Growing back my beard.

[LoneWolfRadTrad]

The first time I grew one was last Summer.  It looked alright as a chin strap.

Now, I've got more hair higher up on my face.  Still don't have a full mustache, but I don't like them anyways.

So, this second time around... anything I should do?  Anything to keep in mind?

I probably won't groom it until it's over a half inch long.  It's been growing wild for a week, and I'm thinking it'll look decent in about eight or nine days at the rate it's growing.

I winged it the first time growing a beard.  Now that I have some idea as to what to do with it, what do you older, more experienced and more hairy guys suggest?

[dahveed]

I think that the most challenging thing about growing a beard is giving it the time needed, to grow. My first one was a mess, in the very early eighties, when I was nineteen. I skipped it for a long time. Started one about two years ago. It's heavily trimmed, but I like it. As to care, mostly, I keep it clean. I carry a comb for it. There are specific combs for the job, but I don't seem to be able to find them when I want one, so I usually carry a regular comb for it. Besides, I've found that one way to make my wife and the younger four kids laugh is to leave the comb in the center of the mustache and smile at them. 

In all serious, give the beard some time. Keep it clean. If you prefer sharp definition, trim the edges. Keep in mind that it, like so many things, takes time.

[AgnusDei1989]

Beards are awesome.

[Antonius Josephus]

For me, it takes about two to three weeks for it to properly grow in from nothing, so sucking it up and enduring the awkward stage (when it's not yet fully grown in) is key. Patience is a virtue ;)

But, it will be worth it.

[The_Harlequin_King]

I'm physically incapable of growing a beard, but I support you in this endeavor.

[cgraye]

I dislike beards, but I also dislike shaving.  This is most inconvenient.

[Mithrandylan]

I'm physically incapable of growing a beard, but I support you in this endeavor.

I am sad about this.  Perhaps there's something you can do?

[Mithrandylan]

My problem was always growing the beard up.  My beard basically starts just a little above my jawline and then grows down my neck.  I found that after shaving my cheeks on a pretty frequent basis (at least every two days, if not every day, if not multiple times a day) that with two weeks of unshaved growth, my cheeks filled in nicely.  I'm a novice beardsman, but I'd reccommend shaving your cheeks frequently (if your problem is growing the hair higher up on your face) and monitoring growth.  The rest of my face can fill out a beard pretty easily in probably a week's time (been months since I actually shaved it off so I may not be remembering right) but it looks weird if it stops just above your jaw line.  Or rather, it looks better if it's grown higher up.

[Phillipus Iacobus]

I'm physically incapable of growing a beard, but I support you in this endeavor.

I am sad about this.  Perhaps there's something you can do?

We're both part Asian. Thus, the beard thing does not come easy to us.

[drummerboy]

I'm physically incapable of growing a beard, but I support you in this endeavor.

I am sad about this.  Perhaps there's something you can do?

We're both part Asian. Thus, the beard thing does not come easy to us.

I can't grow a beard either.  I shave once a month, and that's only to get rid of a little stubble.  I suspect I have American Indian blood in me.  I have my family's geneology, and two men from my family line married women from Eagle River Wisconsin, and there's a reservation not far from there.  But I would have to find the records for them, which could be difficult.  I also have an uncle who looks pure blood Indian, almost like Jim Thorpe:

But I don't know if this is just how Bohemians look, but a friend of mine who has read up on this told me that many Bohemians in WI are actually descended from Indians who took Bohemian names.  Now I know also that the Indians in WI were put on reservations quite late compared to elsewhere in America, roughly around the time the Bohemians started coming here in mass, so its possible they took false names to blend in.  After all, many lighter blacks did the same thing; why not Indians?  And I do find it rather coincidental that many people with Bohemian names do look alot like Indians.  I also have very thick curly hair (my brother was able to grow an afro).  Again, like Jim Thorpe; and THorpe was Sacu and Fox, both tribes that live in Wisconsin.