Beard frustration... feeling self conscious. Should I shave?

[Daven]

Ok, so I said in another post that in the hot AZ summers I sport a Van Dyke. In the cold AZ winters (insert laugh here) I grow it out to a full beard.  This is my first wither sly. I did it anyway BUT am not happy. Between the gray, white and for some reason, patches, it does not look good to me.

HONEST opinions please. Should I shave down to a Van Dyke again?  Thanks.

[marty22]

it's fine!

[Krimson]

i would stay with the van dyke

[TheSlyBear]

I don't think that you're giving it enough time.

[Acme]

I think the full beard [will] look(s) good but like Bear said, it may need more time.  You probably already know if it's going to fill in the way you want it to or not.  I love that intense stare in the 2nd picture

[Razor X]

I think it looks good.  I think it suits you better than the Van Dyke. 

[Sly Red]

Keep the beard.  In fact, grow it out longer and gauge your lobes another 2mm 

Red

[sailor61]

Keep the beard but trim it.  For some reason it's coming in unevenly - trim the whole thing back to a short length and let the slower parts catch up a bit with the longer.

[Paul the Headblader]

IMO, it looks awesome!
I'd really like to be able to grow a beard:D
I will, soon, though:d

[mrzed]

Guys with very dark hair seem to grow in their beards more quickly than those of us with more blonde beards.  Give it some time. Too soon to judge the 'spots' that you 'complain' about.

I like the look. I think the full beard looks excellent on you.

[buddha]

Keep the beard but trim it.  For some reason it's coming in unevenly - trim the whole thing back to a short length and let the slower parts catch up a bit with the longer.

This sounds like a good idea. The other thing I thought of was shaving the cheeks, leave the sideburns and the jawline about the same width to the goatee.

[Slynito]

I liked the top photo, but suggest you trim a better outline...more definition.

[seanmil666]

I think the beard look is great on you (makes the face look trimmer and jawline more defined on you).
I would avoid trimming and give it more time.
Check out www.beards.org for lots of good advice.

Also the goatee on razor is looking awesome with the different tones.

[mangosink12572]

Keep the beard  - -give it some time - - - -   and keep it trimmed   

It looks good on you

[foodfor4]

Ok, so I said in another post that in the hot AZ summers I sport a Van Dyke. In the cold AZ winters (insert laugh here) I grow it out to a full beard.  This is my first wither sly. I did it anyway BUT am not happy. Between the gray, white and for some reason, patches, it does not look good to me.

HONEST opinions please. Should I shave down to a Van Dyke again?  Thanks.

I think that the beard looks great on you. As most need to give the sly look the 30 days rule why not give your beard the same. Keep it trimmed and let it even out. I envy you, I wish I could grow a beard, but sadly am completly unable too