Growing a beard can greatly enhance a man’s confidence as it’s often perceived as a symbol of masculinity, strength and maturity. But, for some men, growing a beard can be a source of embarrassment because it grows in a way that appears patchy. Patchy beards are more common than you may think, and there are many factors that can contribute to this appearance.
What’s Causing Your Beard to Look Patchy?
If you’re dealing with a patchy beard, the first thing that you must do is determine the cause. Why? Because identifying the cause of your patchiness will allow you to treat it accordingly.
Cause #1: Poor Diet and Lifestyle
In order for our hair to grow, we need to be in relatively good health as consistently as possible. For one thing, hair growth requires certain nutrients like vitamins and minerals. These vitamins and minerals give hair what it needs to grow quickly and be strong rather than brittle. Additionally, certain lifestyle habits can greatly interfere with beard growth by interrupting the natural process of the follicles. These habits include excessive drinking, smoking and severe stress.
Cause #2: Hormonal Imbalance
Our hormones control the rate at which our hair grows, as well as the evenness. In fact, beard growth is directly determined by dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a byproduct of testosterone, which is a male sex hormone. Now, many factors can contribute to an imbalance of our hormones. When our hormones are imbalanced, we may find that our beard growth is uneven.
Cause #3: Skin Conditions
It’s possible that a patchy, uneven beard is the result of a skin-related issue. An example would be if you have a fungal infection of the skin, or an inflammatory skin condition such as psoriasis. This is where you may find that your facial hair does not grow over the affected areas. If you have other symptoms such as itchiness, redness or sensitivity to skin products, you may want to consider seeing a dermatologist.
Cause #4: Poorly Formulated Beard Care Products
A major factor that’s often overlooked is poorly formulated beard care products. We all want to take great care of our beards on a daily basis, which is why there are so many different beard care products on the market today, ranging from moisturizing beard oils to cleansing beard washes. But, some popular beard care products contain very harsh ingredients that can actually damage the follicles by stripping them of nutrients and hydration. This means that using harsh ingredients may cause your beard to become patchy due to damage to the skin and follicles.
Cause #5: Genetics
Yes, genetics may have a role in uneven beard hair growth. If other men in your family have patchy beards, you may want to consider the fact that patchiness runs in your family. Still, this doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. There are definitely ways to boost even growth despite your DNA.
How to Fix a Patchy Beard
We know that beard patchiness is a common problem that can damage men’s confidence, and earlier, we discussed the many things that can contribute to this frustrating condition. Here are the ways in which you can fix uneven beard growth.
Solution #1: Visit a Dermatologist
First, we recommend seeing a dermatologist in order to rule out any skin issues that can be causing that patchy appearance. Skin issues such as skin infections and inflammatory conditions are far more common than we think, and they are not always symptomatic. Because skin issues can dramatically interfere with beard growth, ruling out a skin problem is a great place to start.
Solution #2: Have Your Hormone Levels and Nutrient Levels Checked
Next, we recommend checking your hormone levels and nutrient levels with your doctor by running some basic tests. As we’ve said, both poor nutrition and low testosterone can cause a beard to grow in unevenly. By having these levels checked, you can figure out if some sort of imbalance or deficiency is to blame.
Solution #3: Improve Your Diet and Lifestyle
Even if you don’t end up checking your nutrition and hormones, you can still take certain measures to improve your overall health. After all, a healthy beard depends on good internal health. So, make a point to diversify your diet, eating more plant-based foods that fill your body with nutrients that help your beard grow in more fully. Also, try to avoid stress as much as possible, and cut down on alcohol, smoking and other habits that can interfere with your overall health.
Solution #4: : Eat More Testosterone-Boosting Foods
Because testosterone levels are directly linked to beard growth, we suggest adding more foods into your diet that are known to increase testosterone. Foods such as eggs, tuna, oysters, beef, spinach and beans have all been found to improve testosterone levels.
Solution #5: Grow it Out
Also, remember that for many men, a patchy beard is just one phase of the growing process. The longer you let your beard grow, the more hair you’ll have to cover those patchy areas. So, if you plan on having a long beard, know that after a certain growth point, those patches will no longer be nearly as visible.
Solution #6: Invest in Better Beard Care Products
We cannot stress enough the importance of using the right products on your beard. Not only will low-quality products damage your facial hair, but they can also make existing problems with growth far worse.
Time to Treat Your Patchy Beard Once and For All
While having a patchy beard isn’t uncommon, it is aggravating for any man who dreams of having a thick, full, even and all-around glorious beard. Having a patchy beard can be quite annoying, and even embarrassing, but it doesn’t have to leave you feeling hopeless. There are many ways to treat uneven beard growth, as it turns out. Simply refer to this guide in order to start tackling this issue so that your beard can be nice and even at last.