This article will show you the best way to grow a beard from scratch using the 12 week challenge. It’s a step-by-step guide for beginners with a simple 3-step process. The guide will show you what to avoid when growing a beard and give you tips to help you style and shape your beard. It starts with the month-long cultivation.
Stage 1: One month growth
You want a beard, you just got your last shave and you’re looking at a completely sober apology from a man. How are you?
You start by letting your Beard Oil grow for a month.
This is probably the toughest phase of beard growth, but also the most uncontrollable. I want you to grow your facial hair for 1 month without trimming it! During this time you will discover the growth rate of your hair follicles which will show you your bearded potential.
Unfortunately, not everyone can grow a successful full beard, but there’s only one way to find out – just let it grow. It will look bumpy at the beginning, you may get comments and it will upset you, but after this stage it will be fine.
I first grew mine when I first started traveling. Nobody knew who I was, nobody knew what a beard looked like, so growing a beard was normal because nobody else knew me. If you are going to be away from home for any length of time, this is a great opportunity to grow.
2 weeks itching
Around the 2 week period you will most likely get the 2 week itch. If you shave, the cut can leave the tips of your facial hair quite sharp. Over time, your hair can frizz and hit areas of skin, leading to that dreaded itch phase, the worst part of beard growth.
I find it doesn’t last long and to be fair you can get through it easily enough, it’s not the end of the world but it can cause a lot of irritation and discomfort. There are some measures you can take to keep it on an even keel.
– Use beard oil
I would recommend using a good quality beard oil. It nourishes your beard leaving it soft and healthy. It also moisturizes and moisturizes the skin under your facial hair, eliminating beard dandruff and thus avoiding skin irritation. However, be frugal! Only use maybe 5p drops worth of beard oil. You really don’t need much, it goes a long way and it will only help make it a little bit more bearable.
– Avoid alcohol
Say what? No don’t worry, I mean don’t use products with high alcohol content on your beard. This dries out the skin, increasing the likelihood of itching, so avoid moisturizers with alcohol content and go for the organic choice for the best results.
These two steps will keep facial hair and skin healthy and help get through the dreaded itching phase. Make sure to keep your growing environment natural during these first few weeks for the best results, and once you’re past the itch phase you’ve come a long way.
Stage 2: Clean up for a month
After the 1st month phase, I would recommend taking good care of him. At this point you might have a sturdy face piece on the way – it might be good to trim it well around the neck for more structure.
When trimming, be careful not to cut too high at the neckline – some people advise being 2 fingers from your Adam’s apple. Alternatively, just look in the mirror and aim to trim where your neck meets your jaw – this is the ideal spot to trim for the neckline.
You may also have a few unruly hairs on your mustache. Just use scissors for the mustache and trim it using your comb as a guide.
I find that the mustache hairs grow a little too low and can irritate my upper lip. If you have the same problem, comb your mustache down so the hair length is even and trim the excess hair along the lip line. This should give your mustache a nice, even shape.
NOTE: Don’t trim your beard when it’s wet! It adds weight to the hair and lets it fall a little lower from its natural position. If you cut during this time you could remove too much – always cut dry.
Aside from this cleaning, I would avoid trimming or cutting. You are still very early in the growth process; It may look patchy or even thin in places, but remember that 4 weeks is a drop in the bucket and just the beginning of growing a beard. In the next section you will really see results and achievements in your bearded adventure.
Stage 3: The 12 week challenge
The 12 week challenge is the real test and will give you an idea of what your facial hair is capable of. During this stage just clip off any stray hairs, but I would avoid big trims or cuts and just let the beast grow!
Some people find that the 8 week period is the start of a successful beard. Your beard will start doing different and maybe unexpected things. It won’t grow seven heads or look like Medusa, but you can find uneven coloring, wavy hair, straight sections, small spots; Whatever the change, embrace your beard for what it is and just let it do what it has to do.
No one wants to be the same, and any individual traits your beard displays are a blessing and should be respected. The beard is a symbol of you and your manhood, so embrace it for what it is and enjoy it.
The 12 week cycle is ideal. This gives the slower beard oil for men hair a chance to finally come through and grow. Different follicles on the face produce facial hair at different times, allowing you to build thick, evenly distributed coverage during that time period.
There is also time for the character of your facial hair to come out – the small changes I mentioned earlier can really come into play during this time, which will ultimately give you a better picture of the quality of the beard growth.
This time frame will give you an idea of which style will best suit your beard. It also shows you the styles you can’t get away with when growing a beard, so just use this as a learning curve and discover what your beard can really do. That’s the best advice one can give
