving your beard may not be as easy as a quick shave, these tips (and a little TLC) will enhance the health of your facial hair and have you on your way from dud to DaVinci in no time.