Over time we have come into contact with a huge number of people who are bearded and wanting to grow beards that have a lot of questions. We have found that there are a lot of misconceptions about growing a beard, so we decided to separate fact from fiction and reveal what the reality is when it comes to beards.

Bearded Myth or Reality?

1. Myth: A beard should look complete in 2 to 3 weeks.

Reality: Believe it or not, it actually takes up 2 to 3 MONTHS for the majority of men to have a complete, FULL beard!

2. Myth: If my beard has not filled in by the time I’m in my 2os, it never will.

Reality:The reality is that most beards IMPROVE throughout your 20s and 30s, sometimes even into your 40s and 50s. The majority of men do find however that their beards fill out into their late 20s.

3. Myth: Having a beard in the summertime will always make me feel hot.

Reality: Beards actually make you feel COOLER in the summer! The reason for this is because it shades your face and acts like an evaporative cooler when you sweat and get a little breeze. Some men do report that in humid climates having a beard makes them feel uncomfortable, but it is not entirely clear whether shaving it off will help.

4. Myth: If you have a job interview coming up, you should shave.

Reality: The everyday reality is that the majority of employers that are not anti-facial hair or anti-beard and in general will not discriminate against a someone wearing a nicely styled, well groomed and maintained beard. It may in fact help the employer remember the candidate even more, and it may also give the illusion of additional experience and confidence. In the cases where the company has a no-beard or facial hair policy, the interviewer will likely inform the candidate of this restriction, and this information should help the candidate decide if he wants to work for such a company.

5. Myth: My girlfriend thinks my beard makes me look like a homeless dude or a creepy perv.

Reality: It is often the CHANGE that she objects to. It takes time to adjust to a new look and in most cases, she will come around. We think that the best approach is to discuss WHY you are growing your beard and how it feels to you, and ask for patience, understanding, and tolerance while you journey to epic beardedness.

6. Myth: A good looking and well styled beard requires you to have connectors between the mustache and goatee to look good/complete.

Reality: Look around you! You’ll see lots of guys with missing connectors between the beard and mustache. The truth is that when we observe other people’s appearance, we tend to see the beard as a whole and how it suits the man, not the missing parts. However, when looking at ourselves, we focus on what the imperfections are. We recommend that if you find one connector is weak or missing, shave the other to match. Symmetry is much more important that complete fullness.

7. Myth: Shaving will make your beard grow back faster/darker/thicker.

Reality: There is no real evidence that shaving does any of these things. It CAN give the illusion and make the stubble appear as if it is coming in thicker. This is because the blunt ends of the hairs when cut reflect light differently.

8. Myth: The darker the beard, the better it looks!

Reality: Guys with fair haired beards have the potential to grow awesome looking beards though it may not seem that way until the beard gains some decent length. This is the result of how the color of your facial hair reflects the sunlight. Multi-colored beards can sometimes make the beard look even fuller during a face-to-face encounter (bearding).

9. Myth: Beard inheritance (growth pattern, density, color) comes from your mother’s side.

Reality: Beard inheritance comes from both your mother and father. The myth comes from the belief that the “baldness gene” comes from the mother and therefore so do the beard genes. Experts have shown this to be false as well as lots of anecdotal evidence.

10. Myth: if you want your beard to always be well styled, groomed and maintained, a barber is the best place to get it done

Reality: Always make sure you have flawless communication between you and your barber to ensure you get the style you want! If you go to your barber and you don’t exactly know how to describe what style you want, then it is up to the barber to interpret your needs – just like cutting the hair on your head.

In many cases, having your own beard trimmer is the best way to go. Over time you’ll soon become a pro. If you want easy and applicable advice on how to achieve unique styles why not check out our kindle book, New Facial Hair, New You!

11. Myth: Having more than one color in your beard makes it look weird and out of place.

Reality: Having multiple colors in your beard or facial hair gives it a unique and distinguished look in the eyes of most people that appreciate beards. It is often only on ourselves we tend to find this some kind of deficiency.

12. Myth: Products such as Minoxidil and others, will help to make your beard denser, give you full coverage, or even kick-start a beard growth on a teenager.

Reality: The reality is that only a few products have demonstrated any improvement to beard growth. Minoxidil has demonstrated some success, but most report that the gains are lost when the usage of the product stops.

13. Myth: If I grow an awesome beard, I will have problems when travelling due to my passport and other forms of ID show me as shaven.

Reality: Officials see hundreds of photos a day and are trained to look past as superficial as a new beard or different hairstyle.

14. Myth: I can’t grow a full beard because I have patchy areas on my cheek(s).

Reality: In most cases we suggest that you give it 2-4 months of committed beard growth, the patchy spots will fill-in or fill-over completely due to slower growers emerging or sufficient length that some of the beard will lay down over the sparse area.

15. Myth: Having a “corporate” beard is less maintenance than shaving daily.

Reality: A decent looking “corporate” beard requires at least as much time in the morning as a regular shave due to regular trimming and grooming.

16. Myth: My beard will go grey when the hair on my head does.

Reality: Beard hair and head hair are independent in just about every regard, including color and the rate they’ll go grey. Some beards go grey many years before head hair, and vice versa.

Are any of these an issue for you? Let us know, we always want to hear what you awesome people are thinking. Tell us if there are any that we haven’t included in the comments section.