When you Google “how to grow beard on cheeks”, it shows 32,40,000 results. I hope that gives you an idea of how many men are facing the same struggle as you are. You are not alone in this. And before I begin explaining the science behind stunted beard growth, let me assure you one thing. It is very much possible to physically grow beard, even if the chances seem low to you right now.
But apart from expert guidance and science-backed tips, you need one more thing to grow thick and full beard on your cheeks. Patience.
Do you think Bradley Cooper or George Clooney were born with jaw-droppingly beautiful facial hair? Not unless they are secretly aliens.
Your beard-god could be a late bloomer or must have cried over patchy beard in his teens, just like you. They did not give up. They stuck to a routine, survived the no-growth phase, focused on fitness and look where they are today.
The bottom line being, external factors do contribute to the growth and health of beard.
Before I get to that, I need you to understand how facial hair works. Forget those old wives tales about the magical properties of balms and oils. No product alone can grow beard if your body is not wired to grow facial hair.
Allow me to elaborate:
Table Of Contents
Reasons You Can’t Growth Beard Right Now
Easy, there. Nothing is terribly wrong with you. Just because some of your friends have popped up in your life with lush beard in the Freshman year, doesn’t mean you too have to.
You have probably read this in a hundred articles before but I’m still going to repeat, no two beards are the same. You are unique, your body is unique and therefore, your beard too is totally unique.
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It’s All in the Genes
Those articles were right. It’s actually all about the genes. Your genetics and heredity are the key factors affecting your beard growth rate and density. Fact is fact, hermanos. Deal with it.
It is the genetic potential that enables some men to grow magnificent facial hair without any effort and prevents some from growing any beard at all. If you belong to the unfortunate category of the two, welcome aboard. I’m your homie.
What my father and grandpa (from both sides) had in the name of beard is a sad joke. I love them, they are adorable but their beard sucks. It’s more or less the same with my own uncle and his son too.
So what can a man like me, with a pathetic family history of thin, patchy, scraggly beard possibly do?
I can try to make up for the lack of the genetic potential to grow a beard, which brings me to my next point:
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Hair & Hormones
Ah! The raging hormones. Besides controlling that ultra-wide spectrum of emotions in you, they also dictate the growth pattern of facial and scalp hair. The two androgenic hormones particularly responsible for hair growth are testosterone and DHT or Dihydrotestosterone.
Testosterone gets converted to DHT. The higher the level of DHT in your system, the more beard you grow. Funnily enough, the same hormone that’s responsible for growing long, thick and full beard can also cause hair loss.
That’s right. Higher levels of DHT is the root cause of male pattern baldness. You can look it up. Having said that, there are tons of people with great hair on both head and face. So don’t get too worked up about DHT-baldness relationship just yet.
Coming to the main topic, yes, there are a couple of methods of stimulating the testosterone levels. Eat well, workout, get proper sleep and maybe take supplements after having a chat with your physician.
But that’s not the end of it, I’m afraid. There’s one more roadblock and that’s perhaps one of the main reasons why you can’t grow beard, despite having the right levels of testosterone in your body.
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(In)Sensitivity to Androgenic Hormones
The androgen hormones need to enter our hair follicles in order to grow beard. It won’t happen if our body is not sensitive to these hormones. By our body, I specifically mean the Androgen Receptors (AR). Weaker sensitivity of these receptors is directly responsible for our inability to grow beard on the cheeks.
Weaker hormone sensitivity is very common when we are young.
If you are in your teens, keeping patience is probably not one of your virtues. But still, you got to keep calm and allow your body the time it needs to build a stronger sensitivity. The waiting time can wildly vary from person to person.
Some folks are blessed to have a steady beard growth from their early 20s. Then comes late bloomers like me who had to wait till 28 to notice a respectable amount of facial manes on his cheeks. Cruel universe!
What I mean to say here is that you got to hang in there. There’s a legit explanation as to why there are only a few strands of hair on your cheeks right now. There’s a very good chance that it will get better with time. No shame in being a late bloomer.
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Not Enough Blood Rush
As I stated in my previous point, the androgen hormones from our bloodstream need to enter the hair follicles to initiate the beard growth process.
You won’t be able to deploy the hormones to the follicles with poor blood circulation in the face area. I’d say you can massage the target area with a beard oil blend or any hair growth-stimulating natural oil to rev up the blood circulation.
The Only Possible Ways to Grow Beard on Cheeks without Side Effects
Enough with the problems. You probably already know why you have baby butt-smooth cheeks even in your late 20s (or maybe late 30s. That’s okay). You came here for the solution and I am going to give you that.
Let’s just cut to the chase:
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Patience and Perseverance
Did the title just sound like a motto of some 17th-century industrial revolution?
Jokes apart, you do need to have these two qualities to grow a thick and healthy-looking beard in the desired direction on your cheeks.
Most guys would reach out for the razor as soon as they notice their facial hair growing willy-nilly, with one side being thicker than the other. Resist the urge to shave. Your beard needs time to grow.
The rule of thumb is to let the beard grow uninterrupted for at least four weeks. If you are growing beard for the first time, you might have to give it 6-9 weeks to evaluate its status.
Letting the patchy beard grow freely is not going to be easy. Your skin would probably itch like hell but if you are really serious about growing beard, deal with it like a man. The itchiness will subside and your hair will turn softer by the third week. And by 4th to 5th week, you will start getting a clear picture of your beard shape and thickness.
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Take Care of What You Have
Like the scalp-hair, our beard too requires time-to-time care in order to grow and thrive beautifully. Facial hair also suffers from the lack of moisture, dandruff, roughness and split ends.
Massaging your beard growth area with a natural oils-infused beard oil blend will not only relieve the itchiness but also speed up the growth. Remember, we talked about the relation between blood circulation and beard growth? Massaging the cheek with a beard oil can effectively boost the circulation.
Besides, it will keep the skin underneath moisturized which will minimize the ugly risk of beard dandruff.
Peppermint essential oil, castor oil, eucalyptus oil, jojoba oil are some of the most popular oils for facial hair growth stimulation. I used to make my own beard oil blend that contained all the oils I mentioned. Massaging my skin every night definitely contributed to some extent to my steady beard growth in the following years.
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The Way Through His Stomach
If you give your body enough nutrients required for healthy hair growth, it will show up, eventually. Our body always remembers everything you do to it.
The body needs protein, carbs and healthy fats for collagen production and androgen hormone growth. You will also need B6, vitamin B7 or Biotin, B12, C, E beta-carotene along with minerals to speed up the hair growth. Spruce up your diet with lots of greens, fruits, fish, eggs, almonds, and peanuts. You can also start taking 2 mg of Biotin supplements with your doctor’s permission, of course. I repeat, please speak to a doctor first before you consider taking Biotin supplements.
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Sweat It out
Nothing increases testosterone levels faster than a good workout. Can’t stress enough on the role of this hormone in beard growth or pretty much everything about men.
Apart from that, exercising aggravates blood circulation, relieves stress, flushes out the toxins and of course, keeps you in good shape. All these factors actively and passively improve your odds of growing enviable beard.
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Get Some Sleep
I can give you a full list of the horrible things that happen to your body when you don’t get enough sleep. It messes up every crucial mechanism in your system, including hormone secretion.
I read in a study by the Journal of the American Medical Association that if you sleep for less than 5 hours every day for a week, your testosterone levels will be down by 15%. In short, finish reading this article, switch off your computer and go to bed.
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With the Help of Minoxidil
If you are already in your 30s and still unable to grow full beard on cheeks, asking you to have patience is off the table. As your last non-invasive resort, you can opt for minoxidil, sold under the name Rogaine.
It is FDA-approved and can be applied topically, making it a safer alternative to regular hormone pills for hair growth. There’s no conclusive evidence as to how it promotes beard growth but this stuff works wonders. I have many friends and colleagues who vouch for it. I obviously looked up to find out the link between hair growth and minoxidil and here’s my takeaway from the information I got:
Minoxidil, which is primarily used as a medication for high blood pressure, is a potassium channel opener. In other words, it improves Androgen receptors sensitivity which enables the hair follicles to receive blood and nutrients more easily.
Some studies also suggest that Minoxidil prolongs the primary growth phase of our hair, also known as the Anagen stage. Before you get too excited and impulsively order a stash of minoxidil, I should mention that minoxidil can only activate the dormant hair follicles. It can’t grow new follicles in your body.
Ending on a High Note!
If none of the above-mentioned methods work but you still insist on growing beard, it’s time to consult a doctor. He could perhaps suggest hair transplant or hormone therapy. If I were you, I’d save myself the trouble.
Clean-shaven look is not going to go out of style anytime soon. We all know that. Besides that, you can do a lot with whatever little facial hair you have. A simple goatee or a fancy handlebar mustache can be just as glamorous as a well-maintained stubble.
If done right, even a thin strip of neatly trimmed chinstrap beard can more oomph than regular beard. To put it simply, don’t get too upset if you can’t grow a beard right now. This thing takes time and a true beardsman needs to master the art of being patient.
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