Growing out facial hair is one of the best and easiest ways of transforming yourself from the average joe into a handsome stud.
Facial hair is masculine, it signals virility and it influences the way people perceive you. Men with facial hair are generally considered better looking than men without.
Did you know that heavy stubble (about 10 days of beard growth) is consistently rated the most attractive look by women? More attractive than lighter stubble, clean-shaven faces, and beards of longer length.
Studies have found that men with longer beards are also seen as more masculine, aggressive, and as better parents. Weird combination huh?
Whose generally the least attractive? The guys with lighter stubble. It’s go big or go home. Patchiness is unattractive and you don’t want to be stuck in facial hair limbo. A scraggly, unkempt mess will do you no favors. Either commit to something decent or don’t grow anything at all.
There are certain scenarios when the other types beat out heavy stubble.
When were beards the most attractive? When it was “rare” seeing people with facial hair.
Now what does this tell us? If the people you’re usually seen with are clean-shaven, you can stand out in a big away and be perceived as better looking by sporting a manly beard. This is also true if you switch their places. The clean-shaven look is considered more attractive if you’re surrounded by men with facial hair.
Takeaway: It’s good to stand out and go against the norm. Consider it the “exotic” factor – when you’re different from everybody around you, your “value” or attractiveness goes up.
Of course, this doesn’t mean everyone will look better with a beard or with facial hair than without. How do you know if facial hair will make you look better?
Take a look in the mirror. Do you have a weak jaw or chin? Be objective.
If you do, you’re the ideal candidate to grow out a respectable beard.
Facial hair will add length and width to the lower half of your face, making your jaw appear wider while elongating your chin. Both are masculine traits which will boost your sex appeal.
At the same time facial hair will conceal a weak bone structure and add some “personality” to your look if you happen to think your regular look is “boring”. (Note: This doesn’t apply if everyone around you has the same type of style. See above).
This also doesn’t mean that you can just let everything grow freely and it’ll turn out okay. Facial hair, especially longer beards, need to be maintained. Some hair follicles grow faster than others, leaving an uneven mess on your face if not addressed. You should be consistently trimming your facial hair keeping it in shape and at an even length using a beard trimmer.
We like the Philips Norelco which has 10 different settings for lengths (between 1 and 10mm) and uses a sturdy chrome blade. It’s affordable and it gets the job done. Of course you can go higher end for something better but you’ll hit diminishing returns sooner or later. The most important areas to get while you’re still in the growing stage is the neck and any hair high up on your cheeks. In the beginning, you should let the hair around your jawbone grow as much as it can and then worry about trimming once it gets a little longer.
“Okay Help Me Grow Facial Hair!”
So what do you do if you can’t put together a dense beard? Some people just can’t grow facial hair thick enough to make them look good. Others have trouble growing anything at all. Luckily, there are solutions for you.
First we have to consider why facial hair grows in the first place. Why don’t women grow facial hair?
Testosterone.
They have less testosterone than men. If you’re having trouble growing facial hair, or want to grow more you need begin by increasing your testosterone levels. You don’t need to get into TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) or take steroids just do any of the activities below (preferable a combination of them).
Quick Tips To Increase Testosterone For Facial Hair Growth
- Weightlifting
- Eating more healthy fats (nuts, butter, olive oil, etc)
- Losing Body Fat
- Getting more sleep
- Supplementing with Royal Jelly and Zinc
Beyond optimizing your hormonal levels, you can look into any vitamin deficiencies you might have.
Biotin is a B vitamin commonly recommended for male pattern baldness and some think it may help with facial hair too. We’re not so convinced but hey, it’s worth a try.
While it’s true a biotin deficiency can be responsible for hair loss, there hasn’t been conclusive evidence showing biotin can grow scalp hair let alone facial hair. Not to mention a deficiency is highly unlikely in the first place. Nonetheless, some people have reported success with biotin so we’re just putting it out there.
Beard growth sprays are another option. They’re intended to promote faster facial hair growth.
Most of them claim they use “natural ingredients” which aren’t supposed to damage your skin in any way. Most of the product ingredients listed are usually used for male pattern baldness like saw palmetto and a few others we talk about in our hair loss guide.
They work by blocking the conversion of testosterone to DHT which does help with genetic hair loss but we’re not entirely sure how much success you’d see with it for facial hair.
Again, some people have found success with these types of products and you may too but we can’t specifically vouch for them.
If All Else Fails…
You can always try waiting it out. At the very least, leave your facial hair alone for a month and see how much growth you can get. You don’t have to wait until November to get your “No-Shave” on.
Of course the beginning will be rough. Patchy areas and the itchiness will be bothersome. Once you get over the initial slump your facial hair should begin to come in nicely.
This may even take a couple months if you don’t grow much facial hair but it’ll be worth it. For many of you, a proper style that complements your features can be something that takes you to the next level.
