When you first start growing out your soon-to-be glorious man mane, it’s straightforward to keep up with your facial hair’s rapid growth. Starting from a near clean shave means that every few days the difference is increasingly obvious. Your beard fills out and appears fuller and of course, longer, with each day, week and month that passes by. Naturally, it will take some time to get your beard even and looking how you want it with the use of a beard trimmer. Nonetheless, it’s clear that your beard is heading in the right direction.
After some time has passed, however, progress is not exactly as apparent as it once was. If you haven’t been through the journey before it may be tempting to let fear set in. If you do, you’ll soon start to wonder if your beard has stopped growing altogether. Fortunately, the answer to this pondering is almost always ‘no.’ It’s not an uncommon thought though, so let’s take a deeper look into why it appears this way as well as what you can do about it.
How beards grow: the basics
First, we need to understand how exactly beards grow. The facts are that, on average, your beard hair grows at just over one centimetre a month - or the equivalent of six inches in a year. When you first start to grow a beard, it’s pretty obvious how this growth is occurring relative to your previously empty facial skin. Once time passes, it is, of course, going to be more difficult to tell where those additional centimetres are adding up.
It’s understandable to think otherwise, but beards never actually stop growing. What’s happening is that they are ‘levelling out’. The process of levelling out is different for each person - it’s genetic. Effectively what it means is that your beard hairs have a set length they were prepared to grow before they even started to do so. Certain beards can only get so long before falling out or encountering damage. That’s the simple way to look at it at least. Let’s take a deeper dive into the different growth stages to further explain why your beard might appear to stop growing.
The phases of beard growth
Every part of your body undergoes the process of growth and decay. The average age of a cell is around 7 years, meaning that after this time almost no two cells in your body are the same ones as those there before! When it comes to your beard, there are three main growth phases:
- Anagen Phase. This is where your body gets going to produce the necessary hair follicles. Beard hairs last for much less time than head hair, around 2 years. During this initial period, your beard will grow at its absolute best, so enjoy it while it lasts!
- Catagen Phase. When this phase comes in, your beard will appear to stop growing for a month or so. Your hair follicles shrink down and your beard won’t progress noticeably. Perhaps it’s reached it’s predetermined maximum length by now.
- Telogen Phase. This is the worst phase. Your hair begins to die! Slowly, the hair will shed - which you can encourage with washing and brushing. Every hair on your body follows this cycle, so the key is knowing how it works and maximising your beard throughout it.
So really, what we’re trying to say is that your beard hasn’t stopped growing. Instead, your hairs may have reached their maximum length and a new cycle is beginning. It’s also important to remember that this will vary for each person as well as each area of the face. For example, a moustache and cheeks will almost never grow as long as your chin hair (naturally).
“Care for your beard as best you can and adapt your style to match what you’re genetically capable of.”
In practice, this may mean that your beard may never reach the lengths you may be dreaming of. It’s still growing, but the length just isn’t meant to be. Instead, focus on caring for your beard as best you can and adapting your style to match what you’re genetically capable of.
Maintain your beard
Regardless of the stages your beard is going through, maintenance is essential. Keep your body healthy to maximise hair growth and support healthy hair. Certain vitamins and minerals, such as biotin and vitamin E, can help your beard grow longer and stronger. Keep your beard clean by washing it regularly (but not too much) and groom it as often as needed to maintain your desired style.
A quick touchup with a quality beard trimmer goes a long way to creating the beard of your dreams. Whether you need to define lines on your neck or keep your short beard in check, a beard trimmer does it all. It’s not always about growing the longest beard - rock a style that maximises your genetic potential not exposes your ‘weaknesses.’
Your beard is fantastic as it is
At the end of the day, there’s no way around the realities of beard growth science. If your beard has a set maximum length, there’s very little you can do to go beyond that. Nonetheless, you can maximise the potential you do have by maintaining and trimming your wonderful facial hair. Trust the process and let your beard do its thing - it hasn’t stopped growing, it’s just not ready to let itself get longer.
We hope this article helped you understand what it takes to grow the beard you want. Beard Guru supplies a range of products to support your beard growing journey, including Australia’s favourite beard trimmer. Purchase your beard’s new best friend today and start living the bearded life you deserve. Don’t like any of our products for any reason? Send it back for a full refund, and we’ll even pay for the return. Back your best look with Beard Guru.