new thread
this might not be the right message board but what the heck, many longhairs also grow beard.
here's my situation. I'm 17 years old and I want to grow a beard. the problem is that my facial hair doesn't grow thick enough, so it looks a bit shabby. I'd like a nice, thick *beard* you know, not just a lot of individual hairs (I know it's the same thing but I think you know what I mean). so I'm wondering, am I just too young still? will I never be able to grow a nice beard? or should I shave a lot and wait for a while? (I've heard that shaving the hair makes it grow faster and denser. it makes some sense to me 'cause you don't get real facial hair before you've shaved for the first time). a part of the problem might be that I've got some dark hairs and some lighter, so it's the darker hairs that are clearly visible and it will look like the hairs are further apart (I hope you understand what I mean). I guess I could color it but I dunno if I wanna go about like that. feels like cheating and stuff.
so, could anyone help me?
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Many men don't reach their full beard potential until their
mid-twenties. When I was 17 I had a very thin, wispy beard.
Eventually it filled in and I now I have a thick beard. Shaving the
hair doesn't make it grow any faster. It makes it appear thicker
since all the hairs are the same length. If you really want facial
hair perhaps you can try growing a moustache. Even a thin moustache
can look good on a young man. Give your moustache six weeks to reach
it's full potential before you decide if it is thick enough to keep.
BTW body hair continues to develop on men into their thirties and
some day you will find hairs growing in places you certainly don't
need them ;).
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I am 39 and my beard is still getting thicker. The same thing happens with lions. A young adult male lion has a small mane. The older ones are the ones with the thick, luxurient ones.
ONly to confirm what Gollan and Victor have said below. I have had a beard/goatee for the last 20 years, and it's better (thicker,fuller) today than ever. I am 43. My experience has been that it continues to get thicker. At 17, you are only beginning to develop what you will have. You are just going to have to bide your time. I have also been lucky in that so far, no gray hair.
Robert
The first thing you need to do is allow yourself a good
length of time for the beard to really grow in
and fully develop. It isn't something will happen
in five days. Depending on your whisker growth it
may take a few months.
You can't really tell how your beard will
look until you give it a good long
lengh of time to develop.
This may well mean a few months.......
I've grown many a beard over the years,
it doesn't happen in a couple of days.
I think growing a beard has a lot to do with genetics. If you notice people from around the world some can grow beards and others have trouble growing beards.
I am half Native American Indian and half Scandinavian so I have a decent moustache but if I try to grow a beard it looks like a 5 O'clock shadow for weeks. I could grow a decent goatee because it seems like my facial hair grows better on my chin than on the sides of my face but I really don't like the way I look with a goatee.
What is your background? Does your dad or grandfather have beards or moustaches?
I'm not sure about the age thing because I had a friend in high school who had a full beard by the time he was 18. He was of German decent and his brother did not have the facial hair he did.
I guess growing a beard and growing long hair goes hand in hand. Both take lots and lots of patience and some people have trouble with them and for others they come easy.
Good luck.
.
Check out the bulletin board named in the link below. This is a terrific group of guys who will answer any and all questions regarding facial hair.
-William