LET'S GET AWKWARD
We're continuing our 30-day beard sprint to help you go from bare-faced to bear-faced in no time.
We're now in week two, which means that things are about to get awkward.
The second week of beard growth is where you move beyond the action-hero stubble phase. Your beard is going to be patchy, uneven, and not particularly flattering. It might look like hair that grows in other parts of your body that we’ll refrain from mentioning. People are likely going to ask you if you are okay.
All of this is normal.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s your beard checklist for the second week:
WEEK 2 BEARD CHECKLIST
✔ Manage your expectations
✔ Moisture, moisture, moisture
✔ Trim your neckline
1. MANAGE EXPECTATIONS
Don’t be discouraged if your beard isn't looking very full or if you don’t have even coverage. On average, beard hair grows at a rate of one-half inch per month — or about an eighth of an inch per week. That means by the end of week two, you’re most likely going to have a quarter of an inch of hair. Most men will still have patchiness and bald spots at this stage.
2. MOISTURE, MOISTURE, MOISTURE
There are two causes of beard itch — the ends of your hairs are sharp and are curling back into your skin, or your skin and beard are dry. Hydrating products like Utility Oil soften and moisturize the skin and hair, helping to stop both causes of beard itch.
3. TRIM YOUR NECKLINE
By the end of week two, you may find that your beard hair is thickest on your neck. That neck hair may also be extending down past your Adam’s apple and giving you the dreaded neckbeard. At this point, it’s okay to clean up your neck and establish your neckline. Carlos Costa demonstrates how to trim your neckline in this video. If you’re not feeling ready to trim your neckline, you can get away with waiting until week three for this step.
Next week, we’ll take an in-depth look at handling your 3rd week and how to fight the urge to call it quits.