For many generations, men across the world have been growing beards as a sign of power and wisdom. In today’s culture, beards are the mark of a rouged man who has spent time and energy to get his beard looking just right. The beard is a look that many men consider at some point in their lives.

However, growing a beard is not nearly as simple as it would seem bases on looking at others’ defined beards. It is much more than just not shaving and using beard filler that allows people to have great beards. Unfortunately for many men, they give up on their perfect beard because they are struggling with a patchy beard.

As we shall see, there are many causes of patchy facial hair that you can fix to get you the beard you desire. We hope to highlight how you can make some small changes and change your mindset so you’ll no longer have to think you can’t grow a beard.

Many men give up on growing a beard and get upset when googling “why can’t I grow a beard?” doesn’t give them the answers they are looking for. You can easily get upset while looking at other men who have large and impressive beards that you just can’t seem to grow.

In many ways, growing a beard is a lot like getting in shape for the beach. It is easy to look at professional athletes and think that they were just born with their bodies. The reality is that both beards and abs do not just happen overnight as they are a labor of love.

If you take nothing else away from this guide, we want you to remember that growing a beard takes time. It often takes weeks or months of dedication and patience to get your beard grown in to a point you are happy with. Before looking at some solutions to see how to stimulate beard growth, we first need to see why you might have a patchy beard in the first place.

Genetics

Just like many other aspects of life, your genetics play a very large role in determining just how easy it will be for you to grow a full beard. Genetics is something that can’t be controlled and you will need to look at your relatives and ancestors to see if they were able to grow full beards. If your father or other members of your family have patchy beards or none at all, that may be a sign your genetics are not suited for beard growth.

However, you shouldn’t give up just because you think your genetics are bad. After all, every person has unique genetics and you may have genes that will allow you to grow a beard just fine. Your beard-growing tendencies could be completely different from family members, and there is nothing you can do about that.

Hormones

In a similar sense to genetics, your hormone levels and how much of each you have can affect beard growth. Testosterone is responsible for most beard growth in the body, so lacking a sufficient level of testosterone throughout your body won’t help you with growing a beard.

When you have a lower testosterone count than average, you could very easily struggle with growing a beard that is free of patches. For certain men, lower testosterone levels can make it seem nearly impossible to grow a beard at all. You may want to get blood work done to see if you are dealing with low testosterone that could be playing a role in your patchy beard.

Age

Depending on your age, how well you can grow a beard can change dramatically. For 16-year-old boys, having bad facial hair is almost a rite of passage as a sign of becoming a man. However, young men and teenagers are rarely able to grow a full beard as their bodies just aren’t suited for that kind of hair growth as yet.

As a rule of thumb, most men can start growing good beards around the age of 25-30. At this point, testosterone levels are going to be at their most comfortable level where growing a fuller beard is easier. Even at this age, you can look back to genetics if you are dealing with a patchy or thin beard.

Lifestyle Choices

We can all recount the countless times people tend to say “you are what you eat,” but they say it for a good reason. Believe it or not, the food you eat plays a role in your body’s ability to produce necessary compounds responsible for beard growth. Eating a balanced diet with plenty of protein can help your beard grow fuller and with greater health.

Outside of food, how you live and act can also be the cause of you having patchy facial hair. Two of the most common causes of poor bodily health are stress and a lack of sleep. If your body is just doing the basics to get by when you are tired and stressed out, how do you expect it to devote energy to growing a beard?

Underlying Conditions

Aside from genetics and hormone issues, there are times when patchy beards are caused by underlying medical conditions. Just like some men go bald in their early twenties, men can experience issues with beard growth and patchiness as well.

Alopecia Areata is a condition that causes specific areas of someone’s beard to be patchy or even completely void of any hairs. This condition is hard to detect until you start to try and grow a beard, but there are certain ways to combat conditions like this that we will touch upon later.

While we would like to say that any bad beard can be fixed with a few magic tips, that sadly isn’t the case. Some men will have patchier beards than others and will need to find the best way to combat these issues. If you are looking for how to grow more facial hair and have only been trying for a week or two, you have a lot to learn.

Even if you are experiencing more substantial beard patches, there are many great beard thickener and beard filler options on the market. We hope that the following tips will help your beard grow more effectively so you can stop worrying about having a patchy beard.

Give it Time

When it comes to growing hair on your body, time is at the foundation of everything else. No matter what other tips or supplements you use to try and get your beard to grow fuller, time is going to be the best solution to a patchy beard. When you give your beard time to grow, you allow it to fill itself out and see what it is capable of.

If you have been trying to grow your beard for a few days or weeks and are worried that it is patchy, you need to relax and realize that it takes time. Many people’s beards take months to grow to their full potential and need time to grow. Unless you have very good genes, your beard could be patchy for over a month until it starts to fill itself in.

Many men look at their beard patches and panic because they think it means the patches will always be there. Give your beard time and energy to grow and you will be surprised with how great it can finally end up looking.

Know What you Want

A patchy beard is just one part of finding your perfect beard, so start to visualize what kind of beard you want. Many men want a full and voluminous beard while others simply want a nice stubble that looks effortlessly cool. Knowing what you want your beard to look like helps you manage expectations and create a timeline.

If you are looking to grow a short stubble and it has been patchy for months, you know that there is likely an underlying issue. However, trying to grow a large and full beard and getting worried with patches on week two is nothing to get concerned about. Visualize what you want your beard to look like and give it time to reach that length.

Use Products

Just as how we use special shampoo for our thin hair, our beards need that same treatment if we want them to grow effectively. Many people will just wash their beard with water or may not even wash it at all. If you want your beard to grow, you need to wash it with special products that protect it and allow it to grow.

You may also want to look into certain products that help to promote beard growth and appearance. There is a large market for beard products that range from oils to make your beard hair smoother, to products that can even help to reduce patchy areas of your beard. Find products that are what you need and see if they help your bead grow or look better.

Change Your Diet

Like we mentioned earlier, your beard is the culmination of your diet and way of life. When you break it down to the molecular level, your beard is created with energy that is obtained through the foods you eat. If the foods you are eating lack any substantial nutrients that help beard growth, then your beard has no raw material to be built with.

Changing your diet not only helps your entire body function better, but it provides the body with nutrients essential to growing a beard. Essential micronutrients that are found in the healthiest foods allow your beard to grow better than if your diet consisted of more processed food.

Focus on meals with higher proteins and minerals so that your beard can have the best materials possible to build off of. Just eating pizza and chips all day is not going to give you the beard you want, let alone help with any patches you may be dealing with.

Use Supplements

Even with the best diet in the world, your hair still may not want to budge and grow as much as you would like it to. This is where you may need to look into specialized beard supplements that are specifically designed to target facial hair. These supplements are going to help with beard growth and should help deal with patchy areas.

You do have to do your research when buying these products as they are all designed for different people with different needs. Certain products may be able to help with patchy beard growth while others may be focused on helping your beard grow faster. Look to trusted names in the industry with proven results so you are not just wasting your money on snake oil.

Limit Stress

Remember those hormones we talked about earlier that was essential for beard growth? Stress is one of the easiest ways to shut them down in your body and can bring beard growth to a halt. It is impossible to completely eliminate stress in your life, but managing it effectively so it doesn’t affect your body will help your beard grow fuller and more efficiently.

Stress causes your body to enter a state of panic as it releases cortisol and caused the entire body to shut down. When the body feels like it is in a state of danger because of stress, the last thing it is thinking about is that patchy area of your beard. To help your body grow a beard at full capacity, you need to reduce your stress so your free testosterone can do its job in growing you the beard you want.

Get Better Sleep

The last solution to helping your patchy beard grow without looking into more invasive treatments is to get better sleep. The average length of adult sleep seems to be decreasing every year, and our bodies are feeling that lack of sleep. Nobody likes to wake up with too little sleep as it sets up your next day to feel miserable and slow.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body does not have time to enter into its repair mode and make any necessary growth or replacement that it needs to thrive. In particular, a lack of sleep leads to lower testosterone levels on average that will make your beard less likely to grow. Who knew getting more sleep could literally help your beard grow overnight!

Since the hardest part of dealing with a patchy beard style is leaving it long enough to grow properly, we want to walk you through some of the major steps that are associated with beard growth. Each of these stages comes with unique challenges that you need to be prepared to deal with, so don’t get discouraged if you feel like the growth is slow.

First Hairs

One of the most exciting parts of growing beards is that first day you decide to stop shaving to see what kind of beard you can grow. For many men, this is a time of impatience and waiting to see results as soon as possible. Even though you just stopped shaving yesterday, you already want to see your beard come to life by the weekend.

This stage is unique in that no two men will have the same experience in their first week of starting beard growth. For some men, a few hairs may begin to pop up in the first week while others may already have a full stubble by the end of just a few days. No matter the amount of new hair you notice on your face, you need to be patient here and give your hair time to grow.

A decent Stubble

After a week or two of not shaving, most men will begin to have a decent stubble that looks different from their regular look. For many men, this is where they begin to get worried if their beards are having patches or not growing as much as expected. As hair growth begins on your body, your genetics and hormone levels determine how long this stage may take.

The reason many men begin to stop trying here is because they’re worried that their beard patches will never go away. This simple mistake can immediately ruin your progress and prevent your beard from reaching its full potential. Starting to address your diet and implementing better habits will allow your hairs to grow without stress during this time.

The Awkward Stages

The dreaded awkward stage of beard growth is where you start to wonder what kind of beard you want to work with. If you haven’t been shaving or trimming your beard in hopes of seeing every last hair grow, now would be the time to bring out the tools. Without reducing your new beard to a stubble, clean up the rough edges so it looks put together and clean.

Many men during the awkward stage really begin to understand their beard growth and start to notice areas that are lagging behind the rest of your beard. Patchy facial hair in areas is more noticeable here than other times because you can noticeably differentiate between grown areas and spots with less growth.

Looking at options like beard filler and beard thickener during the awkward stage can help your beard look really great. Helping those patchy areas look good will allow your beard to come to life and gives your patches time to catch up to the rest of your hair.

More Growth

Now that it has been a little over a month and your beard is really looking its best, you can start to do some analysis and maintenance. Taking a good look in the mirror at your beard will help you to see how much hair has grown in different areas. Going to a professional barber who has experience with beards may open you up to new styling that can make your beard look that much better.

As you continue to let your beard grow, you will be glad to see that your patience has paid off. Giving your beard more than a month to grow will let you see how your genetics have played a role in patchy areas and the overall color of your beard. This is where you can either go down the paths of maintenance, continued growth, or even getting rid of the beard entirely.

Full Beard Living

Still looking to grow your beard? This means you have been through all the other phases and have come to enjoy having your beard. Even if your beard is still patchy in areas, there are many ways you can make it look like there are no patches at all.

When your beard is longer and fuller at this time, you must begin to create a routine for managing and cleaning your beard. Just because your beard has grown and looks good doesn’t mean you can start ignoring it. The longer your beard gets, the more work you will need to put in to reduce patchy areas and make it look like it has been with you for years.

From patchy beards after a week to several months, one thing we can all accept is that no two beards are the same. With factors like genetics, diet, and even how much sleep you get affecting beard growth, you need to be patient and give your beard time to fully manifest itself.

No matter what your beard looks like, there are several ways to make it look great. All it takes is knowing how your own beard likes to grow and knowing that there are solutions out there to help any patchy beard look great. Be patient and your beard will come in no time.