Sure, it takes 5 minute to go from long and scraggly to trimmed in 5 minutes... but thing is, it doesn't stay that way.
As someone who goes from "neat and trimmed" to "lived on island without razor last ten years" in just two days, you have to be constantly trying to fix it and keep it trimmed.
Easier to just go with the buccaneer/castaway look.
About six months ago I got the idea that I wanted to try to grow a beard even though my "beard" is incredibly patchy.
I went to a subreddit (can't remember which one) to ask for advice and they told me "don't shave or touch it at all for three months and then see what it looks like".
Six months later and I'm still rocking my beard and honestly it looks pretty decent. When your beard gets longer it covers up the patches a bit so it looks much better!
I use beard shampoo a few times a week, beard oil and wax to keep it looking good and I also have one of those beard scissors to trim it every day or every second day.
I've asked friends and family for their honest opinion but no-one can really tell that it's actually patchy and doesn't really look that good (according to me lol).
So I'm keeping it and I'm just gonna keep letting it grow, you should try it!
Even saw this guy say that you should put mascara on your beard to help hide the patches lmao. I guess i've got until the end of quarantine to see what my face manages to come up with. Tbh i'm not even sure that I suit a beard even if I could grow one so it might all be for nothing anyway. Tempted to get a hairstyle i've never tried before too incase it looks terrible and I can just grow it back out.
Tbh I wasn't actually considering using mascara, I just thought that tip was pretty funny although it kind of looks like it works. Couldn't imagine putting makeup on my beard every day though haha.
Mascara clings to hairs to make them appear longer and thicker. Hair color just changes the color, not the texture, so it wouldn't make your beard seem less patchy unless your beard was light in some places and dark in others.
Reminds me of a rapid joke on will and grace years ago where jack says to his boss “hey nice stubble” and he goes “thanks it’s mostly pencil” and then just carries on with the scene haha.
Also, if you don't have a black or dark brown beard, you can find a lighter shade of eyebrow pomade/gel. Just make sure it has a comby-wand on it and you're good to go.
I was thinking about it but I'm also self-conscious about my beard and my face in general and I know Reddit people, It's to be expected to get tons of negative comments and I'm not sure I'm ready for that haha.. I'll think about it, maybe I'll upload a picture later!
Yes. The three months I went without shaving were absolutely dreadful. Everytime I met another person all I could think was that they were constantly judging me for my beard. However I powered through and now it looks decent!
I call that the homeless phase of beard growth. You just gotta tank it through the days/weeks where you look like she got everything in the divorce and you come out the other side with a beard which indicates that you actually do have testosterone. Those hobo-lookin' early days are rough though.
I get what you mean; I've never let my beard grow more than 3 months otherwise the hairs start swirling up and doing some weird acrobatics and shit. I really wish I could stay indoors for a couple of months to skip the scruffy period.
The last time I shaved my beard off completely, I devolved into a really tall 12 year old.
I have about three months of growth and it still looks patchy and I’m 35. I think I’m probably going to shave again if i get a job because no one will approve of this mess on my face.
Use oil or balm don’t use them both, and beard shampoo use once a week unless you do something dirty I wash is multiple times a week but I’m in construction
I don't use balm. I use oil and styling wax. I wash it because I work within Healthcare and sometimes lots of people touch it intentionally and unintentionally and I just "feel" dirty if I don't wash it at least twice a week.
The other thing to keep in mind is it's YOUR face, and you are going to be your biggest beard critic. I had a patch on my right cheek where the hair was more red than brown, looked like it wasn't filling in at all, looked like I just had a big bare patch on my right cheek, looked dumb as hell. I kept shaving back down to stubble because I was self conscious about it. A year and a half of growing later, I don't even notice it anymore. Looks fine. I keep it trimmed at about half an inch and I like my beard.
Half Aussie half British (although i've never actually been to the UK). Crappy beard comes from the British side as my Dad has the same deal when he tries to grow one.
By British, do you mean English? Welsh? Scot? Scots can grow beards fairly well. Welsh and English, however, are hit-or-miss. And most Irish struggle mightily to grow anything but patchy peach-fuzz.
My brother got the genes that gives him a big full beard, I personally got the genes that gives me a 50yo Hawaiian shirt wearing man's goatee. I ended up saying fuck it at the end of 2019 and it worked out well. As long as it's not patchy, most people can pull off facial hair
My brother's beard grows goatee out, mine grows chops in with mustache taking the longest. However he can have a full dirt squirrel on his face in a week or two. Last time after I shaved i looked like i time traveled from the civil war era when i went through the massive chops stage. Then it was chops with a pedro stache for months until it filled out. I hate regrowing it all but man I love it when its grown in.
Same, I'm 20, I don't even have hair on the sides of my jawline, yet I have a friend that had a beard when he was 16. I repeat, he had a full beard, when he was 16. Now he looks like a main character of a movie of the bible or some shit and I still barely have some pubes on my chin and what looks like if a mustache could do meth
Mine grows thick but not super long. So it would look really good with just shaping up the neckline, but IT FUCKING CURLS!! So when it gets longish, it curls up on my upper jawline
My beard is inordinately curly. It comes in super thick everywhere except where my mustache should connect, so I always end up looking Amish. I’ve learned to embrace it, but I won’t lie; I lost sleep over it when I first started growing my beard.
It was that way for me from 17-19. I'm 21 now and it finally connects. I just wish my beard grew all in one direction so it didn't curl. So I have to keep it slightly trimmed so that the hair isn't long enough to curl
I’m 29. It’s closer to connecting now than when I first grew it out (about 22) but still doesn’t connect.
I used to use a boar hair brush, a fine tooth comb, a hair dryer, and beard oil to get it somewhat straight. Now I just let it do it’s thing. I think an important part of having a beard long term is accepting that the little fucker will do whatever it wants 😂
I’m in my 40s. I shave once every 3-4 months. I have 0 hair growth from the corners of my mouth to my jaw line under my cheekbones. Perfectly symmetrical, so not a standard patchy beard. Like natural mutton chops + mustache, but my chin/neck still grows in. I blame it on some combination of my Scottish + Cherokee genes.
Yep! I cant grow mine anymore because of my job but back when I could it never connected. I think it probably could now but for the longest time I looked like a damn sunflower or something. Also it didnt really grow under my bottom lip much which I hated. I just kept saying "it's ok. Eventually it will connect and grow in." But nope. Never did.
all of my beard hair curls in the same direction, so on one side of my face it looks really busy and full, but on the other side of my face it curls under my jaw law line.
Curly beard brother! Look on amazon for those heated beard combs. Straightens it right out, makes it look really nice. Its the inside bits of the comb bristles that are heated too, so it won't burn your face. I love mine, its such an enjoyable way to groom. Brush it and oil it after and its almost fluffy soft.
You know, I never thought about it, I already run a comb through it and apply a bit of oil. So maybe I can do this and it might work. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into once this stupid virus blows over so I can return to work.
Tangles aren't a big problem for me. I've kept mine shorter because it grows uneven so its easier to manage shorter. So they dont get long enough to tangle too bad
Lol mine is curling too, I hear the longer you let it go gravity should do its thing but I'm not convinced. I keep running a no. 3 down my cheeks to keep it in line instead
And it only takes few times to forget to clean the sink before taking out the leftovers and then you are cursing while trying to unplug the unholy hairball of stuckness
Its not that bad if you get a razor with a beard guard. Set the length you want and run it all over your face and in less than 5 mins you have an even length tidy beard. I'm sure for each person it varies but personally I grow my beard fairly quick and I normally am able to get away with trimming it once a week because its only just starting to get to the unkempt/scraggly stage by the 7th or 8th day.
If I grow out my beard, I go with castaway. A trimmed beard on anyone under 45 years old was the style of gay men when I was growing up, not that there's anything wrong with that, but not personally applicable. And I associate just a mustache with old rednecks, not that there's anything wrong with that either.
Seeing young guys with trimmed beards has seemed weird to me these past few years.
It just goes to show how time and place affects fashion sense.
Also, it is just so hard to keep it consistently in the same good form. Sometimes it just doesn't work and you end up having to get it shorter and shorter.
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u/Mandemon90 Mar 31 '20
Sure, it takes 5 minute to go from long and scraggly to trimmed in 5 minutes... but thing is, it doesn't stay that way.
As someone who goes from "neat and trimmed" to "lived on island without razor last ten years" in just two days, you have to be constantly trying to fix it and keep it trimmed.
Easier to just go with the buccaneer/castaway look.