Don't Fear These 4 Beard Growth Hangups
If you couldn’t already tell, beards are kind of a big deal. With each passing day, more and more men are trading away their clean shaven faces for manly looking beards. For many, it’s become a form of personal style and expression to help make a bold statement about who they are. And for others, it’s as simple as wanting to look cooler. The point is, there’s really no such thing as a bad reason to grow a beard. However, there are plenty of bad reasons why some men choose not to grow one.
Shockingly enough, there’s a large number of men out there who haven’t made the transition to beardhood. Why is that, you ask? Well, of course there’s the pesky naysayers that say beards make men look unprofessional, ungroomed or even homeless. Sadly, the team at Smooth Viking aren’t licensed psychologists, so there isn’t much we can do to help those lunatics. But on the flip side, there are some men out there that not only admire great beards, but would love to have one of their own. The problem is, they don’t think they can pull one off.
Pssh. Nonsense.
As a bearded community, it’s important that we do more than just focus on our beard’s prosperity. We have to be there for the less fortunate that stand on the outside looking in. So, if you happen to know someone that consistently talks themselves out of growing and/or keeping their facial hair, link them to this simple little guide of the beard growth counseling so they can regain the confidence they need to get back on-board the beardwagon.
1. Don’t Be Afraid of a Little “Patchwork”
One of the biggest reasons why guys opt-out of growing a beard is because they notice that their facial hair doesn’t grow evenly throughout their face -- mostly due to patches where little-to-no hair grows. In cases like these, men will resort to doing one of two things. They’ll either scale their facial hair down to a strange looking mustache just so they have something, or they’ll just shave off all of their facial hair and give up the dream forever.
Whatever you do, do not turn into one of those people. If you or someone you know happens to have issues growing a flush beard, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, patchy facial hair isn’t even that bad! Think of patches less as blights and more as unique identifiers that give your beard a personality all its own. So, relax. No matter how ridiculous you think your beard-to-be looks with patches, it’s not. Rock those patches like badges.
After all, men have to remember that growing a respectable beard isn’t just a matter of quitting shaving and letting time do its work. It’s also a mental game. So, men that throw in the towel because of a patchless beard have to build up the willpower to take those small letdowns in stride.
2. No… You Won’t Look Bad in the Beginning. Promise.
A fair amount of men who give up on growing a beard (especially if they’ve gone most of their lives being clean-shaven) call it quits because of how tricky the early stages of beard growth can be when starting from scratch. Again, letting facial hair grow out isn’t as simple as putting down the razor. It also takes getting yourself, as well as those around you, to start mentally associating you with having facial hair.
By the time some bare-faced men reach Day 3 or 4 of their no-shave mission, they’re probably starting to get comments from their family, friends, co-workers and peers about how they look. But unfortunately, the feedback isn’t as positive as the feedback a man with a fully grown beard would receive. As a matter of fact, it’s typically the polar opposite. People will start to ask if everything is alright, as if to imply that you’re so stressed about something that you couldn’t be bothered to shave. Others will just flat-out tell you that you look bad, dingy or even homeless. Terrible, right?
If you’re as committed to growing a beard as you need to be, you must tune these people out! If you listen to those people for long enough, you’ll just become overly self-conscious of your appearance, and eventually shut down the whole beard operation. So, don’t give up! In actuality, the only reason why they’re saying those sorts of things to you is because they’re just not used to you having any facial hair in general. In cases like these, persistence is of the utmost importance. The longer you keep your facial hair, the less and less you’ll take grief about it. And eventually, these peers of yours will simply get used to your facial hair and leave you be.
3. Pick the Right Beard for You & Start Shaping Accordingly
One of the common mistakes that beard newbies make is when they start the growth process without a style in mind. A good looking beard doesn’t just grow itself. You have to have an end-result in mind, or else your beard will make such little sense that keeping it won’t even make sense, either. Find your bearded niche and stick to it like glue.
A great way to determine what style of beard is right for you is to simply go online and search for all the great facial hair options that are out there. When doing so, be sure to consider the shape of your jawline and chin, and whether the style you like can match up with the natural contours of your face. Obviously, this will be less of an issue for you if you’re planning to go all out with a big beard. But if you’re a novice still trying to find your place in the bearded world we live in, it’s crucial that you anticipate what styles would or wouldn’t suit you best.
Each person is a case-by-case basis, of course, but it’s important to keep the general rules of thumb in mind. For instance, men with fuller faces and more chiseled cheekbones tend to sport longer beards better than someone with a slender face or body frame. Another factor to take into consideration the color of your hair. Men with darker hair or all white hair can be more versatile with the length and shape of their beards than those with blonde hair because their style is more pronounced. Blondes, on the other hand, struggle to get their beards to stand out if they keep them too short. Point being, a little careful planning goes a long way!
4. Don’t Let Itchiness or Discomfort Change Your Mind. Treat It.
As crazy as it sounds, beards can change your day-to-day life in small, but important ways -- especially while you’re still in the process of getting used to it. You’ll be conscious of it at all times as it continues to grow longer and longer. You’ll even find yourself touching your beard to get used to the texture as you try getting over the mild discomfort and occasional itchiness that goes hand-in-hand with the process. Nothing is more heartbreaking than when men give up at this stage of the game because they’re already so close to the finish line! And what makes it even sadder is the fact that they could have remedied all that itchy discomfort if they had just done a little beard maintenance.
A lot of guys have no clue that beard care products even exist, let alone how helpful they are. Beard care products specialize in providing helpful and affordable oils, balms, conditioners and the like in order to help clean, style, hydrate and condition facial hair as it grows into a fuller beard, all while decreasing the chance of experiencing common issues like itchy, flakey, dry and scraggly beards.
The great part about using products like these is that the results are quite noticeable. So much so, that you’ll actually start to enjoy stroking your beard instead of dwelling on how dull, dry and itchy it is. Even better, you’ll even begin to get some of those ever-elusive compliments you always wanted. No more hearing about how bad you look with a beard. Instead, your peers will gawk at how neatly groomed and clean it looks. Others will say your beard suits you well. And hey… you might even have a few women approach you and ask about it! Before long, the mere thought of getting rid of your beard will be completely ridiculous and out of the question.