The law of diminishing beard returns

WHY IS IT SO PATCHY?

If you've been growing a beard for No Shave November — or just to bundle up your face for winter — then right about now, you’re likely finding yourself in the most challenging phase of the beard growth process.

Let’s get right into the two biggest setbacks men encounter during their third week of growth: beard discouragement and diminishing beard returns.

1. BEARD DISCOURAGEMENT

You might feel frustrated at how your beard is coming in, so let’s go in-depth on how beards actually grow.

The average man has 30,000 beard hairs on his face, and each one is doing its own thing. Some grow fast, some grow slow, and some grow all curly and weird. Additionally, beard hair behaves differently depending on where on your face it sprouts from.

Facial hair grows in 5 different areas:

The mustache - the hair above the upper lip.
The soul patch - the patch of hair directly underneath the bottom lip.
The goatee - the hair on the front of the chin, above the jawline, and expanding to the cheeks.
The side-burns or mutton-chops - the hair on the cheeks above the jawline.
The neck - everything that grows below the jawline.

Hair grows differently in each area and rarely grows in a way that is even and uniform. This becomes especially noticeable around the third week of beard growth.

Growth patterns differ from person to person and are highly subjective to a person’s age and genetics. Additionally, the hair that grows in each area has its own unique terminal length, which again varies from person to person. The majority of the bulk and shape of a beard comes from hair that grows on the neck. And this hair typically has the longest terminal length of all five growth areas and has a tendency to grow a little bit faster than the rest of your beard. So if you’re finding your beard to be thickest on the neck right now, this is why.

It’s natural for a beard to be patchy and disconnected at this point. The most important thing you can do right now is to give your beard more time before coming to any conclusions. Commit to growing your beard for at least 30–60 days.

Worried that your beard is patchy? Check out our article on Patchy Beards for some reassurance.

2. DIMINISHING BEARD RETURNS

During the first two weeks of growth, you probably noticed a significant amount of change as you transitioned from fully shaved to the beginnings of a beard. But as your beard grows, you’ll start to see the changes less and less. This is what we call diminishing beard returns, and it’s something that many men begin to experience in their third week of growth.

Don’t panic — your beard is still growing.

WEEK 3 BEARD CHECKLIST

✔ Commit to 30–60 days.
✔ If you haven’t done so already, trim your neckline!
✔ Continue to keep your beard moisturized with Utility Oil.

Next week, we’ll take an in-depth look at handling your 4th week and the beginnings of an actual beard.