Does Shaving Make Beard Grow Faster? Explained
At some point, every male has heard this: “Shave more often and your beard will grow faster.”
I thought it would work as people said it would when I first started shaving, but it never did.
The fact is simple: shaving doesn’t change how your beard develops.
Your razor doesn’t really decide how fast, thick, or full your face hair grows. Genetics and hormones do.
Let’s put an end to this myth!
Does Shaving Really Make the Beard Grow Faster?
I want to make it plain to you straight away that shaving does not make your beard grow faster.
When you shave your face, you just cut the hair that is above the skin.
The component of the hair that governs growth, the follicle, stays the same.
Shaving won’t influence how thick or fast your beard grows; that follicle does that.
It’s easy to see why this myth lasted so long.
The razor puts a blunt edge on fresh stubble, which makes it look darker and feel rougher.
That pointed edge catches the light in a different way, making it look thicker.
But when the hair gets a little longer, it gets thinner at the end and looks softer again.
What you notice after shaving is not an actual difference in growth; it’s just an illusion.
Why Does It Look Thicker After Shaving?
The razor cuts each hair straight across as you shave. That makes the edge blunt instead of the natural tapered point.
When the stubble grows out, the blunt points reflect more light and feel sharper on your skin.
Even if the beard hasn’t gotten thicker or grown faster, this makes it look darker and rougher.
It’s like cutting the tip of a pencil. When you sharpen a pencil, it seems thin and pointed.
But when you cut it flat, it looks thicker and more solid. The hair on your beard operates the same way.
The blunt edge makes it look like there is more hair, yet the follicle under the skin still makes the same hair.
What Controls Beard Growth?
The two main things that affect how fast your beard grows are your genes and hormones.
Androgens, mainly testosterone and DHT, affect the hair follicle under the skin.
The follicle gets messages from these hormones about how thick the hair should be and how fast it should grow.
If your body is more sensitive to DHT, your beard normally grows thicker and stronger. Genetics is the most important thing.
Some men naturally grow thick beards in their early twenties, while others only experience spotty growth until their thirties.
How often you shave doesn’t matter; what matters is how your DNA trains the follicles.
Age is also important, though. As you get older, more hair follicles become active.
This is why your beard often seems fuller in your late twenties than it did when you were a teenager.
How Fast Does Facial Hair Normally Grow?
Facial hair grows roughly half a millimeter every day on average.
That comes out to about one to one and a half centimeters a month.
Some men find that their hair grows a little faster, while others note that it grows a little slower.
This difference is due to heredity and hormone levels.
You might also see that your beard grows at various speeds on different places of your face.
The mustache or chin generally grows faster than the cheeks, which can make the beard look uneven at first.
Age is also a factor. A teenager may experience uneven development, but by the time he is in his mid-twenties, the same spots often fill out as more follicles become active.
Can Shaving Help With Patchy Beards?
You can’t fix a patchy beard by shaving it. When you shave, you only cut the hair above the skin.
That doesn’t make new follicles or change the way your current ones work.
If you have thin spots on your cheeks or jawline, shaving them every day won’t make them grow back faster.
Patchiness often gets better with age because more follicles become active as your hormones stabilize.
Some men only see their beard fill out in their mid- to late-twenties.
If your beard still looks patchy, the best thing to do is let it grow longer so the fuller areas can cover the lighter spots.
You can also style your beard in ways that make thin areas less noticeable instead of expecting shaving to change the pattern.
Proven Methods That May Help Beard Growth
You need to focus on what really helps the follicles, not the razor, if you want to grow your beard faster.
Minoxidil is one alternative that has been shown to work.
Doctors usually recommend it for hair on the scalp, but some men use it on their beards and have good results.
Talk to a dermatologist beforehand to be safe if you ever want to try this.
Your way of living also has a huge impact. Eating a balanced diet with appropriate protein, vitamins, and minerals helps your body grow healthy hair.
Zinc, vitamin D, and biotin are all good for the health of hair follicles.
Stress and sleep levels are also important because they have a direct effect on hormone balance.
Cleaning, moisturizing, and lightly exfoliating your skin maintains your pores free and offers your follicles the best chance to grow.
Conclusion
So, at the end of the day shaving does not make your beard grow faster, thicker, or darker.
That thought stays around since new stubble feels scratchy and looks stronger for a little while.
Your genes, hormones, and age are the real reasons why your beard grows.
You can’t change those things with a razor, but you can make your beard seem better by taking care of your skin, eating well, and grooming it well.
Let your beard develop at its own rate and focus on what you can manage.
FAQs
Does shaving affect beard texture over time?
No, shaving doesn’t impact the way your beard naturally feels.
Your genes determine how coarse, curly, or straight your face hair develops.
Shaving merely trims the hair at the surface and can’t change the follicle that affects how the hair feels.
Can shaving cause more ingrown hairs?
Yes, if you shave the wrong technique, you can have ingrown hairs.
When hair grows back into the skin instead of out, it might produce lumps, redness, or discomfort.
Always use clean blades when you shave, soften your hair with warm water, and don’t press down too hard on the razor to lower this danger.
