The beard is said to be the secondary sexual characteristic unique to a man, it is facial hair that develops during puberty. Whether the growth of a beard is related to fashion, religion or belief, those little hair follicles that sprout from the face are very precious to some men and their self-image.

A beard is ‘awesomeness’ escaping through the face!
Pogonophobia is the ‘love of beards’ and there is a lot of love out there for facial hair growth and trimming, you can sculpt, dye and decorate them.

There are books, YouTube videos and groups that are focused on growing and maintaining beards – a facial feature that some men feel give them a new identity.

One such group are the Minox Beard Spot group on Facebook, they have 56k members that consist of men who share their journey to becoming ‘beardsmen’. Most of the members use products that contain minoxidil to stimulate hair growth on their face. Minoxidil is a potassium channel opener, it widens blood vessels and allows more oxygen, blood and nutrients into hair follicles. The use of minoxidil isn’t a new thing, it is also used in products for hair loss conditions such as alopecia.
Facebook group available:

A man without a beard is like a lion without a mane…

History tells us that facial hair was sometimes seen as a sign of strength, dominance or ranking just like a lion – king of the animal kingdom. 

The highest-ranking Ancient Egyptians grew narrow long beards from their chins, dyed them red and plaited them with gold thread. The Terracotta Army soldiers can be seen with moustaches and goatees which were the fashion in the Qin Dynasty. In Greece, a beard was the sign of virility and the Celts used to think that it was dishonourable to have no facial hair. In middle-age Europe, knights viewed a beard as a sign of virility and honorability and if someone was to hold or pull a man’s beard, it would be a reason for a duel. Nowadays, if you pull a man’s beard you could end up in all sorts of trouble, not an organised ‘pistles at dawn’ or ‘draw of swords’ so don’t try it.

Is facial hair attractive to the opposite sex? Some think so…

Bristlr.com is an app that allows communication between bearded men and women (normally not bearded) who love beards, allowing ‘matchers’ to chat, date or even take it that step further.  

If you’re a man and not having much luck finding a potential partner, it could be time to try growing a beard.

Primandprep.com did a 2019 survey to find out what type of facial hair do women find most attractive, the results were….
https://www.primandprep.com/do-women-like-facial-hair-survey-results/

1. Short stubble.
2. Clean-shaven.
3. Long stubble.
4. Full beard.
5. Goatee.
6. Moustache (otherwise known as ‘mustache’ or ‘mustachio’)
7. Circle beard.

Have you got cute chubby cheeks or a double chin?

You can use facial hair to chisel and shape your face. If you have a round face keep the beard density less bushy on the sides and longer hairs coming down from the cheekbones and try to cut the beard in straight lines. A goatee is a good option taking the focus away from the cheeks if they are a little chubby. If you have a double chin, growing the beard down the neck can help hide that. There are different types of ‘goatee’ beards, the detached, full or barely there. If you want to make a bold statement, keep a full moustache and trim the sides of the beard. 

Want to know more? Take a look…http://beardstyle.net/beard-styles-for-round-face/

Beard under construction…

Even though growing facial hair is a natural process for a man, it doesn’t always come easy. The hair growth can sometimes be slow, patchy or straggly and for some men who are desperate to grow a beard, it can be frustrating. The amount of facial hair a man gets can be down to genetics, health, hormones or stress. A man can be a late bloomer or slow burner and it can sometimes feel like they are waiting an eternity in their struggle to become a bearded man.

There are different options to help with facial hair growth. Some that have been available for years and other new developments such as 3D technology to stimulate human scalp skin allowing new hairs to grow. 
Read more here: http://bit.ly/3DPrintingBeards

Other options include:

• A beard transplant – the procedure is known as ‘Follicular Unit Extraction’ (FUE). The surgeon removes individual hairs in their follicles from a donor and grafts them wherever required on the scalp of a patient :
• Stem cells – scientists have been using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to create natural looking hair. This finding could revolutionize the hair growth industry.
• Hormone treatment – Testosterone encourages hair growth. The hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) can cause hair loss so you must take medical advice when considering hormone treatment Insert link:

There are less invasive ways to encourage facial hair growth and a combination of a healthy lifestyle and a supplement could be all that is needed. For example:

• Good sleep – when you sleep, your body produces testosterone
• Exercise – physical activity can help produce testosterone
• Diet and skincare – eating a healthy balanced diet and taking care of your skin by removing dirt and dead skin cells can help
• Beard oil – beard oil containing unrefined jojoba and pure argan oil can promote beard growth by naturally moisturizing the skin under a beard
• Massage – increasing blood flow to the skin can promote hair growth
• TLC – like most things, tender loving care and good grooming can help create a beard to be proud of (remember to brush out any food remnants – it’s not a good look)
• Minoxidil – MinMax-Pro – a topical treatment that contains 3 key factors – IGF-1 (a hormone which manages the effects of GH in the body), bFGF (basic Fibroblast Growth Factor) and Caffeine (helps to elongate the follicles). These together work to stimulate hair growth when applied directly to the hair follicles. MinMax-Pro also contains 15% high strength Minoxidil which increases blood supply to the follicles. Usage for beards: normally a pea-sized amount of minoxidil is rubbed into an area of skin on the face where there may be patches of small hairs or no growth at all

For more information about MinMaxPRO head over to antiaging-systems.com

Whether you’re going for a bushy full beard like that of Santa, a short and trimmed style like Abraham Lincoln or the moustache and trimmed beard like that of William Shakespeare, try minoxidil to get a beardiful!

Further Reading:

1.) Facebook Group, The Minox Beard Spot: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheMinoxBeardSpot/

2.) How 3D printing allows scientists to grow new human hairs:
http://bit.ly/3DPrintingBeards

3.) Functional hair follicles grown from stem cells:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190627171549.htm

4.) More information about MinMaxPRO (Mioxidil) here: http://bit.ly/MinMaxPRO