*** The official beard thread ***

no, no evidence unfortunately - just recounting how it 'felt' - my beard (when i had it) slowed considerably after a few months of growth, this was a good few years back mind you. Now have a goatee that's much longer than the beard ever got and it felt like it relatively zoomed up to it's current length.

or maybe time is going faster now i'm older...
 
I'm growing mine out now for the first time age 27. I've always had a decent but not amazing coverage of stubble, but have always been clean shaven (never going over 3 days growth max) for the last 3 or 4 years.

2 weeks in at it's pretty unwieldy. I've gone against advice which says to not do any shaping until 4 weeks, because I just can't stand the unshaven neck and cheek lines from an aesthetic point of view. I'm lucky that my workplace doesn't require me to be clean shaven, but at the same time a good level of presentation is needed and I think I'm skirting the boundaries currently.

My main problem is everything wants to grow 'out' rather than 'down'. Even with combing/brushing, it doesn't look that full and so does look quite untidy. I guess that's just what this stage is like and I just have to ride it out. I bought some beard oil to help with the itching but that hasn't had a massive effect.

Useless without pics I know, might try and upload some later.
 
Moses said:
What are the pro tips around beard care. When you Google for info on beards/use Youtube/whatever, everyone's pushing beard oil... but obviously they would, if it's their product. So is it beard oil, or snake oil? :p I've only been growing one for two weeks. But what should I be using now and going forward to wash/condition/etc, if I should be using anything?
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I've had my beard for about three years now, and I go through phases of using things on it, and leaving it alone.

When I used oil on it every other day or so, and I know this will sound ridiculous, I felt like it made it really soft and fluffy and like it was... flopping around everywhere.

I now use oil on it maybe once a week, and just tend to wash my face with wrights coal tar soap. I gather it doesn't actually have any coal tar in it anymore, but either way it's good for my face and good for my beard.

I got some conditioner stuff for it lately just because I saw it, and it's quite nice, it's only bulldog stuff but it's got a nice smell to it. Their oil is quite nice as well.

For me, oil is more of a smell thing, I don't wear aftershave but if I'm going out, I might put oil on my beard but it's as much for the smell as anything else. The oil IS good for your beard but it doesn't need it very often, once a week is more than enough imo but I just put some on when I want to smell nice.

I feel like keeping it a little bit stiff and wiry makes it much easier to style, and makes it behave more.

Most important thing for me... GET IT CUT! I see my barber once every few weeks and I have them tidy up my beard while they do my hair. Until recently I had them cut it back quite a lot every other timeso it was fairly short (inch or two), but I've been growing it out lately and it's quite long now - but I still have them tidy it up.

It's so easy to look like you're homeless when you have a beard - make sure you keep it looking as good as you can, even if it's long, because people WILL notice. Even though my beard is quite long now, because I have it trimmed up and shaped up every few weeks, it still looks quite tidy and quite respectable. I'm in a management position at work so I can't just slob around looking like a piece of crap, but I've never had any negative comments about my beard because I make sure to keep it at least fairly tidy at all times.
 
Moses said:
Yeah, I'm letting it grow for now, given I'm only a couple of weeks in. I've trimmed a neckline, though, which made it look more like an intentional beard and less like an awful mistake :p. Is it Bulldog beard oil you use?
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The oil I bought the other day is bulldog but that was just in a gift set with a wooden comb and I wanted the comb so I bought it! It's nice oil though.

I like Grave Before Shave oil and Apothecary 87 do a really nice one that's mango and vanilla, it's too expensive but it's really nice so I have it every now and then. I think all the oils are much of a muchness really, I've never noticed any difference in 'performance', they all just give a bit of softness to it. It's just what smells you like and how long the smell lasts.
 
Oil doesn't work really well with my grey wire beard, balm works much better at least for me. A decent wooden comb and a bore hair brush is all you need and get it cut/ends trimmed every 4 weeks or so.
 
My beard has now reached what is my target length, with hairs about 2cm long I reckon. I'm now doing my best to keep it tidy, I shave a neck line twice a week at least and I have plucked a cheek line. Ouch, but worth it, as every time I shaved it I was worried I was paring it back too far. My plan is to get it tidied up next time I go to the barbers, but I generally only get a haircut once every 5 or 6 weeks, which is definitely too long to go between trims.

So I guess I'll have to get used to tidying it at home. Do people use scissors or a trimmer, or a combination?
 
After being bearded for the last 5 years I have been clean shaven for 3 weeks - and loving it. Face still feels odd but think I'm going to keep it for a while.
 
Thankfully seeing less and less beards around, just the old school beardy weirdos and those that missed the bus left. :) Now to get rid of those man bob things and await what lols the next hipster craze will bring. :D
 
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