Does shaving your beard make it grow faster?
Today we tackle the biggest myth of pogonophilia: does shaving your beard make it grow faster? One of the most common ideas among bearded men in the making, among teenagers questioning their budding fuzz. But then, is it a myth or a reality? If you read our other blog posts, you should surely have the answer... So, let's not delay, shaving your beard for a better regrowth is a pure myth, a false rumor, a fake news, nothing more. Yes, we can't say it enough, but there is no magic product, miracle method or secret technique to accelerate the growth of the beard. But now we're going to focus on the details: how it works and why it doesn't grow, what to do to promote beard growth (because you still must give it the means to grow), and what's the point of shaving on a beard that you want to grow.
Shaving your beard so it can grow back better: a myth
Shaving your beard so that it can grow back better is a myth. Scientific studies have shown that our knowledge of hair follicles and our skin has greatly evolved to allow us to understand how it works, and shaving your beard has no impact on its growth, its thickness, or even its hardness. In fact, a hair, when cut cleanly by a razor blade (even close to the skin), is beveled, which can cause a prickly sensation when it grows back, giving the impression that the hair has hardened. It is only after some time that the tips become thinner and lose this bevelled shape. Also, if you already had a good beard, but it's stagnant in length, the time it takes for the beard to grow back after you shave it may be long, and you may stagnate at a shorter length than before.
So, forget about your razor for the areas where you want your beard to grow, and let's focus on how beard growth works, and the reality of hair growth.
It's a fact: we are not all equal when it comes to hair growth. The first factor is age. Even if men are very concerned by baldness, we tend to have a growing body hair as we age. So don't panic if you're in your twenties, chances are it will get denser with time! Yes, because unfortunately, the most important factor that should have been mentioned first is genetics. Some will already have a full beard at twenty years old, while others will have to wait until their forties to have a full goatee. Look at the men in your family, your father, your grandfathers, etc. And you will get a glimpse of the future.
We already talked about it in the article on holes in the beard, to give you some hints for its growth, but know that it can be interesting to look at the different styles of beard and try to choose one adapted to your beard growth, your face shape, and your style. And for that nothing better than to ask your barber for advice.
Finally, the last factor, or rather the group of factors influencing the growth of your beard, is the environment in which you grow it. Like a plant, depending on what you give it with its location, pot, water, soil, etc., it will grow more or less. It will grow more or less. In the same way, UV rays, pollution, frequent washing, cigarette smoke, your diet, your hygiene, or stress are all factors that can positively or negatively influence the growth of your beard. Thus, you will understand the importance of having a healthy lifestyle, a good diet, practicing sports and taking care of your beard with quality products adapted to it. And above all, to be patient.
Let's go back to beard growth. The average beard grows from 0.4mm to 1.2cm per month, depending on age, genetics and your environment, this growth rate can vary. If you do everything right, and you are patient, and genetics have been relatively generous, you should have 7cm of length in six months. If you shave, the time of regrowth of the beard after shaving will be 6 new months if everything goes well, but how can you be sure that these 6 months could not have allowed you to gain a few more centimeters?
And if you shave too regularly, you could gain only a few millimeters in 1 month, shave, then gain an inch in a few weeks, and say to yourself that shaving has an interest in growth. But if you understand correctly, your growth oscillates, it is not constant, and can stagnate for various reasons that we will develop just below!
How to make your beard grow back faster?
Now, let's focus on how to make your beard grow back faster? Let's assume that you eat a healthy diet (citrus fruits, fiber, protein, fatty acids, vegetables, etc.), that you maintain your beard with quality products based on vegetable oils, that you clean it regularly (but not too much!) with appropriate soaps (more information on our beard category), we have only one final piece of advice to give you, which will be your only friend on the way to your dream beard: patience. Yes, don't lose hope and keep on maintaining it, at worst it will stagnate, but at least it will be soft and silky!
And if your beard is itchy when it grows back, be patient, moisturize the itchy areas with natural products, and go see a dermatologist or an allergist if it persists, in order to know if you are reacting to a product, because the itching sensation when the beard grows back is supposed to be temporary and the skin must eventually adapt to shelter the root of hundreds of hairs.
Beard regrowth after shaving
Even so, beard regrowth after shaving can resume. If you have a beard that doesn't grow back, you may be concerned, but again, genetics is a very important factor, and you may have reached the limit. Or, take a close look at your beard and look at the ends. You may have split ends (the tips of your beard hair with a sort of knot, a break towards the tip). Nothing serious, as with hair, hairs wear out over time, and all the factors mentioned above can promote the appearance of split ends (everything is linked!). So, even if the time of beard regrowth after shaving can be very long, especially if you have a lot of length, a light trimming of the ends at the length would allow to eliminate the splits, to stimulate your hair and to be able to restart their growth. Moreover, it will allow him to have a less "shaggy" and more "clean" shape, according to the tastes, the true full-beard never shaving hair.
How long does it take for beard regrowth?
Finally, how long does it take for beard growth? There's nothing like taking a ruler and regularly measuring the length at key points, always the same ones (middle of the chin, left and right corners of the lower jaw, mustache, etc.). You will already see that the speed of growth is not the same everywhere, but you will also be able to calculate the average speed of growth of the different areas (over at least 6 months) and observe variations to identify factually that it is stagnating, because sometimes it is just an impression due to a lack of patience, and the beard grows correctly.
Now you know everything, the myth is gone, and you have everything you need to promote the growth of your beard and progress in pogonophilia!