Below is a step by step guide of easy and scientifically supported tips on how to speed up facial hair growth.
There are tons of products in the market that promises to help you grow a beard but ends up disappointing you.
The growth of the beard is controlled by genes, levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, and the sensitivity of the genes to the two hormones.
Anything that promises to grow your beard, should help in solving either your levels of the two hormones or the sensitivity of your genes or activating dormant facial hair follicles.
First and foremost, facial hair grows at the rate of half an inch per month. That rate cannot be increased but these tips will help you improve and speed up the growth of your beard, not the rate.
Tips on how to speed up beard growth
- Exfoliate your facial hair growth area
- Increase the level of testosterone in case yours is low
- Improve blood circulation in your facial hair growth area
- Improve the sensitivity of your androgen receptors
- Use peppermint oil, Rogaine, and beard roller
- Lead a healthy lifestyle
- Be patient and do not shave
As stated earlier the rate of growth of facial hair is half an inch per month. Whereas you cannot increase this rate of growth, you can speed up the time it takes to fill up your beard, and that what we will cover.
Table of Contents
How to make facial hair grow faster
Exfoliate your facial hair growth area
By facial hair growth area, I mean your cheeks, chin, and upper lip for the mustache. The reason for exfoliating your beard grow area is to ensure that your facial hair follicles are not clogged.
There are tons of face exfoliates on the market that you can choose from. Exfoliation will also help your body produce sebum oil which will help you moisturize your beard in the initial stages.
Increase the levels of testosterone in case you have low levels
The next step is to increase the levels of testosterone in your body, which will, in turn, increase the levels of dihydrotestosterone which is more potent than testosterone and promotes beard growth.
There are both natural and artificial ways to boost the level of testosterone. I recommend natural ways. Such as:
Exercising
Based on this study
, and this one, it has been proven that certain types of exercising such as resistance training will help you boost your levels of testosterone in your body.
The best form of exercise being resistance training and high-intensity interval training. Which has been proven by these two studies to boost testosterone in the body?
Supplements and food
There are also some foods that have been known to boost the level of testosterone such as ginger, onion, alfalfa sprouts, sorghum supplements, ashwagandha, creatine supplements, and vitamin D supplements, and so on.
These ingredients should help you boost your levels of testosterone naturally.
Improve blood circulation in your facial hair growth area
After making sure you have enough testosterone and DHT in your body, you should make sure there is enough blood circulation in your face so as to deliver testosterone and DHT to the intended location.
Study shows that that face massage helps increase blood circulation. Therefore massaging your face should help increase the flow of blood in your face especially when a derma roller is involved.
Consequently, this will help testosterone and DHT reach your facial hair follicles. Testosterone primes the facial hair follicles and DHT promotes linear growth of facial hair.
Improve the sensitivity of your androgen receptors
After ensuring that your skin is exfoliated, your levels of testosterone and DHT are right and blood circulation in your face is improved.
The next step is to ensure that your androgen receptors are sensitive enough, so that, they can bind DHT available in your blood system.
The sensitivity and number of androgen receptors in your body can be influenced by exercise, nutrition, and healthy habits.
Intermittent fasting
Research shows that intermittent fasting lowers inflammation, reduces cardiovascular risk factors, and improves the sensitivity of your androgen receptors.
Intermittent fasting involves eating for 8 hours and fasting for the remaining 16 hours. During this time your body digests food and metabolizes and resets.
Vitamin D
Research has shown that vitamin D has its own receptors which are in close proximity to the androgen receptors. One of the factors that are associated with stunted testosterone effects on androgen receptors is the deficiency of vitamin D.
Resistance training
Research shows that resistance training not only boosts the level of testosterone but also androgen receptor sensitivity.
L-Carnitine
Carnitine helps in burning fat into cellular energy. Research has shown that carnitine boosts androgen receptors and increases their sensitivity.
You can choose one of the recommended ways of boosting androgen receptors and increasing their sensitivity and stick with it.
For instance, you can combine resistance training and combine it with an L-carnitine supplement if you are also looking to boost muscle growth in the gym.
Use peppermint oil, Rogaine, and derma roller
Peppermint oil has been proven to stimulate hair growth if applied topically on the skin.
However, when ingested peppermint has been known to lower the levels of testosterone, and testosterone is important towards the growth of facial hair.
Therefore, avoid ingesting peppermint oil.
Research that involved, minoxidil, peppermint oil, and jojoba oil were conducted to find out which of the above ingredients promoted hair growth better.
At the end of the research, peppermint was found to have the best results, followed by Minoxidil, and lastly jojoba oil which had the worst results.
Peppermint oil with 3% was used in the study, it is not recommended to use pure peppermint oil as it is potent enough to burn your skin.
Alcohol is one of the best ingredients used to dilute peppermint oil and also for its extraction.
In this study, peppermint oil when topically applied led to increased levels of IGF-1 in the hair follicles.
IGF-1 is known to stimulate the growth of hair and follicles.
Despite the fact that this research was conducted using mice, IGF-1 has the same effect on human beings as it has on mice. It activates dormant hair follicles.
A combination of minoxidil and derma roller has also been proven to increase beard growth in an independent study.
Derma rolling your face increases blood circulation and also improves collagen production in the face when minoxidil is applied it has been proven to grow a beard.
There are tons of before and after pictures of people who have used minoxidil to grow a beard.
Even those who had not been able to grow a beard before.
Lead a healthy lifestyle
You need to lead a stress-free life, stress leads to the production of a hormone called cortisol which lowers the level of testosterone in the body.
You also have to get enough sleep and rest, lack of enough sleep have been known to lower testosterone in the body.
Exercise often and avoid junk food altogether.
Alcohol is also not a good option as it will also lower testosterone in your body.
Be patient and do not shave
If you set to grow a beard, put the razor away. The saying that shaving will help you grow a beard is just a myth. Be patient and let your beard grow. Good things come to those who wait.
Recap yips on how to speed up beard growth
- Exfoliate your facial hair growth area
- Increase the level of testosterone in case yours is low
- Improve blood circulation in your facial hair growth area
- Improve the sensitivity of your androgen receptors
- Use peppermint oil, Rogaine, and beard roller
- Lead a healthy lifestyle
- Be patient and do not shave
