What if a beard simply is NOT an option?

[GettingThere13]

Hey, folks!

I haven't gone sly yet, though I know it's an inevitability. Ain't no way I'm going to be one of those comb-over guys.

Anyway, the fact of the matter is, genetically I am pretty unlikely to ever really have thick facial hair. My dad can't grow a full beard (good goatee, though), my uncle has an attempt at a full beard, but you can't see it if you're more than 10 feet away. My uncles on my other side of the family have thin mustaches, and none have ever been able to grow a full beard.

I see so many guys growing out a nicely trimmed beard and it complements the chrome dome SO well! Actually, most bald guys I see are doing a facial hair thing. I'm a bit insecure about this, as I have what's always been referred to as a "baby face," even at the age of 27. I've been working on letting a little bit of stubble come in (obviously it's not perfectly even, but with time, as I let it grow and just trim without actually shaving my face, it's filling in bit by bit).

So, what do ya'll suggest? Should I just go for the all-over shave and rock the baby face? Or should I put some effort into allowing the stubble to become more even with time?

There's also a part of me that's ok with just keeping my hair generally short, and quite literally "owning the balding process" until it becomes totally ridiculous. I see a lot of guys who still look great, even with a clearly thinning top (they just keep it generally cropped short and neat), but even these guys look better with a bit of rugged facial hair.

Damnit, why couldn't I look more rugged?! Haha

[Lith]

Haha. I have issues in this area too. It grows horrible slow and thin on my face.. I stopped cutting it though and gonna try letting it go out for at least 3 months and maybe it'll thicken up then. Most here suggest that. I have earings though which help compliment my bald head (I took the plunge 2-3 weeks ago). I plan on gauging/stretching them a little bit, but not too much.

[alexk15810]

Your other option is to wear a stylish pair of glasses. Even if you have good eyesight naturally, you can have clear lenses put in.

It is becoming very common these days to wear glasses as a fashion accessory. Absolutely nothing strange about it. Famous athletes and other celebrities do this all the time, and probably many people you see in real life are doing this without you even realizing.

[TheSlyBear]

Hmmm, "fashion" glasses seem odd to me. Maybe I'm just an old fart. To each!

Facial hair is, of course, not a necessity. I would not let it stop you from shaving your head. Lots of guys here have smooth faces and look great.

[Razor X]

You just have to go with what you have to work with.  I'm with TheSlyBear on glasses as a fashion accessory.  Glasses are a huge nuisance.  Don't wear them unless you have to.

[Mike E. P.]

I think you're right - some guys do look okay with thinning hair or the horseshoe if it's kept really short and neat.  I think part of that comes from confidence and the way they carry themselves.  I also think there are plenty of clean shaven bald guys who look great.

Try growing a goatee if you want, but don't let the inability to grow a beard keep you from being sly.

[Cave Dweller]

There is no requirement to sport facial hair, glasses, piercings/jewelry or anything else in order to shave your head. If you want to go smooth, then do it.

Simple as that, sir.

[DOC_OSMC]

I'm partial to the bald and bearded look, but even when I had hair on my head, I sported facial hair, whether it was a full goatee or just the sides and chin without the mustache, etc.  I did this simply because I never liked the way I looked without facial hair.

As others have said choose what works for you, don't let it be a deciding factor to go sly or not.  With regard to the beard, if you decided to go that route, let it grow out some.  You'll be surprised at what a little patience will do.  My beard is kinda patchy in some areas but it never stopped me from growing it out.  I've never had a single negative comment made about.  Most like the way it compliments my bald look. 

So go for it!  Experiment and you'll come up with something that's right for you.

We only have one life.  Live life, don't let life live you!

Peace!

[slybeard]

I had a great reply to this post earlier today and kept getting the message that I had been blocked.  So I will try again.

Facial hair is not a requirement for a good looking sly dome.  A lot of good looking sly guys rock a shaved face as well.  Do not let the lack of facial hair deter you from shaving your dome.

The next thing I will address is facial hair.  Everyone develops facial hair at different rates and at 27 I had very little facial hair.

Here are some common mistakes guys trying to grow facial hair make:

1.  Expect instant gratification.  Only a very few fast growers can sport a decent looking beard in 2 to 4 weeks, for most it takes 2 to 3 months.  Don't give up too soon.

2.  Trim too short.  It takes a very thick beard to look good when trimmed to stubble length.  A sparse beard will look better if allowed to get longer, opposite of a thinning dome that looks better buzzed close.

So my advice is to let it grow for three months to see what you can grow, then determine the best style to suite you growth pattern.  There is a slight chance it may be a full beard, but you may fine a good Riker beard (low cheek line), a chin strap, goatee, circle beard, or solo mustache.  Any beard style works with a shaved dome.  Then remember to try again in another year or so to see if you beard has matured in those sparse areas.  At your age I could only grow a mustache.  In my early 30's I could grow a circle beard, and my beard continued to develop until my mid 40's when I first was able to gray a full beard.  It is sparse, but looks OK with some length, not so good trimmed short.

This is my current photo:

[Rusty Shackleford]

Anyway, the fact of the matter is, genetically I am pretty unlikely to ever really have thick facial hair. My dad can't grow a full beard (good goatee, though), my uncle has an attempt at a full beard, but you can't see it if you're more than 10 feet away. My uncles on my other side of the family have thin mustaches, and none have ever been able to grow a full beard.

I see so many guys growing out a nicely trimmed beard and it complements the chrome dome SO well! Actually, most bald guys I see are doing a facial hair thing. I'm a bit insecure about this, as I have what's always been referred to as a "baby face," even at the age of 27. I've been working on letting a little bit of stubble come in (obviously it's not perfectly even, but with time, as I let it grow and just trim without actually shaving my face, it's filling in bit by bit).

Your mileage may vary, but the biggest mistake guys make with facial hair is cutting it too short because that substantially magnifies patchiness, holes, color & density variations, rough texture, skin visibility, and growth angles.  The only benefit is that you'll never have stray hairs sticking out in odd directions.  Honestly the only guys who can pull off stubble are the lucky few with incredible density, but even those guys would look better with a modest 1" in length since a dense stubble beard often look like beard tattoos since there's no length to provide volume.

I always thought I had a mediocre beard that wasn't bad but wasn't anything close to what I wanted, and a big part of that was cluelessness on how to grow a beard.  I usually kept it too short and (when fully bearded) kept the neckline too high so it looked bad.  I had a beard for over a decade before I even started getting a clue.  Through trial and error I now keep most of it at 2"-3" in length and figured out how to trim and brush it.  I used to get "Beard Envy" seeing a guy with an awesome beard because I'd then look at my pathetic attempt.  Now when that happens and I take a look at my beard I realize that some amazing beard really isn't as radically superior to mine as I had thought.  I feel like I can "hold my own" as the expression goes. 

What I'm getting at is that instead of limiting yourself to a length that is bound to forever disappoint, go the opposite way and push beyond the boundary you arbitrarily set for yourself and when you pass it, keep going and hit the next boundary.  At 27 you're probably close to fully developed to give it a shot and actually see what you are capable of doing.  Do it once so that you really know for sure what really is the best style for you.

[Mike E. P.]

Here are some common mistakes guys trying to grow facial hair make:

1.  Expect instant gratification.  Only a very few fast growers can sport a decent looking beard in 2 to 4 weeks, for most it takes 2 to 3 months.  Don't give up too soon.

Thanks for the great advice Rusty and Slybeard.  I had a lot of the same issues Gettingthere has. I couldn't grow a decent beard for years. After reading posts on this site, I gave it a try in October. I think my problem was that instant gratification thing as Slybeard points out.  So at the advice of many of the guys here, I let it grow for longer than I had ever had. And I was pleasantly surprised. What started out looking really spotty in the beginning turned out to look pretty decent at about 7 weeks. It seemed like overnight one night I had a decent beard.

But impatience got me again. It was looking a bit unruly and I tried to trim it when I was in a hurry and made a mess of it. I ended up shaving it all off and regrowing my goatee. I may attempt to grow the beard again, but I need to grow a little more patience and learn to take care of  it!

[greatnessinc]

You'll never know unless you try. I started mine during no shave November, I can't grown a full beard cause the hairs don't grow evenly on my cheeks. I like that the time I used to spend shaving my face has been reduced significantly (I shave my cheeks and neck).

[slybeard]

Looking good Greatnessinc, you are an example of making the best of what you have.  And if you are like me, in a few more years (or maybe many years) those cheeks may just fill in.

[greatnessinc]

I bought some bee wax to put on my beard cause stray hairs drive me crazy.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Here are some common mistakes guys trying to grow facial hair make:

1.  Expect instant gratification.  Only a very few fast growers can sport a decent looking beard in 2 to 4 weeks, for most it takes 2 to 3 months.  Don't give up too soon.

Thanks for the great advice Rusty and Slybeard.  I had a lot of the same issues Gettingthere has. I couldn't grow a decent beard for years. After reading posts on this site, I gave it a try in October. I think my problem was that instant gratification thing as Slybeard points out.  So at the advice of many of the guys here, I let it grow for longer than I had ever had. And I was pleasantly surprised. What started out looking really spotty in the beginning turned out to look pretty decent at about 7 weeks. It seemed like overnight one night I had a decent beard.

When looking at your avatar a person has to wonder how you could have ever thought you couldn't grow a beard since you clearly have the genetics, and it goes to show how failing to understand how to grow one is just as bad as having bad genes.

I also think one of the reasons guys trim the length to nothingness and over-edge the cheeks and neckline is because in just about everything else in life superior results are created through effort, but when growing a beard the opposite is often true because when it comes to hair the most obvious form of effort is cutting it.  I remember with my first beard I wanted to get it right so I bought trimmers and kept edging here and cutting there and looking back it just ruined it.  I was aware of how much it sucked (and eventually returned to a goatee after every beard) but it took years to figure out why it sucked!