When it comes to growing a beard and mustache, men are not in the position to choose whether they want it or not. But because we live in a society where hairy chins and cheeks are intertwined with its perception of manliness, a handful of men have embarked on the quest to grow long beards and mustaches, hence the need for effective and professional tips.
In this article, you will find the most effective and professional tips to grow the beards and mustache you so desire, taking you from ‘baby face’ to becoming the Moses of our time within a short period. Here, you will also find the best and most common mustache styles of the present day.
Below are the best tips to grow a long beard and mustache.
Tips for growing a long beard and mustache
Time is Required to Grow a Beard and Mustache
Beards and mustaches take time to grow. Cheating your way around this is impossible, and many guys give up on their quest just a few weeks into their journey. Do NOT be one of those guys.
Furthermore, understanding how facial hair grows will help maximize the odds of growing a long beard and mustache.
Generally, growing a full beard takes 2 – 4 months. This is because beards grow at a pace of 0.3 to 0.5 mm per day. On average, that’s half an inch in a month.
Before making up your mind on whether to quit, it will be fair enough to give yourself at least 60 days to grow a beard and choose any mustache styles in existence. Consider any decision made before the 60-day mark a hasty one. By day 30, you should already have an idea of the nature of beard-growing genetics you have, and after the 60 days, you should be certain of it.
Beards and mustaches often look sparse and patchy during the first few months of growth – this is normal and should be expected. After a few months, those gaps will no longer be noticeable. The patches eventually become less visible as your beard and mustache grow, covering up the parts of your chin and cheeks with lesser hair-producing follicles.
Quit Shaving your Beards and Mustache
You cannot grow a beard and hope to someday flex several mustache styles when you keep cutting them off every time you get the chance to. Put down the razor or electric trimmer if you hope to someday look like Hugh Jackman from Xmen.
Shaving does not in any way make your beard and mustache grow fuller, faster, and thicker. This idea is nothing but an old myth and needs to be debunked, as there is no evidence in the present day that supports such claims. If you are among those persons who shave their beards with the hopes of them coming out faster, stronger, and fuller, you are only hindering the progression of your beard growth journey.
Age and genetics are the only factors that determine a person’s ability to grow a beard, nothing else.
Around the age of 13 is when men begin to develop facial hair. Although we can find some kids in middle school with full beards, typically, men from age 25 to 35 have the fastest rate of beard growth. This rate tends to deplete as men grow older.
While men are responsible for the mustache styles they keep, genes are responsible for how a person’s beard behaves. Although your beard and mustache may not turn out to be a carbon copy of your father’s, grandfather’s, or great-grandfather’s, their color(s), coarseness, terminal length, and texture are the product of your ancestors.
Cautiously Set the Edges of your Beard and Mustache
Because beards and mustaches need boundaries, cautiously setting the edges as they grow is essential, at least during the first few months. You can start setting the cheek lines, necklines of your beard, and the edges of your mustache (first select a style from the many mustache styles available) once you reach the 30-day mark or a few days later.
Trimming the edges of your beard after the first few months makes it look like you are intentionally growing them.
Setting the edges of your beard and mustache will require trimming the neckline, cheeks line, and the edges of your sideburns and training the mustache. Below is a breakdown of how to do so.
Trimming your NeckLine
You may begin to grow some neck hair just above the Adam’s apple after the first month of growing your beard and mustache. Having your neck scruff go on a rampage isn’t going to earn you any style points. The same goes for your mustache. Although the likes of Brad Pitt, Adam Levine, and David Beckham can get away with thick hair migrating down their neck, trimming yours to the point where the neck and head meet will earn you more style points and a good look.
Follow the steps below to execute a clean and safe shave at the neckline.
- Get hold of a razor or an electric beard trimmer
- Determine your neckline by horizontally placing your middle and index finger (join them together) on your neck and at the top of your Adam’s apple. Your neckline should be at the point where your index finger lands.
- Using your razor or electric trimmer, start trimming downwards from your neckline.
- Also, trim the outer edges by starting from the outer side of your sideburns, then straight and downwards.
- Get rid of all the hair below your neckline.
Be careful when trimming your neckline to avoid trimming it too high. You can keep a high neckline if you intend on keeping a short beard and a low neckline for a full beard. Having a full beard with a low neckline will have you looking like Spanish moss.
Trimming your Cheek Lines
Trimming the cheek lines has to do with personal preference. It is a decision not everyone must make, and that’s fine. Identifying the cheek line is not always that easy as they are usually the slowest to grow, hence the need to allow yourself plenty of time to see where the lines are. A good rule is to keep your cheek lines higher than where you think it is supposed to be. Maintaining a low cheek line will look as if you have a neck beard or chain strap. Allow your beard and mustache to grow for at least 3 months before trimming the facial hair migrating towards your nose and eyes.
Follow the steps below to trim your cheek lines.
- Get hold of a razor or an electric beard trimmer
- The point at which the front edge of your sideburns and cheek beards converge is where you are expected to make a line from and then down to the bottom corner of your lips. This is known as a guideline.
- Getting a beard-shaping tool online can help you effectively trim the edges.
- Get rid of any facial air outside of this guideline.
In situations where you end up trimming one side of your beard lower than the other, they’ll be no cause for alarm, as you don’t have to start growing your beard from the beginning. All you’ll have to do is make the other side as low as the other and then patiently wait for both sides to grow again.
Train Your Mustache, Not Trim Them
The mistake a lot of guys make is to trim the mustache. It is okay to trim as a way of styling them after selecting from the list of mustache styles presented by your stylist. But if you do want a full-grown mustache, then you have to stop trimming them. Instead, get you a mustache wax and start training them at an early stage to keep them away from reaching your mouth.
Below is a list of the most common mustache styles we have today.
- The Dallas mustache style – one of the most confident mustache styles.
- The natural mustache – one of the easiest short mustache styles.
- Handlebar mustache – one of the best 19th-century mustache styles.
- Pencil-thin mustache – arguably the best mustache style for thin hair, and favored by David Niven and Errol Flynn as opposed to other mustache styles.
- The Fu Manchu mustache – this is the best choice if other mustache styles do not give the vibe of plotting to take over the world.
- The horseshoe mustache – favored by Hulk Hogan, is known as the ‘black sheep’ among other mustache styles.
- The chevron mustache – it is among the finest trimmed mustache styles.
Make Use of the Right Products to Keep your Beard and Mustache Healthy
After the first few months of your beard and mustache growth journey, you’d want to spice things up by getting into the facial hair maintenance phase. This is literally what separates you from the rest of the guys. Skipping the maintenance phase is a major mistake most rookies make. Not taking care of your beard and mustache the right way could lead to complications such as ending up with a wiry, dry, and itchy beard that feels like a sponge. A conditioned, clean, and hydrated beard contributes to an overall good look, which in turn boosts self-confidence. It smells better, looks better, and feels better.
Best Beard & Mustache products
Below are some of the most commonly used beard products to make your beard and mustache feel and look better.
Beard Wash and Softener
Having a dirty beard and mustache will forever be a turn-off for as long as humanity lives on, and that is why washing and conditioning them is important. Some men may settle for hair shampoos and skin soaps as beard and mustache essentials. But here’s a catch; the surfactants in these products, which are responsible for removing dirt, tend to eliminate too much oil from the face. This is bad news for your beards and mustache.
Always go for gentler cleansers specifically made for beards. The majority of such products don’t dry out your beard and mustache. Also, washing your beard every day is unnecessary. You can practice co-washing (conditioner washing) instead.
Co-washing or conditioner washing is a method that is recommended at the ground level. It involves the use of conditioners specifically made for beards instead of regular beard wash for everyday washing. Effective beard and mustache conditioners contain light cleansers capable of taking out dirt buildup without eliminating too much oil from the face.
For deeper cleansing of the beard and mustache, it is recommended that you make use of a beard wash twice or three times a week. Do not forget to always follow up with a beard softener after making use of a beard wash.
Utility Balm
Utility balms are designed to stay on the skin and hair surface for a longer period. They take time to absorb and, as such, give the leave-in conditioner effect. Do note that the utility balm is not a styling product and, as such, will not hold your beard and mustache together. But because it is slightly heavier than some beard oil, it will suppress the beard that tends to go out of order.
The utility balm is like a utility knife, a grooming product that can do it all and is specially made for the beadsman. It has all the qualities of good beard oil but exists in the form of a balm and gives you more control over pesky flyaways.
Beard Oil
Beard oil always makes its way into the maintenance collection of a beardsman because it is a classic.
The natural oil produced by the skin is a key ingredient for a thriving beard and mustache, but showering with skin soaps eliminates those essential oils. Your beard automatically becomes dry when your skin is dry, and a dry beard and mustache are difficult to manage and prone to breakage.
The use of beard oil will ensure your skin remains hydrated and your beard replenished, as the path to a healthy beard and mustache growth is through the skin (the soil). Applying beard oil will also keep your beard and mustache nourished and easy to style. It is also lightweight because it is in liquid form, which makes it easy to move around.
The truth is, you don’t need to have a long beard and mustache before making use of beard oil. Applying a few drops every day during the early phase of beard growth will make sure your beard doesn’t itch, amongst other benefits, as seen above.
Beard Brush (Boars Hair)
This is also an essential grooming tool for any beardsman as it stimulates human hair. Unlike the normal synthetic brush, the boar’s hair beard brush has scaly bristle surfaces and is capable of drawing away dirt and dust from the hair. The sebum found in the skin is also stimulated by its stiff bristles and distributed all through the hair shaft – this, in turn, keeps the beard and mustache clean, shiny, protected, and healthy.
Shape your Beards and Mustache
After growing your beard and mustache to the length you desire, you’d want to consider the style that suits you best. Do you want it short? Do you want a corporate beard? Or do you want to grow a beard? The choice is yours to make. However, growing a beard and mustache with a particular style in mind will make your journey a lot easier. You can search the internet for a list of beard styles to choose from if you are finding it difficult to come up with one.
You can start shaping your beard into the style you want once you’ve figured it out. Again, you can search for a guide on the internet to help you learn how to shape your beard into elegance.
Get you an experienced Beard and Mustache Barber
Although working on your trimming skills is essential, having a barber is critical. Your trimming skills may be reliable, but they’ll never match the years of experience a beard and mustache barber has. An experienced barber has an understanding and the extra hand to make your beard and mustache look good and as sharp as possible.
The keyword here is “experience .”Because men become over-sensitive beings when it comes to beards and mustaches, they shouldn’t be left in the hands of an inexperienced barber to be cared for. Take your time in doing your research when finding a good beard barber. Ask a friend with a nicely trimmed beard for recommendations, and go through the Instagram pages of the barber shops near you. When it comes to your beard and mustache, never take chances.
Boost your Beard and Mustache Growth
Your beard will only be as healthy as you are. This is true because reducing your stress levels, eating a proper diet, exercising daily, naturally increasing your testosterone, and getting enough sleep will greatly contribute to having a healthier beard.
High Testosterone Levels
As mentioned earlier, having high levels of testosterone in your body contributes greatly to growing both body and facial hair. However, having high levels of testosterone also has its downsides depending on how you see it. Research shows that men with high testosterone levels could suffer from baldness due to the presence of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). So whenever you see fully bearded men with bald heads, know DHT is likely the cause. Although some research suggests that genetics and environment could be responsible for low testosterone levels in the body, science isn’t exactly clear about the subject.
Exercising Daily
Exercises such as weight training help spike the level of testosterone in the body. The most effective are weight training variations that involve functional and big compound body movements that flex multiple muscle groups in the body. Pull-ups, deadlifts, overhead presses, pushups, and rows are also great exercises for boosting testosterone levels in the body. If you are used to lifting weights, then that’s great. But if you are a newbie, you’d want to seek the guidance of a professional coach or trainer, as poor body formation could lead to injuries. Being sedentary isn’t just unhealthy; it has the potential to hinder your beard and mustache growth.
Diet Plans
Make sure you eat meals that are full of vitamins, minerals, and protein, as they can help sustain beards, and the same time maximize their potential of growing longer and thicker. The lack of protein in the body can lead to weak and brittle strands of whiskers. Vitamins B, C, and D coupled with zinc and iron can help maintain a healthy beard and mustache as they grow.
Increase your Biotin Intake. Vitamin H (Biotin) can strengthen the nails and hair in the human body, it does not only improve the skin’s smoothness, appearance, and hydration. In general, biotin consumption is good for the growth of beard and mustache, and adding it to your diet is highly recommended. Alternatively, you can opt for a biotin supplement, although chances are your daily diet already contains the required daily dose.
Getting Enough Sleep
Getting 8 hours of sleep every day will not just increase your quality of life, but the quality of your beard and mustache, as well as the rate of growth. When we fall asleep our body temperature reduces, which in turn increases the circulation of blood – hair follicles and their roots also receive a substantial amount of blood flow. The more hair follicles and their roots receive nutrients, the healthier and longer the beards and mustaches.
Reducing Stress Levels
Research shows that increase in stress levels is associated with hair loss. So when next someone says they suffer from hair loss due to stress, believe them. The increase in stress levels automatically weakens the immune system and may also slow down the pace of hair growth. It will be in your best interest to memorize the formula; a weakened immune system = lesser hair growth.
Learn How to Eat with Your Beard and Mustache
Eating carelessly can lead to multiple hair strands being pulled out. It can also lead to foreign substances coming in contact with your beard, which can damage the hair when they dry out. Below are a few tips for eating with a mustache.
- Styling your mustache can go a long way in keeping food particles away from your hair. Making use of mustache wax to style short, medium, or long mustaches can prevent hairs from coming close to your mouth and give you the freedom to take in food.
- An alternative to styling your mustache is to part or lift them before taking a bite.
- Request for napkins. Despite your best efforts to eat without staining your beard, you may still have food particles on there after a delicious meal, and that’s why it is important to have something to wipe them away.
Seek the Advice of a Professional
Whenever in doubt, you can always seek out the advice of a professional stylist. Most of them offer free consultations and tips that may not have been reflected in this article.
Bonus Tip: Quit Smoking
The health hazards associated with smoking are too numerous to list here, but the one you may not have come across is that it may cause hair loss – including beard and mustache. See it as another good reason to quit smoking.