Has My Beard Stopped Growing? Best Ways to Cure this

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    Beard stopped growing

    Growing a beard is a big investment, in time and effort, but it’s also a massively rewarding experience. After all, you’re watching your efforts come to life on your chin. You put years of effort into your beard and being protective of it is only natural.

    That’s why it’s so concerning when you think you’ve noticed your beard stopped growing. Beard growth goes through phases and carries its highs and lows. However, there is the possibility that your beard has stopped, or at least slowed down with its growth.

    Before you start to panic, realize this is a natural occurrence. Often, it isn’t permanent, and your beard will continue growing. You’ll also very likely be able to get it growing again with a few simple changes.

    Keeping your beard healthy is likely the simplest thing you can do to keep it growing. Your beard’s growth is determined by genetic factors, like your family history, as well as more fundamental lifestyle factors.

    We’ll go over how these processes work, as well as what changes you can make to make sure your beard stays happy and healthy.

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      How Does Beard Growth Work?

      Beard growth follows the same natural processes that growing hair on the rest of your body does. If you’re like the rest of us, though, you’re probably not too familiar with what that process is.

      Hair follows a life cycle of growth before it reaches a terminal length, or its full length before falling out. The cycle then restarts with a new, replacement hair. Humans have different types of hair throughout their bodies, which reach differing lengths. This is why the hair on your legs, arms, and chest don’t reach the lengths that hair on your head and face do.

      The hair on your arm has a short terminal length. After about ½-inch of growth, arm hair falls out and is replaced. However, the hair on your head and beard will grow out much longer, in addition to being thicker and more durable.

      So let’s break this down more definitively…

      The Cycle of Hair Growth

      Before we get too far here, let’s make a quick note that you should think of the hair life cycle in terms of time, rather than length. Terminal length is determined by how long hair has been growing, as opposed to how long the hair grew. This is an important distinction because more likely than not, your hair is breaking off, rather than not growing. Still, it’s important to understand the basic fundamentals to keep your hair growing better.

      For most people, the hair life cycle lasts between 2 and 6 years. Your hair follicle does not register whether it’s been cut shorter and will continue with the cycle regardless of how long or short it is.

      The cycle of hair growth has 3 stages:

      • The Anagen Phase
      • The Catagen Phase
      • The Telogen Phase

      Across these phases, the hair will grow until it runs out of energy, at which point it stops growing. The follicle then shrinks before the hair falls out, leading to a new follicle forming and starting the cycle over.

      Your beard isn’t limited in how long it will get, but it is limited by the duration of time it will grow. However, understanding how this cycle works (and what makes hair healthier) will allow you to get your beard to grow to its fullest throughout that cycle.

      The Anagen Phase

      The Anagen Phase is the active part of the growth cycle. It is what we think of when we imagine our hair growing. It’s also the phase that about 90% of your hair is in currently. The follicle takes root, or anchors itself into the skin, and begins to grow. The follicle is the part of the hair under the skin that holds your hair to your face.

      It’s the longest part of the hair growth cycle, usually lasting 2 to 6 years. Its exact duration depends on your unique genetic traits. Everyone’s hair grows differently, and the extent their hair will grow is a genetic factor like most things about you.

      As hair grows, it uses vitamins and nutrients to grow strong, and if it lacks those, the hair will weaken. As you apply conditioner and beard oil, you’re improving the strength of the hair as it grows and keeps the already-grown hair strong simultaneously.

      The Catagen Phase

      The Catagen Phase is the in-between phase of your hair growth. The hair transitions out of the growth phase but isn’t ready to fall out. At this stage, your hair has reached its terminal length but is staying where it is for the time being.

      Essentially, it’s the phase when your hair goes dormant. After years of actively growing, your hair is tired and needs a break. As it takes that break, however, the follicle starts to shrink in size.

      This phase lasts 2 to 3 weeks before transitioning into the next phase.

      The Telogen Phase

      The Telogen Phase is when your hair finally releases itself from your skin, leading to it falling out. That’s why your hair follicle shrinks during the Catagen Phase.

      After a few weeks, new hair will grow to replace the fallen hair. Thus begins the process, as the new hair starts the cycle over again, lasting for another 2 to 6 years before it falls out again.

      Bringing It Back To Beards

      Beards do have some quirks and unique attributes for this cycle. The biggest way this applies is that, unlike the hair on your head, facial hair has different terminal lengths for each section of your face.

      The hair on your jawline and neck has the longest terminal length of your facial hair. The mustache has the shortest terminal length, at about 2 to 3 inches. The cheeks and front of the chin fall somewhere in between.

      Your jawline and neck may never reach terminal length, though that’s up to your genetics. While you can’t change that part, there are still many factors within your control.

      Terminal length can be affected by a bunch of environmental and lifestyle factors. A lot of these will slow or stop your beard from growing. Fortunately, once you’re aware of what they are, they’re (usually) fairly simple fixes.

      The simplest route to take is to simply keep your beard healthy. Having unhealthy beard hair makes it more likely for hair to be damaged and break off. In many cases, your beard hasn’t stopped growing, as much as your hair breaks off and prevents you from seeing it at full length.

      How Fast Does Facial Hair Grow?

      To keep a good metric of what you should expect, it’s important to know how quickly beard hair grows.

      Both beard hair and scalp hair, on average, grow about ½-inch per month. The average man, therefore, grows about 6-inches of beard every year. This is different for every man, but if your beard is growing in, but just a little too thin, it’s likely an issue of care and maintenance, rather than actual growth.

      Lifestyle Changes to Improve Beard Growth

      Many mundane, day-to-day things can have much bigger effects on your beard than you may realize. Usually, these come back to your overall health and well-being.

      After all, your beard is a reflection and byproduct of yourself, so if you’re healthy, chances are your beard’s healthy. If you’re missing some nutrients, your beard might be an indicator of that.

      Adjusting Your Diet

      Your diet is probably the biggest, non-genetic factor that will determine your beard’s healthfulness. We get almost all of our vitamins and nutrients from what we eat. If you’re lacking something, adjusting your diet to account for it will pick up your beard’s slack.

      After all , hair is just keratin. If your diet is low in the proteins and vitamins it needs, it’ll look pretty thin. The key diet components of healthy hair growth are protein, as well as Vitamins A, B, C, and E. Taking a daily multivitamin might be all that you need, but if you want to take it a step further, start taking a Biotin supplement, as well. Certain products are packaged as hair growth supplements, but usually, they’re a biotin and vitamin mix.

      Exercise Regularly

      Your overall body health will increase your facial hair health. Exercising regularly does wonders for your health. Not only will you feel better, but your beard will thank you.

      Exercise helps to manage a lot of our body’s processes, like hormone levels (which affect facial hair growth), blood circulation, and how we age.

      Hormones determine how hair grows, which is why hair grows thicker during the summer. The sun and heat promote the hormones that help vitamins act more effectively.

      Healthy blood circulation is also incredibly vital to hair growth since it’s the increased blood flow that jumpstarts the Anagen Phase of the hair life cycle (the anti-balding product, Rogaine, stimulates blood flow to the follicle to aid that process). Exercise increases blood circulation and will get more blood flowing to your hair follicles.

      Lower Your Stress Levels

      Lowering your stress levels as advice is so much easier said than done, but stress can do so much to affect our overall health. Aside from slowing (or stopping) beard and other hair growth, consistently high-stress levels are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and respiratory issues.

      While there likely isn’t much you can do about your current stress levels, you can do things that may manage them. As much as possible, get a lot of sleep. Being overworked and underslept is a bad combination.

      However, if that’s not possible, make sure you’re drinking enough water and eating a well-balanced diet. That will keep your nutrient levels consistent and keep you healthy. Exercise can also help you de-stress and manage those levels better.

      Improve Your Skin Health

      Your beard is a part of your face, and making sure the skin on your face is healthy will improve how well your beard grows.

      Making a simple change to your skincare routine can work for your beard. You want to keep your pores healthy, so make sure to moisturize regularly. Also, exfoliate the skin under your beard regularly so your skin stays fresh. This lets your pores breathe better and improves how well your hair grows. Also, invest in a good moisturizer. If your beard is thick enough, applying beard oil will also help with this.

      Beard Care To Improve Beard Growth

      Having a better understanding of what goes on with beards when they’re unhealthy will likely help you diagnose and remedy any issues you might be having. If you’ve noticed your beard has stopped, growing, adopting a beard care routine, or improving one that’s already existing is easily the simplest solution.

      Stop Your Beard Hair from Breaking

      When your beard hair is unhealthy and dry, the hair itself will weaken. This makes your hair more susceptible to breaking, which can look a lot like your beard has stopped growing. In reality, your beard hasn’t stopped growing, the hair just keeps breaking before you notice a difference.

      Your beard hair dries out when it’s over-processed. This happens if you’re using shampoo too often, or just using the wrong kind of shampoo for your hair.

      The shampoo will strip your hair of the natural oils that keep the hair healthy. While conditioner is meant to replenish the moisture and nutrients to the beard hair, it won’t replenish an amount equal to what was removed. Beard hair tends to be drier than the hair on your head, so don’t use shampoo designed for your scalp on your beard.

      To make your beard healthier, shampoo only a few times a week. The most you should apply shampoo should be no more than every other day. However, if you’re already following that shampoo schedule, you might want to purchase a gentler shampoo designed specifically for beard care.

      It’s also not recommended to blow dry your beard, as that will dry out your hair, as well. If you do so, use a lower heat setting so you only get an airflow.

      Aside from just using better shampoo and conditioner, you also need to use beard oil or balm. Starting out, purchase a heavier-duty product designed to repair your hair. These are usually packaged as a “repair” product. This will help your skin and hair stay moist, keeping them healthier long enough to grow longer.

      Cure Beard Split Ends

      If your hair is dry, it will become brittle. It’s also possible that you have split ends, or hairs that split at the tip then fall out prematurely. Usually, the hair only splits into two, though it can split into multiple ends in severe situations.

      This is also a result of over-processing your beard hair. Over-shampooing is a major cause, as well as using a blow dryer. However, your comb or brush is also a huge cause with split ends.

      Investing in a quality comb is your best solution here, and also combing or brushing when the hair is wet.

      The lower quality the comb is, the more likely it’s going to damage your hair. Low-quality plastic combs, like those made with injection molding, don’t have smooth teeth and can crack easily. Hair gets caught in the chips and cracks and is damaged as a result.

      Metal combs aren’t really much better, since metal develops burrs. Metal is also rougher on your skin, so they’re less comfortable. Irritated skin can also cause issues with the hair growing at the root.

      Wooden combs can splinter easily, and even small splinters will catch and pull at your beard hair. Furthermore, wood is porous and soaks up the natural oils in your hair. This causes the comb to break down quickly, leading to more splinters and more issues.

      The best beard combs are those made of incredibly high-quality plastic. Kent combs are big frontrunners here. You’ll make an upfront investment for this kind of tool, but their quality also means they’ll last for a really long time. With lower quality tools, you’ll end up paying the same over an extended period just through replacements.

      A beard brush, like those made of boar’s fur, will help distribute the natural oils across your beard, making it healthier overall.

      Conclusion

      It’s incredibly disheartening to feel like your beard has stopped growing. However, there are many things you can do to either help or get your beard to start growing again.

      There are no set rules or length for when facial hair stops growing, and it’s less about the length where your beard stopped growing but instead the amount of time over which it grew.

      While hair does have a terminal length after about 2 to 6 years, it’s very possible to keep your beard growing consistently. The hair on your cheeks will stop far before the hair on your neck.

      The overall health of your beard is a much bigger factor in how well it grows. However, as long as you keep your beard healthy by washing it properly and applying beard oil, it will likely continue to grow.

      Adding supplements to your diets, like a multivitamin or biotin will jumpstart your facial hair after it seems like your beard stopped growing.

      For an extra lift, why not try dyeing your beard with a beard color for men after your facial hair has grown a bit?

      It will definitely give it a fuller look whilst making you happier!

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