When Does Your Beard Stop Filling In?


Growing a beard may be a long process for some men. While some are lucky enough to get a full thick beard in their teens, others have their beard stop growing before it ever gets good. Making sure that you give your hair its full potential to develop is not always easy. My beard stopped filling in at around 21.

Most beards are fully developed by the age of 23. But because of differing genetics, this can vary by several years and beards can be fully filled-in anywhere from the ages of 17 to 25. In addition, male facial hair density can increase throughout a whole lifetime. 

How to Help Your Beard Grow Thicker

The hair follicles on your face that never sprouted into a beard have the potential to become new, thick hairs. Unlike on the head, where the hairs can die due to excessive DHT and cause male pattern baldness, the hairs on your face are not susceptible to DHT and can be brought to life. There are several ways to increase your beard thickness.

Beard Transplant

There has been a massive increase in demand for facial hair transplantation. Most hair transplantation is done on the scalp to hide male pattern balding. The surgeon will pluck a unit of hair follicles out of your scalp in a region that isn’t affected by DHT, and then move it to where it is needed. This process also works for the hair on your face. It leaves a tiny pinprick scar from where the graft is taken, which is barely noticeable.

The average hair transplant costs 3-5 USD per graft. A graft can have anywhere from 1 to 4 hair follicles. For the beard, the total cost can range from 3000 to 7000 USD.

After the surgery, it will still take several months for the hair follicles to shed and start a new growth cycle. However, your results are permanent.

Basic Skincare

You can never place too much emphasis on having skin that is well taken care of. Proper exfoliation gets rid of dead skin cells and stimulates blood circulation to the face. A good collagen framework will support healthy hair growth. Your skin is essentially the bedrock of your hair follicles, so a good skincare regimen will promote the development of thick beards.

Click here to visit our complete skin care guide for men.

Exercise

Your facial hair follicles respond well to androgens, unlike your scalp hair. Having a regular exercise routine helps boost testosterone levels, hence making your beard thicker. I recommend getting a personal trainer and also paying attention to aesthetics when working on your physique.

If you opt to exercise on your own, you can always go running, swimming, power walking, or biking. Start by slowly incorporating exercise into your daily activities, but be sure to also include resistance weight training.

Decrease Stress

We can’t avoid stress; it’s part of our lives. Nevertheless, decreasing stress creates several benefits for our overall well-being. Stress increases cortisol, which constricts blood flow. Whenever this happens, the blood circulation affects hair growth in a particular area. This is why the stereotype of greying/losing hair after stressful periods of your life exists.

If you find yourself experiencing stress for an extended period, this might kill your beard gains.

One of the most important things you can do to reduce stress is to quit caffeine. Yes, I know, I love my cup of coffee as much as the next guy. But caffeine only gives you energy by stressing you out. That’s where the alertness comes from. Even a single cup can increase stress and prevent you from getting adequate sleep.

Get a Goodnight’s Sleep

Increasing testosterone starts with adequate sleep. At least 8 hours of sleep per day will go a long way to growing your beard. Not sleeping enough will result in patchy beards:

Monitor Your Food Intake

The saying “you are what you eat” gives a whole new meaning to this step. A full-grown beard has been nourished from the inside. Integrate a good variety of healthy fats and vegetables, filled with vitamins and minerals. Magnesium (Maggio et al., 2014), zinc (Kilic et al., 2006), and vitamin D (Pilz et al., 2011) is crucial for testosterone. Deficiencies in these can decrease your testosterone by several hundred ng/dl.

Good sources of vitamins and minerals are eggs, nuts, and leafy green vegetables. You can also take supplements that have an adequate concentration of specific vitamins. You should look out for Vitamin E, D, B, iron, magnesium, and copper.

Also, take note of your water intake, as this is as important as your food intake. Hydration improves cellular function, thus leaving you with healthier skin.

Use Beard Oil

Do your research first before purchasing a beard oil. They work, but many of them are weak and do little more than soothe your skin and make your existing hair look nice. The most potent growth agonist on the market right now is minoxidil, which can be applied topically or taken orally, and will outperform any beard oil if your goal is new beard hair growth.

Be on the lookout for beard oils that contain jojoba oil, castor oil, peppermint oil, and sunflower oil. Make sure the company has a good reputation and look for before/after photos that aren’t on their company website.

Apply a thin layer on the beard as this will also offer protection from harsh weather conditions.

Also, don’t’ bother with shampoos or conditioners for your beard. They’re the same thing as regular shampoos and beard oil.

Exfoliate and Massage

Exfoliation and massage help bring more blood flow to the area. Doing this consistently will help bring results, and this can also be done for your scalp. Use a smooth comb to massage, but make sure you cleanse afterward and don’t get bacteria into your skin.

Use Minoxidil

Minoxidil is one of the most potent growth agonists for hair on the market.

Minoxidil Beard

Other than the usual products being applied to beards, minoxidil is growing in popularity for beard usage. Its primary use is to enhance hair production in the vertex of the scalp.

The minoxbeards subreddit, for example, has exploded in popularity and is dedicated to users who have massively increased beard growth via just minoxidil. It is an FDA-approved treatment for hair loss on the vertex of the scalp that comes in a liquid or foam solution. However, just because it’s not rated for the beard (or even the hairline) doesn’t stop people from using it for such purposes.

Some people are non-responders to minoxidil and should possibly consider taking it orally. Personally, I used minoxidil for months on my beard and scalp without seeing any results, but this is the case for only a small percentage of men.

Using minoxidil is still the best way for you to increase facial hair growth if you’ve tried using different products already. Our article will better explain how to use it for your beard.

Fixing a Patchy Beard

It’s not always easy to look at a patchy beard, and this can be an insecurity for some men. They tend to compare themselves to others and fail to see the potential of their beard.

However, an attitude adjustment can go a long way here. Let your beard growing journey start by letting go of that razor for a few months. Many men have patches that often go away and get covered up by the rest of the beard. Nobody will ever inspect your beard as closely as you do.

Be patient with whatever treatment you pick. Never panic-shave. The months of waiting may seem like an eternity, but they’ll be worth it.

If your beard is fully grown and you still don’t like your patchy beard, then and only then should you look into more extreme solutions.

minoxidil beard before/after
Minoxidil Beard

FAQ:

Will a beard implant work for me?

Beard implants thicken beard hair without a hitch. It is your body’s hair. It will leave a tiny scar from where the hair is extracted, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work. However, many men will tell you to try natural methods first.

What age does a beard typically come in?

The age a beard comes in will vary from one person to the other. The usual age that facial hair starts showing up is around puberty or 15-16  years old. Beard growth peaks at around 19, but hairs can continue to come in through a lifetime.

Will I get a full beard by the time I reach 25?

There is no assurance of a full beard at any age, as there are a lot of factors that can affect beard growth. Make sure to read up on tips on how to grow a thick beard, and you just might reach it before you turn 25.

I’m thinking of doing hormone therapy for a beard, any thoughts?

There are cases of men who resorted to using hormone therapy for beard growth. This can be taken in different forms, such as in a pill, cream, or injections.

It may not always be safe to use hormones as they pose possible side effects. Although there were several men who said that their beard grew thicker after using hormones, most men will opt for a beard transplant.

Using natural methods to grow your beard should be your priority, and hormone therapy should be the very last resort, especially if you aren’t even in your late 20s yet.

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