Sometimes I meet guys who lament the popularity of beards because they feel they can't grow one themselves. There's an element of beard envy out there, with the prominence of images depicting majestic beards, guys who don't have a thick, lush beard feel inadequate. In other words, they feel they aren't cool enough to grow a beard. It's a disappointing scenario but not altogether uncommon. There are many examples of body image perceptions influencing people's behaviour and it seems to affect men just as much as women.
If you can relate to this, then welcome. We wrote this article for you. Set out below are a variety of tried and true tips to work with patchy and/or thin beards. We cover everything from natural methods to medical interventions. It's basically a one-stop beard repair shop.
There are several potential causes of patchy beards, including genetics, hormonal imbalances, and certain medical conditions. In some cases, men may simply have difficulty growing a full, thick beard due to their genetics, and may need to use beard growth products or other treatments to encourage thicker growth.
How To Fix A Patchy Beard
Hormonal imbalances, such as those caused by conditions like hypothyroidism or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), can also interfere with beard growth and cause patchiness. Finally, certain medical conditions, such as alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss, can also lead to patchy beards.
Beard patches can have a significant impact on a man's confidence, depending on how he views and feels about them. For some men, patchy beards may be a source of frustration or embarrassment, leading to feelings of inadequacy or low self-esteem. These negative feelings may be particularly pronounced if a man feels that his patchy beard is drawing unwanted attention or negative comments from others. In these cases, a patchy beard may lead to social anxiety and a lack of confidence in social situations.
On the other hand, some men may be able to embrace their patchy beards and feel confident in their appearance despite the patches. These men may view their beards as a unique aspect of their appearance and may feel proud of their ability to grow a beard at all, even if it is not perfect. In these cases, a patchy beard may not have a significant impact on a man's confidence.
How To Fix Your Patchy Beard
Overall, the impact of beard patches on a man's confidence will depend on his individual perspective and how he feels about his beard. Some men may choose to try to cover up or conceal their patchy beards, while others may embrace them and feel confident in their appearance. There are also several treatment options that may be able to improve the appearance of a patchy beard, including beard growth products, hormone therapy, and other treatments. We will explore these interventions further below. Ultimately, the best approach for a man with a patchy beard will depend on his personal goals and preferences.
Here's the thing, your beard is you. It defines you as much as your hair style, your eye colour, your body type... you get the picture. If you don't like the way it looks because it's patchy or thin then rest assured, there are very likely to be things you can do to grow some facial hair and look cool at the same time. First and foremost, for any one with a patchy or thin beard, the number one thing to improve it, is time. Over time your beard will grow thicker, the hairs will grow longer. This will fill in thin parts and even out your beard. You'd be surprised how many guys with seemingly full beards actually just have grown-out patchy beards.
In my case, I have two bald patches at the point where my chin hair meets my jaw and cheek hair. This is far more obvious when I keep the beard tightly cropped for the corporate beard, something that I'm currently sporting. When I grow my beard out, it becomes far less visible, but it does mean I'll probably never have a competition-winning beard. Do I care? Not a jot. In my case, the patchiness more or less matches on both sides of my face, so there's some symmetry about it. This means it looks less wonky than if just one side were affected and it also gives me the option of just growing a goatie - that way no one would ever know about the bald patches.
Best Patchy Beard Styles And Styling Ideas
If you're still not convinced about the benefits of time, have a look at these images of Keanu Reeves and one of my favourite actors of all time, Heath Ledger. In the images on the left, their beards are tightly cropped and some patchiness is evident. However, the images on the right show that when their beards were grown out the patchiness is much less noticeable.
Beard growth depends a lot on your testosterone levels. With the modern sedentary and indoor lifestyles, a lot of men suffer from less than optimal testosterone and as a result, their beard growth also suffers. If you've got a patchy beard and low libido (eg zero or rare cases of morning wood) this might be something you can look into. It's relatively easy for a doctor to check your levels and make sure that you have a solid hormonal foundation to grow a lush beard.
There are a lot of natural ways to elevate your testosterone which in turn may show up in thicker beard growth. They're pretty basic things but so easy to forget or miss out on. Get a full 7-8 hours sleep, avoid too much alcohol, eat a good amount of protein and do heavy resistance weight training & cardio a few times a week. Supplements like Vitamin D and Zinc can also help if you are deficient in those. Once you go down the rabbit hole of optimising your testosterone, you'll find all kinds of techniques & supplements claiming to help. Some of it is good, some is bro science. We recommend adjusting one thing at a time and monitoring the results. That way you can isolate that factors that help you specifically get more T.
The Definitive Guide To Filling In A Patchy Beard
Another option may be to shape your beard hair in a way that makes the patches less of a problem. To help with shaping, you could try a beard balm that contains waxes to help shape the hair into a position that makes patches less obvious. For stubborn hairs you could try a matte hair pomade for extra hold. What you want to try and do is cover patchy areas with neighbouring beard hairs (a bit like a comb over for the face, but hopefully not that obvious). This may be particularly effective if those hairs are sticking straight out from your face instead of laying over it to cover the skin underneath.
In this video, Barber Rex Silver demonstrates how to trim and style a beard around a patch on the right cheek. This technique can be applied to other areas of the beard and should be a helpful starting point when you think about how to style around patchiness.
Another way to shape the beard is to shave the patchy area. This is especially suitable when the patchiness occurs in the cheek area around the perimeter of the beard. Rather than trying to grow this out or comb neighbouring hair over it (which might require brushing hair into unnatural angles), you could get rid of the thin hair located in the patchy area altogether.
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This leaves the denser hair to thicken up and no one will ever know there are spots where it doesn't grow as well. To manicure your beard evenly, its best to shave using a clear lubricant like a clear shave gel, or shave oil, so that you don't end up with a result that makes you look unhinged.
Another place this strategy can work well is the neck area. If there are patches low under the chin or on the neckline, simply shave your beard line higher up. Be warned though, a beard line set too high on the neck does not tend to be as aesthetic. Ideally you want the beard to start just above the Adam's apple when looking straight forward. It should then arc around each side of the neckline underneath your jawline.
As the beard grows out you will find it more readily becomes dry and brittle. Your body's natural protection mechanism for the hair involves sebum, a fluid released from the sebaceous glands in the follicle at the base of the hair. The fluid is drawn from the base to the tip of the hair via gravity and capillary action. However, as the hair gets longer, the fluid has further to travel. Eventually, the hair gets too long for the sebum to do it's job optimally.
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The result is hair tips that can break easily or turn into split ends. This will limit how far your beard can grow out and still look healthy & lush. The solution to this problem is a quality beard oil. The oil works in a variety of ways. First it does some of the job sebum does,
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