Growing a long beard is really fun because you get to experiment with a ton of different facial hair styles, some of which may look good on your face and others which may not. However to experiment with styles, especially the longer ones, you will of course need to have a lengthy beard.
Now you may be wondering how fast your hair actually grows. And you may be asking yourself when can I finally sport that lumberjack beard and why is it taking so long for my beard to grow? After all we men only live so long. So, how long does it take to grow a beard?
How Long Does A Beard Take To Grow
Keeping in mind that there are various factors which will determine how fast your beard hair grows, the average rate of growth for facial hair is roughly half an inch (1.25 cm) per month. This may seem like a pretty slow growth rate. However within two months of growing you can already have an inch long beard, which is quite lengthy if you picture it.
Of course the rate of facial hair growth does differ from person to person. Some people can grow up to three quarters of an inch per month and some as little as one quarter of an inch per month. To get an idea of how long it takes to grow different lengths of beards just take a look at the chart below.
| Months | Beard Length |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.5 inches |
| 3 | 1.5 inches |
| 6 | 3.0 inches |
| 9 | 4.5 inches |
| 12 (1 year) | 6.0 inches |
| 18 | 9.0 inches |
| 24 (2 years) | 12 inches (1 foot) |
| 30 | 15 inches |
| 36 (3 years) | 18 inches |
| 48 (4 years) | 24 inches (2 feet) |
| 60 (5 years) | 30 inches |
| 72 (6 years) | 36 inches (3 feet) |
| 84 (7 years) | 42 inches |
| 96 (8 years) | 46 inches (4 feet) |
As you can see by the chart above your beard can take quite a long time to grow. Most men can grow a beard that is 3 or 4 feet in length at maximum. Seeing as it takes 1 year to grow 6 inches of facial hair, growing a 4 foot long beard would take roughly 8 ears to accomplish.
Also keep in mind that everybody is different. Men are like snowflakes because no two are alike. Some men may be able to grow only a 1 foot long beard while others may be able to grow it as long as 5 feet.
Your beard doesn’t just grow though and in fact there are three different stages of facial hair growth so let’s talk about those next.
The Three Stages Of Beard Growth
Like we said before, there are actually three different stages of beard growth your facial hair will go through before your beard is done growing and at its maximum length.
Stage 1: Anagen Stage
The anagen stage of facial hair growth is the stage where your beard does most or even all of its growth. Depending on your DNA and genetics this stage can last anywhere from 2 months up to 6 years. Some men experience very slow beard growth, in which case this stage will last several years, up to 6 as stated before.
On the other hand some men have really fast beard growth, in which case the anagen stage can last as little as a few months. Since this is the stage where your beard actually grows in length, once this stage is over your beard will not get any longer until your hair follicles get back to this first stage.
Stage 2: Catagen Stage
The catagen stage is the second stage of facial hair growth and it is where your beard stops growing. Once your beard stops getting longer, especially after a few months, you know that your beard has reached this second stage. Nothing really happens in this stage. The beard embeds in your face and more or less relaxes as you go about your daily life.
Stage 3: Telogen Stage
This is the third and final stage in the cycle of your facial hair growth. During this stage your hair follicles will produce new beard hair and will push the old ones out of your face. Some of your long beard hairs will fall out without provocation, but that is completely normal because new hair will start to grow afterwards.
Once the hairs fall out your body will return back to the first stage, the anagen phase. Also not all of your hair will fall out. It’s not like once your facial reaches this third stage of growth your whole beard will fall out in one foul swoop. Only a few hairs here and there will experience that and the rest of your beard will continue to grow and go through the cycles.
Growing A Beard: Final Thoughts
Also keep in mind that these stages don’t just happen once. In fact they keep repeating themselves over and over again. Not to say that your beard will grow infinitely because once it reaches a certain length it just can’t get any longer, but the stages of growth remain the same even after 10 years, just minus the drastic growth. Once your beard reaches its maximum length your beard hair may only grow by a small fraction of an inch per year, if at all.
If you feel that your beard is not growing fast enough you can always try a few different solutions. For one your diet affects how fast and how thick your beard grows. If you are having problems with slow beard growth make sure to get enough protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, carotene, biotin, and vitamins A, B6, D, and E. If you don’t want to change your diet you can always buy some beard growth supplements which contain all of the nutrients your beard needs.
Another thing that can affect the rate of growth is your mental state and stress. Being relaxed and feeling good will most likely cause your hair to grow faster. Another thing that can cause slow beard growth is a lack of testosterone, thus a supplement to increase your testosterone levels may also help.
Conclusion
We hope that we were able to put your concerns about your slow growing beard at ease and answer the question of how long does it take to grow a beard? Every man is different and all beards grow at a slightly different pace.
Of course if you think that yours isn’t coming in fast enough you can always try various solutions, but no matter what it will come along in due time. All that you need is patience. If you have any information about the time it takes to grow a beard that we forgot to mention or that we don’t know about, we would be more than happy to hear from you!
