Advice on growing a beard

1Sep 2014 | An American In Turkiye

[An American in Turkiye]

So today my 24 years of active duty service comes to an end. My retirement ceremony was the 25th of July. I've been on terminal leave since then.

I went to the local barber shop on the 29th of July for a straight razor shave. Been growing a beard since then. So far, so good. I'm past the itchy stage, and my beard is a bit wirey, with, for some reason, the few gray hairs growing much more rapidly than my others.

I shampoo and condition it every morning, and lotion it up and comb it down with a brush afterwards. I'm trying to train it to grow down I guess. Anyways, any FReeper advice on any conditioners, beard lotion brands or conditioning/grooming tips for me? My wife and I are PCSing to Elmendorf Alaska and we fly out on the 17th of this month. She has 7 years left 'til she retires. First time beard grower I am.

[woofie]

I have had a beard or mustache for the majority of my 64 years. I have never tamed either one

[tumblindice]

Beard lotion: ‘Mr. Whiskers’ brand. You must rub the lotion in.

[Kirkwood]

Seriously?

[ansel12]

Skip the beard, just don’t cut your hair for a few years.

[sauron]

I was in the service for five years, back in the 80’s.

First thing I remember doing is: no camo clothes, and I grew a beard. ;)

I wore lots of red, blue, yellow...anything but camo.

I never mastered the beard thing, except at times right after coming and trimming—then it looked good. Not sure about the oil, though, never tried it.

Skin got all scratchy and dry under it. Soap doesn’t work, nor does shampoo. I needed to find a third category, which I never looked for, and never did find. (Of course, I didn’t have the good sense to ask, as you’ve done, so you’re already a step in the right direction.)

Good luck on the beard!

[doorgunner69]

No taming advice from me, my hair (when I had it) was always very curly.

Had a beard for about seven years almost constantly. When I finally shaved it off, I felt liberated and truly clean again. My face felt like it was really washed.

Then again, I have oily skin, so the beard kept me from really being as clean as I would like. YMMV, I hope.

Hope you are more comfortable, vigorous washing helped. You did get past the itchy stage. With my curly whiskers, that was torture the few times I went through it, gave up recently.

Dunno how all these gen-x/y/z types run around with several days growth, makes me itch and feel greasy just to see them.

[KarlInOhio]

How long are you planning to grow it? Are you planning on a Civil War general's beard?

My advice is to get a good beard trimmer, but I don't know it would work on a long beard. Generally mine is short enough that I don't need to worry about anything other than keeping some of the wilder hairs in it from making it look ratty.

[blondee123]

Regular hair conditioner builds up a waxy film so,I'd suggest not using it, but if you feel you have to, then use a clarifying shampoo several times a week to remove waxy buildup.

My husband has had a beard our entire marriage & never used any product in it, I think most beards are wirey cause they are outgrowth of whiskers. Combing it downward when wet will train it eventually.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

I grew a beard for the very first time at age 19 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That was 51 years ago. I have never shaved it since. I have never done anything to it except trim it. My hair, however, is as straight as an arrow so that your results may differ.

[Jack Hydrazine]

"Beard lotion: ‘Mr. Whiskers’ brand. You must rub the lotion in."


"...My skin's all dry and itchy. You put me in a sweater. Sure as hell I cannot ask you for lotion."

[tumblindice]

Then it’s the hose for you, chromedome!
Give me back my dog and we’ll call it a draw.

[OldMissileer]

I had a beard for a year after I retired. My wife did not like it and it took more effort and time to keep it nice than shaving so I got rid of it.

If your wife is OK with you having a beard then go for it. I didn’t know about conditioners and all that other stuff, I just kept it trimmed nice and all was fine. Good luck.

[crazyhorse691]

I shaved my hair and beard then, I still shave my hair and beard now. Somehow the bald look comes easier. My dad had a full head of hair until the day he died...he liked crew cuts.

[Bobalu]

[The Cajun]

Been having a beard and mustache for 40 of my 67 years, I don't do anything but trim it back with an adjustable clipper every 3-4 weeks (About a five minute job).
Usually trim it back to 3/8 of an inch, I never let it grow longer than 1 inch.
Longer than that bothers the heck out of me.
Beats the hell out of nicking yourself with a razor every so often.
With mine, it just straightened itself naturally over time.
After a shower, I just pass a comb or hairbrush downward and that's that as far as maintenance.

[cva66snipe]

I've had mine almost 30 years this time without shaving it off. Just a month of growth? Give it another month or so and see how it does. The fuller it gets the more it fills in. Some do look better a little on the long side.

As for any extra care? I just shampoo it when I wash my hair and trim it back about three times a year with barber clippers. It's mostly gray, I'm a little on the heavy side, and kids call me Santa LOL.

Seriously I was at a Walmart and a kid kept peeping at me maybe 5-6 years old and it was close to Christmas. The kids mom came up laughing and told me her son told her look it's Santa but he's not in his uniform LOL.

[dr_lew]

I have the same beard I had when I got married .. wanna say thirty, but no! ... forty somethin’ years ago! Trim it with scissors, shave my cheeks and neck. Trim my own hair, too. Saves money, and sometimes it looks pretty good.

[wardaddy]

The biggest thing is shaping.... trimming

I’ve grown many epic beard man beards decades before hipsters did it to butch up

My wife actually likes a long beard....which is not common

Beards will grow out to the sides till long enough to train well...say 10 inches plus

So you have to shape by trimming down...so as to grow length...not out

Shampoo like hair......

Waxes and oils help and some smell good....avoid too much eucalyptus or menthol

You’ll smell like Vicks

Your wife ...God lover her ...will have to alert you to food or anything in beard

Its unavoidable

Unless you are in prison and wish to disallow lip readers on the yard you can’t allow mustache to cover mouth...its a big food and snot and you know what else trap.....so trim mustache to whatever bushy you like and keep washed and out of mouth corners

Keep nose and ears trimmed..... a big beard can make u forget

My longest was around two feet.....mostly a chin beard that time....a very long van dyke

Now I’m running about 4-6 inches....I use a nice lemon wax....just for smell...its too short to train

Have fun

[cva66snipe]

One serious caution until you get used to having it. Be careful when grilling or fires etc where the fire flares up. After a while you’ll do it by instinct.