Growing a beard isn't always an easy process. After all, your face has to progress through various beard growth stages before reaching a full look.
If you're currently trying to up your beard game but are stuck between stages, you may just need a quick adjustment to your health and hair care routines.
Zeus Beard is here to help you navigate through the five beard growth stages and what you should focus on along the way. Check out our tips to make your beard look its best at every step of the journey.
Beard growth stages
Proper beard maintenance depends on where you're at in the beard growth process. To get the best results, check out the tips and tricks for your tier below.
Clean stage
While some guys seem to have it easy and pretty much grow a beard overnight, for others, mustering a few chin strands is a big accomplishment.
If you're one of the latter, your dreams of a burly beard don't have to be destroyed.
While it's true that age and genetics can harm hair growth, nutrient deficiencies are another common culprit.
Rather than being cursed when it comes to facial hair, it's likely that a few bad habits are simply standing in the way of your beard success.
To get through the beginning beard growth stages, it's necessary to look at factors like your diet and routine that may be halting your progress.
Cutting out junk foods and packing your diet with extra protein and vitamins A through E helps provide your beard with the base it needs to grow.
While having a beard may seem necessary for caring for one, it's important not to shrug off maintenance at the beginning of the process. Simply washing your face with a gentle cleanser and applying a little beard oil to your stubble daily can make all the difference.
The combination will keep the skin around your lips moisturized and blemish-free, creating the perfect canvas for a budding beard.
Stubble stage
Once your face is properly prepped, you'll likely start sprouting some stubble. Unfortunately, this is typically the hardest stage to style because beards don't always grow in evenly.
For most, when you're in the stubble stage, you're in the patchy stage. Bring on new issues like beard itch and scraggly strands.
But don't give up and pull out your shaving tools just yet. Pushing through the patchy stage has great payoff. You're almost to the fun beard growth stages so keep going.
To make the in-between stage look and feel more put-together, try out these tips.
Keeping up your new beard oil routine from the first step will help eliminate the itchy feeling a growing beard can cause.
In addition, it's important during the stubble stage to start training your beard. Running a beard balm and boar bristle brush through your growing hairs will help tame and train them to grow downward.
Filling in stage
When you start transferring from random tufts of hair to a more filled in look, you can finally start working on your intended shape.
This is where beard care gets more fun because you can add your personal twist.
READ MORE: Check out these beard styles for some inspiration. And, don't forget about that growing mustache either.
With your hair finally filling in, things can get messy in the cheek and neck areas. Therefore, this stage is all about sculpting.
Investing in a beard shaping template tool will save you the stress of trying to line up both sides perfectly in the mirror freehand.
The tool offers a stencil to guide your razor while the see-through makeup allows you to see the hair underneath while you clean it up.
Full face stage
You've finally done it, your hard work led you to full facial hair.
While you've probably noticed some extra admiring glances from women and men alike for the new masterpiece on your face, you've also probably noticed your new chin accessory comes with the need for some extra maintenance.
After all, growing a beard also means growing a natural bowl to catch any food that misses your mouth.
And, it also provides the perfect clingy surface for all the dirt you carried home from work.
When you reach the full face stage you realize keeping a well-groomed beard is a full-time commitment. Luckily, this doesn't have to mean the upkeep is hard.
It's as simple as washing and conditioning your beard regularly. While soap is good in the beginning when there's more skin than hair, a full beard requires a gentler conditioning treatment.
Using a shampoo and conditioner specifically designed for beards tailors care to the sensitive hair on your face. This cleans and moisturizes your beard without drying out the longer hairs.
Zeus Beard shampoo uses Dragon's Blood to reduce skin inflammation and blemishes while Zeus Beard conditioner uses glycerin and jojoba seed oil to soften strands and leave your beard hydrated.
Burly beard stage
Ahh, the most coveted of the beard stages: the burly beard stage. If you've reached this stage of beard glory, you truly deserve to be commended for your exceptional effort.If you've reached this stage, chances are you already have a pretty solid routine and know what you're doing well.
It's likely that you've been employing the tips and tricks above for a decent amount of time.
However there is one place men go wrong in the burly beard stage. Unfortunately, adding length causes some beards to lose fullness.
This is often the result of damaging detangling habits, which thin hair and cause split ends.
To ensure your beard stays looking uniform, it's important to work out knots with a comb. In addition, starting at the root of your beard will only tug tangles down and make a mess.
While combing your beard, start at the bottom and work your way up in sections to avoid snagging.
When it comes to styling, also avoid using heat tools. Allowing your beard to air dry helps it hold in moisture from root to end.
As a bearded veteran, you're probably no stranger to the costs it takes to maintain a burly beard. However, with the enviable boost it gives your look, you also know how worth it is.
The best advice you can follow is to stock up in bulk. Since it's inevitable you'll keep a healthy routine of beard products flowing through your bathroom, it's best to get the most bang for your buck.
Checking out beard grooming kits can help you expand your brush collection or restock on products, without having to pay more for each individual product.
