A Black Man’s beard requires special attention. Growing a beard commands a serious commitment and willingness to devote oneself to traveling a long road to beard perfection. Consider this; the average beard grows at a rate of half an inch per month. Although the rate at which a full beard grows can vary, a full beard can take anywhere from six to eight weeks to grow on average.
Every beard has a distinct set of variables that you must account for and manage based on its needs. There is no exact formula to achieving an amazing beard. Translation? You must solve for X. Hey guys, there is no need to worry. If you haven’t figured out the best formula for growing a healthy beard, you will appreciate these golden nuggets of advice for Black men growing a beard.
Patience
Your beard growth journey as a Black man will be a slow but steady trot to the land of Beardtopia. You now know that you can expect to spend six weeks navigating the road to beard perfection. What you may not be prepared for are a few perils that may leave you questioning your decision, including beard itch, beardruff, and patchy beard. Needless to say, you can expect a few events to transpire as your skin and beard adapt to this change to the landscape of your face.
Your first goal should be to have a little patience for these challenges that may or may not emerge and select beard care products that will soothe your skin and effectively promote beard growth, such as beard oils, beard butter, and beard balms.
Choose Your Beard Style
Deciding to grow a beard is just one step in the beard growth journey. One of the initial steps you might consider as you embark on this mission is identifying the best beard for your face shape. That’s right; beard growth success relies heavily on knowing your face shape and picking the right beard style to accentuate those lines. Examples of facial shapes include oval, round square, oval, diamond, and triangle.
Which Beard Style is Best for Your Face Shape?
Common beard styles include the Chin Strap, Balbo, Full Beard, Soul Patch, and Goatees, but which style best fits your face?
Chin Strap
The chin strap beard looks best on men with a round, square, rectangle, or diamond-shaped face. This beard style is excellent for men who may not be fans of full-face beards or individuals who are not seeking to keep the style of their beard simple. The thickness, length, and width of the chinstrap may vary.
Soul Patch
The Soul patch beard style adds a bit of contour to the perimeter of your face. Who wears it best? Men with round face shapes are best positioned to rock this minimalist style. Soul patches can accompany other beard styles or live alone below the bottom lip and just above the chin area.
Balbo
The Balbo style offers a bit of dynamic dimension and is clearly the product of multiple techniques fusing together to create one amazing beard style. Men who have square, diamond, or triangle-shaped faces are most suited for this look.
Goatee
A goatee is a great entry into the world of beards and are perhaps one of the most universal styles for most, if not all, face shapes. This style is great for all settings.
Full Beard
The coveted full beard looks best on men with diamond-shaped or rectangle-shaped faces.
Change Your Diet
The next tip on the list is to change your diet if it’s not up to par. What does food have to do with your beard? Believe it or not, a good beard requires a foundation in a healthy diet. What you put into your body plays a critical role in supporting healthy blood circulation to the area to stimulate hair follicles, beard elasticity, vibrancy (shine), and beard growth. Fruits and vegetables are vital for healthy beard growth because they contain antioxidants that help protect your beard's structure, shielding it from free radicals and oxidative stress, which can contribute to fragility, thinning, and breakage.
Exercise
Who said growing a beard was for lazy men? One of the best things you can do to promote healthy beard growth as a Black man is following an exercise regimen. Exercise is one of the fastest ways to get your blood flowing, circulating throughout your body, and most importantly, to your face. Blood flow is essential for healthy beard growth because it helps to transport vital nutrients to where they need to be –your face. These nutrients help stimulate your beard follicles to produce the facial hairs that will eventually contribute to a healthy beard.
If you are not a guy who is big into cardio, you might consider weight-lifting exercises. Strength training is shown to positively affect testosterone levels, which may play a significant role in how well your beard grows.
Keep It Clean
Another critical part of the beard growth formula for Black men is to keep it clean. Your skin and beard will encounter a plethora of elements every day, ranging from the ultraviolet rays of the sun to dirt, dust, pollution, beard care product buildup, and, yes, crumbs from a good meal. These things can combine to create a gnarly atmosphere that may slow or even halt beard growth if you are not careful. A clean beard will help to keep your pores unclogged and prevent damage to your beard.
You will want to steer clear of using hair shampoo on your beard and face. Hair shampoos can be drying to your face and beard, and this statement is particularly true for men of color with naturally kinky or curly beards. Hair shampoos contain ingredients designed to cater to the needs of one’s scalp and hair. Beard shampoo, also known as beard wash, includes the perfect blend of essential oils and cleansing ingredients designed to clean your skin and beard without stripping those precious hairs or irritating the skin beneath. Many guys make the mistake of using hair shampoo on their beards and face.
Beard washes are perfect for any stage of beard growth but may prove particularly useful for you during the early stages of beard growth. They can provide relief for dry skin, inflammation, and that dreaded beard itch. For best results, use a beard wash once or twice a week.
Moisturize!
Using beard moisturizer products are necessary for beard growth. Black men have a unique challenge in that kinky, curly, and coily hair. This hair type often struggles to retain moisture. Therefore, you must take extra steps to ensure that you invest in beard balms and beard oils that help to soften the facial hair and help to seal moisture.
The best beard oils for Black men contain natural and organic ingredients like the Beard Organics beard oil product line, formulated to nourish and promote moisture. They often contain essential oils such as argan, avocado, and Jamaican Castor oil that have a reputation for naturally conditioning and hydrating your beard.
Beard Combs
Beard combs may not seem important at the beginning of your beard journey, but they are a must-have commodity when it comes to the grooming process. Wooden beard combs have a multitude of benefits. First, they help to stimulate circulation, massaging the skin beneath your beard and triggering beard growth. Next, beard combs keep tangles to a minimum with consistent use. They promote the growth of hair in a single direction and provide a natural way to remove during build-up, reducing the risk of ingrown hairs.
Beard Brush
Beard brushes are excellent tools to keep handy in your beard care arsenal. They help to remove tangles that might lead to breakage, minimize frizz and help to distribute your beard care products from root to tip. Another positive side effect of using a beard brush is that they promote the natural production of sebum oil, a natural oil produced by your skin that naturally moisturizes your skin and beard. Finally, they are an excellent tool for helping to shape your beard and take control of the texture.
You can use your beard brush at any time to support styling efforts, but they work best after you apply your beard products.
Trim Your Beard
No matter your desired beard style, take the time to trim your beard. Trimming your beard will enable you to shape your beard as time progresses. Also, trimming your beard will help you to avoid split ends, which we know can cause frizz or fuzzy beards or even lead to spotty breakage.
The frequency in which you trim your beard will vary due to your beard style of choice. Shorter types may require more frequent trimmings (i.e., every 1-2 days). Other styles, such as a short or full beard, may not need to be trimmed for two to three weeks.
In Closing
In closing, the Black man’s beard requires special attention. Patience, diet, and exercise will get you part of the way to Beardtopia, but the products and tools you use to care for your beard will also be critical to your success. Beard Organics offers a wide variety of beard oils formulated to boost your skin's health and care for your beard. If you are unsure where to start, consider investing in the Beard Organics Beard Oil Sample Collection. This collection grants you access to various beard oil samples that promote beard growth and vibrancy and give your beard and skin access to vital nutrients.
