As winter rolls around, you might start wondering whether it’s time to grow a beard. The luscious lumberjack beard is something that many men aspire to, but if your beard is constantly short and thin, it can be hard to imagine it being bushy and beautiful. But this winter could be the perfect time to start. If you’re looking to start a beard, here are the most important things to pay attention to.

Use Patience

Something that trips many men up is the fact that facial hair doesn’t grow as quickly as hair on the top of your head. Even if you tend to grow stubble very quickly, it can seem like it stops at that point and just doesn’t get any bushier. At this point many men feel discouraged and shave it off, resigning themselves to never having a beard.

The thing is, you usually have to wait at least a month or longer before it really starts resembling a full-grown beard. Most men never make it past the four-week mark, and that’s when you’ll really start seeing a change. Be patient and wait for the beard to grow in. You’ll be happy you waited.

Pay Attention to Your Diet

It’s not something many people think about, but hair growth is largely motivated by your body chemistry. Although much of your beard appearance is genetic, you need the right nutrients in order to foster proper hair growth.

Protein is the most important nutrient for hair growth because hair is mostly made up of protein, but other nutrients definitely play a part. Try to maintain high levels of fat in your diet, as well as iron, zinc, and vitamins E, C, D and B-complex.

Take Care of Your Face

One of the things that trips new beard owners up is the early itching. It’s one of the reasons why many men never get past the four-week mark to really start seeing the beard. Around the three-week mark, your face will probably start itching, and many men just shave it off at that point.

The secret to avoiding much of this itching is to really take care of your face. You can avoid a lot of the itching by washing and moisturizing your face. It’ll open up your pores, help remove itchy and painful ingrown hairs and generally make you look fresher and healthier.

Treat It Like Hair

This might seem obvious, but for some people, it’s a hard thing to keep in mind. Your beard is hair just like the top of your head, and you should be taking care of it the same way. That’ll make it look healthier and happier.

The most important thing is to shampoo and condition your beard just like you do with your other hair. Beards are usually coarser than the hair on your head, so conditioning is arguably even more important here. Pat it dry and be careful not to mess around with it too much before you style it.

Keep It Groomed

Grooming is the all-important step. The right grooming methods can make a beard look polished and put-together rather than raggedy and out of control.

You can comb a beard just like you can any other hair — you just need to be a little more careful than usual. To make sure that your beard is properly conditioned for grooming, invest in a good beard oil, which will have the added benefit of making you smell great. It also tends to help moisturize the skin underneath your beard and make your beard more supple and soft.

Second, you’ll have to start shaping your beard if you grow it out long enough. If you’ve never had a significant beard, you might want to go to a salon the first few times to get an understanding of the process. Find an Ogle School salon near you that can help you with the process and you’ll be well on your way.

Conclusion

It might seem like a daunting task to grow a beard, but it’s not actually that difficult. It all comes down to taking care of your skin and hair, which is important even if you don’t have a beard. From at-home treatments to salon trimming and everything in between, you can grow the beard of your dreams if you’re willing to put just a little bit of work into it.