Okay, sure, maybe growing a giant beard won’t help you keep warm this winter. But there’s just something cool (pun not unintended) about braving the cold with a chin bristling with a mountain man-style mound of facial hair. But there’s definitely a right way to get the giant winter beard of your hirsute dreams.
Growing a big, bountiful beard isn’t nearly as easy as not shaving. First of all, there’s a massive time investment involved. Facial hair grows approximately half an inch per month, so hair and beard stylist Stacy Trevizo recommends growing out your beard for a full six months minimum if you want to go all-out. If you’re clean-shaven and reading this in January, you might want to bookmark this article until June. But if you’ve already gotten a head start, you can upgrade your beard to something bigger and better.
As mentioned above, facial hair only grows an average of half an inch per month, but that not only differs by people but by individual hair follicles. Your beard could be an inch long, but still have a smattering of rebel hairs that are twice as long. While you don’t want to actually trim your beard, you should have a pair of facial hair scissors to quash these follicular escapees, as well as to keep your mustache from sliding down into your mouth. You want your beard to look like it’s growing equally and evenly, because otherwise you look like you’ve just lost your razor.
Meanwhile, you need to regularly be using beard oil, which helps to keep your beard healthy, hydrated and soft. Otherwise, your facial hair will be hard, bristly and straight-up unpleasant to anyone who might regularly frequent the lower half of your face. Dry, brittle hair also cracks and is more likely to fall out, especially in winter, when the humidity is low. “The skin is a lot drier during the winter months, which is going to cause irritation,” Dr. Beard’s Amanda Hughes previously told us. “The skin on your face will feel a lot itchier and a lot drier and your beard is going to feel a lot more coarse and wiry. Your hair could potentially fall out more.” …unless you use some kind of beard-targeted moisturizer, and use it regularly. It’s essential.
Even if you’re one of those lucky guys whose beard is so naturally orderly it looks like a professional landscaper laid it in, chances are you’re still going to need to do some shaving to keep your beard from encroaching too far down your neck, or eradicating another jailbreak by hairs fleeing above your preferred cheek lines. After exfoliating and shaving whatever areas you deem appropriate to regain order, make sure you use a soothing skin moisturizer, like our Post Shave Cream or Post Shave Dew, so these areas don’t get jealous of how good you’re treating the hairier parts of your face.
And that’s it, really. All you need is time, a pair of facial hair clippers, and some moisturizers. Oh, and a mirror, partially to admire your massive, magnificent beard, and partially to make sure it’s not full of crumbs.