my New 1 month challenge.

[DuffRyder17]

So gentlemen I think I am finally ready to grow a beard, on the physically speaking.
I have long wanted a beard, but lacked the capacity to grow one.
I have researched the topic and the general consensus is that a beard will require 4-6 weeks of growth. So I shaved yesterday, and I am not planning on shaving until my classes start Aug 31st.
I have already mentally committed to this plan. but once again your advice is always welcome.

[SultanofSwing86]

I always get a couple of days into growing a beard and end up shaving it off because I'm not happy with it. I guess its just like the shaving where you have to stick with it long enough to get over the hill of not being used to it (and of course actually allowing it to grow out enough).

[slyatlast]

It actually takes a little longer than 30 days for some guys.  Unlike sly domes, not all men are created equal when it comes to beard growth. 

If we were, we'd all wear beards like coltsfan

[Antimidas]

I have rather thin sideburns and bald spots on the cheeks.  The jawline comes in really sparse and curly making it very irritating.  About the only thing I can grow satisfactorily is what is in my pic.  But it works.  I am always jealous of those who can grow the full beard or chinstrap and make it look presentable.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Okay, been waiting for this opportunity--I started mine four times--each time bailing out too early.  First, although it only takes about 15 minutes to be Sly, any good beard is a commitment of at least 3 months.  Don't try to "carve" or define the beard too early--if you only want a goat & moustache, aim very wide, give some room to cut back.  Don't cut AT ALL for ONE MONTH--yep, it's growing not cutting you're dealing w/.  Face it after a week or two--the itching is or can be intense.  Depending on your beard density, it may look ratty for a month, even two--2 was where I began to get good remarks---sad but true.  At three months unless you have a density that would indicate you're having to shave where most people would consider it --Sorry and Thanks for the information Mr. Slyhigh and new father--you can really start to get an appreciation of what you have to work w/.  On the up side, if you're losing your hair in mpb, you probably have the density at some level to grow some nice face fungus. The same hormones that cause your scalp to smooth, cause your beard to be dense in many cases.
It's an interesting trip--and I found for my personal purpose it balanced my face IMO, the dome can be a pretty--and good looking--overwhelming presence.  Have fun--it's only hair, and if you have mpb it's probably the best hair in the sense of quantity and quality that you can produce.

[Antimidas]

I have given mine a whole winter before and nada.  That sucks!  It looks just as bad at day 120 as at day 7.  But it was warm enough that when I shaved it, I damn near froze my chin off.  I am content with the goat though.  It helps define the chin above what nature "blessed" me with and keeps it nice and snuggly.  And the women don't seem to mind.

[PeripheralxMvmnt]

if you can make it through the itching for the first 2-3 weeks, you can make it through anything else that comes with growing a beard.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I disagree a bit on doing nothing during the first 30 days.  One time I grew a beard I decided to let everything grow for a week before doing anything and I found that it was pretty obvious that I had no need for some of those hairs because they were so out of bounds.  I had a few hairs up near my eyes and a patch halfway down to my chest!  I recommend cutting a neckline and cheeklines after a few days, but cut off as few hairs as possible in order to make it look clean, after that live with it for a few days or a week and then trim off a little more.  Then after another few days do a little more...etc, until you get what you want. 

You should also start trimming off the hairs after 2 or 3 weeks because hair grows at irregular rates.  Do this even if you want the beard to be longer.  Just set your clippers to a length that only cuts the longest hairs.  Doing this will let you keep the hairs at more of a consistent length as they all grow out.   


I couldn't imagine going 6 weeks without doing anything, I don't have anything close to the thickest beard in the world but hair still grows about a half inch a month and irregular, sprawling regions of hair could look very messy after a few weeks.

[DuffRyder17]

I hear ya Rusty...
It will probably look and feel ridiculous.
however I am committed to not shaving until Aug 31st when my classes begin.
{unless I am prompted to by my boss.}

[D.A.L.U.I.]

I think you've made the right decision.  You might also want to take a look at the beard growing advice in Beards.org.  The site heavily favors full beards, but also covers goats, etc. in pretty good detail. 
Good luck, the itching is probably the worst part but it does end, it really does.

[DuffRyder17]

I think you've made the right decision.  You might also want to take a look at the beard growing advice in Beards.org.  The site heavily favors full beards, but also covers goats, etc. in pretty good detail. 
Good luck, the itching is probably the worst part but it does end, it really does.

Thanks saintc.
I actually already visited that site, it has alot of good info as well as a huge picture gallery.

[marty22]

a goatee sounds interesting for u there, Duff.

[nomad]

I don't get the itching unless I try to grow the ZZ Top. I don't have any problems as long as I keep it short. Your growth is just gonna depend on you everybody has different growing abilities, but if you want the beard ya gotta let it grow for what ever it takes to come in full.

[shaved]

Growing a beard takes time and paitance, and you will get a bit itchy for a while but if you work through that then your face gets used to it, But give it more like 10-12 weeks and see how it grows then cut it to desired length and shape, I think you would suit a goatee type style, Many young guys have the very thin light goatee and looks good on them.

But is best to gro a beard in the cooler months as many give up because of sweat etc in warm weather, or grow one when on holiday as you can let your self go and usually dont worry to much about personal grooming.
Buy your self a decent beard trimmer with differant clip on thickness combs if you do grow a beard ,as these make it easy to keep it trimmed and tidy.
But good luck with it and hope it grows well for you

[Antimidas]

I agree with everyone's advice on here.  If I want length, I find an attachment that is just short enough to trim the longer hairs to even things up and make it look neat.  My personal choice is the Philips Norelco G370 because it has all of the attachments for trimming any length of hair and for "edging" really close.  It even includes the ear/nose attachment which I find I need more and more as I approach 40.  And the set us under $20 at Walmart.  They have a G480 for under $30 that looks like it would have more attachments.  The drawback is that they are not wet/dry.

For wet/dry, I have the Philips BG2030.  It is not as versatile with the attachments, but sufficient for trimming your beard or anything below the neck.  And the comb attachments seem to glide through my beard a bit better to trim those stray long hairs.  Overall the G370 is still better because it has narrower heads and is perfect for shaping.