8 Tips To Unlock Your Beard’s Full Potential

The beard epidemic has taken over and we can no longer continue to ignore it. While some of us are already doing a pretty decent job of flourishing with facial hair, we also can’t deny that there are some people struggling. Grooming has never been easy. I remember in secondary school, guys used to rub spirit on their jaw for the hair to try and grow. Thankfully, we’ve grown past the spirit phase and can now take proper measures to ensure our beards grow properly and reach the heights they are supposed to.

 Patience is Key

In order to grow a truly epic beard, you firstly have to understand that this takes a significant amount of self-restraint. For the first 4-6 weeks, it is important that you resist the urge to trim and/or style your beard. If you successfully allow your beard to come in fully, you will then be able to pick a style based on length and thickness.

Let Your Face Shape Determine Your Style

A beard should be in-tune with its surrounding environment. After growing facial hair out for a month, pick a style that suits your head shape before you trim. The essence is to come up with a style that complements you so your beard looks better.

Square Face: Keep hair fuller on the chin, shorter on the sides.

Round Face: Grow hair longer on the bottom, shorter on the sides.

Oblong or Rectangular Face: Keep the sides fuller, and the bottom shorter.

Oval Face: Oval faces are a middle ground between the other shapes, so most styles will work well

Trim Regularly and Appropriately

Pruning your beard should be a part of your daily ritual. It doesn’t matter if you’re planning to keep it close to your jawline or you’re aiming for kneecaps. Invest in a quality trimer, and find a technique that works for you.

Wash Regularly

Trapped food and skin cells in your beard can intensify itchiness. Not to mention a dirty beard just makes you look scruffy. Be sure to scrub several times each week and use a specialised beard cleanser for best results. Also, gently pat dry after wash to avoid frizz and split ends

Beard Oil is Your Friend

If you really want to tame your beard, then you need to make beard oil your closest ally. Beard oil is very different from aftershave, in the sense that it moisturizes facial hair and the skin beneath. Beard oil is hydrating to the skin and helps soften and tame beard hair, which means it also does double-duty as a styling agent. There are so many varieties and scents to choose from, so be free to explore your options.

Train Your Beard

While trimming regularly will maintain your chosen shape, there are other ways to keep facial hair in line. Try to make a habit or combing through your beard daily with a comb or beard brush. This will untangle and straighten stubborn hairs, training them to grow in a downward direction. If you’re feeling extra, you can use a soft-hold styler like Jao Bomade Beardscent. This particular one lends some extra sculpting power while taming any flyways.

Don’t Forget the Moustache

Can you really grow an awesome beard without a complementing moustache? Just like you need to tend your beard, you need to pay special attention to your moustache as well. To keep your moustache looking neat, trim the area around your philtrum (the area under your nose) with a pair of grooming scissors. You could also keep it naturally sculpted with a medium-hold wax.

Eat Right

Did you know hair is made from protein and fat? You need to lay a solid foundation for a healthy beard to grow. Facial hair is heavily reliant on Vitamins B5, B3, and B9. That means you should eat a lot more lean meats, nuts, egg yolk, milk, and plenty of leafy greens. That is, of course, If you’re seriously committed to your cause. Or, you could just take a shortcut and use a supplement like Vitabeard.