From age of 14, some boys have enough testosterone to power a ‘small country’. However, mother nature can be cruel, and it’s during these formative years when natural production of the hormone peaks, which can cut the road to an impressive thatch of facial hair short. There are a few hacks that can help make the most of what facial hair you have, these are:
1. Check your diet
When it comes to making things grow faster, the most important component is the same for your face as it is for your sex life: you are what you eat. Water, along with a diet rich in B vitamins, vitamin A, C and E, folic acid, zinc, magnesium and omega-3 gives hair the nourishment it needs to grow. If you’re not getting your fill of grains, red meat, oily fish, leafy greens, seeds, legumes and fruits, you should consider multivitamins and supplements that top up your levels.
2. Avoid stress
Modern life can be hard: we are expected to excel at work, maintain a social life, drink enough water, exercise, text everyone back, stay sane, survive and be happy. It is impossible to do all that without a little stress, which has been proven to stunt hair growth, so do your best to manage it. Try getting plenty of sleep, make time to relax away from emails and work out. Trust us, your beard will thank you.
3. Look after your face
Let’s get one thing straight, you should already be looking after your skin – moustache or not. Just because you can’t see it anymore, doesn’t mean you should neglect what’s underneath. One thing dermatologists agree on is that the healthier your skin, the better your beard will look. Use a facial scrub along with a face wash to keep your follicles clear, then follow up with a moisturizer loaded with vitamin B5, which increases bodily functions and circulation required for that beard to sprout.
4. Don’t over-trim your beard
Borrowing from the old wive’s tale, shaving or trimming your beard won’t encourage it to grow faster. That doesn’t mean you’re a complete follicular failure. The real problem might not be a lack of growth, but a lack of time. Facial hair can take several weeks to come into its own, so avoid reaching for the straight razor at the first sign of a patch, and wait to see what you’re working with before picking a beard that suits your face shape.
5. Kick bad habits
Cigarettes have a similar effect on hair as ageing. The 5,000 or so chemicals that make them up impair blood flow to the root, cause oxidative stress and deplete the body of B vitamins. All of which is going to result in a sub-par handlebar. So if you want to stand any chance of getting beardy, it’s time to kick the cigarettes.
6. Work out
The two main hormones that stimulate beard growth are testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), both of which are produced during resistance training (such as weightlifting). For maximum results, opt for a full-body workout, which creates more of a spike than a single exercise, such as a bicep curl.
7. Work with what you have
Consult your barber when next in the chair to discuss which style and length they think would help conceal the crop circles. Beyond that, you could cling to the hope that ‘peak beard’ is actually a thing. Soon the nightmare will be over and the likes of Tom Hardy, David Beckham and Bradley Cooper will return to being baby-faced.