These easy and practical tips for growing, trimming, and maintaining a full and healthy beard will help you get the beard you've always wanted.

Easy Beard Growth Tips 

If you're tired of shaving your beard every day growing it out might be the answer you've been looking for. Beards are the hottest trend for men this year and the fuller the beard the better. As this trend takes off, we see more celebrities and professional athletes wearing them. It's pretty easy to grow a beard. With a little knowledge and some handy beard growth tips, you'll grow a soft, shiny, and ultra-healthy beard.

In order to grow a full beard, it's recommended to leave your beard alone for the first two months. This means no trimming or shaving. This allows your beard to grow in a natural state and also enables thin patches to fill out to their maximum potential. Daily brushing, along with proper diet and skincare will ensure that your beard grows as fast as possible and as thick as possible. It also allows you to see the pattern in which your hair grows. Once you know the pattern of the hair you'll be able to determine which beard shape will best suit your face and train the hairs in a preferred direction. Then you can trim your beard accordingly.

It's no secret that testosterone helps promote hair growth. While it's always a good idea to work out, hitting the gym, specifically weight training, can help boost testosterone by as much as 21%. These higher testosterone levels may contribute to increased hair growth. Although this effect only lasts a short time, regular strength training also releases endorphins. These endorphins help elevate mood, help improve focus, and of course lower body fat. For maximum effectiveness, work out in the morning when testosterone levels are at their highest. 

Taking care of the skin under your beard is key to ensuring the healthiest beard possible regardless of the stage it's in. This means it's important to exfoliate the skin. When you're washing your face be sure to clean the skin under the beard with a beard shampoo. Use the pads of your fingers and never use your nails or anything abrasive. Doing this stimulates the hair follicles and removes impurities from the pores. When the skin and hair follicles are healthy, the hair that grows is healthy too. Caring for the skin under your beard also reduces itching. Remember to not be too rough on the skin. The point is to stimulate the follicles and not damage them. 

For medium to longer beards, daily brushing will keep it healthy and tangle-free. If you're just getting started growing your beard, brushing it helps train the hairs to lay in the direction you want them to go. Natural bristle beard brushes are preferred because they're effective at distributing the natural oils from your skin and onto the hair. Brushing your beard also sloughs off dead skin and helps reduce itching as the hair gets longer. In addition, brushing your beard stimulates the hair follicles resulting in healthier hair growth. 

Maintaining a soft and healthy beard is easy when you have quality beard products in your beard care arsenal. From washes to oils each product is instrumental in helping you achieve the best results possible. Unlike regular shampoos, beard washes and conditioners are formulated to address the specific needs of beards. It's best to avoid using body washes or soap to wash your beard as they can strip the hair of moisture and dry out your skin. Using a beard balm or oil will keep your beard in place while conditioning and moisturizing it at the same time. As your beard grows you'll become familiar with its needs and which products work best on you. 

An excellent way to add softness and shine to your beard is to apply oil. The most common types of oil are coconut and argan. But it's really about what works best for you. It usually doesn't need to be applied daily but does make a big difference in your beard's texture. Oil is best when used on mid to long hair but if you're experiencing a lot of itchiness, oiling your beard and the skin underneath may help relieve it. Keep in mind that If your beard is still short enough to see the skin underneath oil may cause breakouts. In this case, try cleansing the skin and moisturizing before oiling. 

One of the most important and often overlooked ways to improve beard growth is with a proper diet. Protein, essential fatty acids, b6 and b12 are all major contributors to strong and healthy hair. Healthy nutrition is always recommended and protein-rich foods like beef, chicken, and fish help muscle tone as well as hair. Essential fatty acids have a wide range of benefits, including cell growth and blood circulation. Those, in turn, help hair follicles work to their optimal potential in producing healthy hair. If eating healthy is a challenge or if you're pressed for time, there are many vitamins and mineral supplements available. Start eating healthy and taking supplements at least a month before you begin growing your beard although it's never a bad time to start eating healthier.  

Now that you've had time to grow your beard and learned about the different beard styles, it's time to trim your beard. It's recommended to invest in a good quality beard trimmer. When trimming, start wider or further outward than you think you should go and work your way in. It's easier to trim a little more off than to add. You don't want to have to change the entire shape of your beard to compensate for trimming off too much. To determine how far up the neck you should go, a good rule of thumb is to go up to the point of your jawline that you can see when looking at yourself in the mirror. For instance, if you were to take a ruler and go from the front of your chin straight back to your neck, everything below the ruler would get trimmed. Going too far up underneath the jaw tends to make the profile disproportionately pointy. 

For cheek lines, there are many styles and it really is a personal preference as to what shape to trim them. Keep in mind that different shapes look differently on people and the final result depends on each individual's face shape. However, what makes the biggest impact is to have the lines clean and neat and not untrimmed. A beard that grows up onto the cheeks without a clear line looks unkempt. Start trimming high and work your way down keeping the angle in mind. Some prefer a curved shape while others parallel their jawbone. There aren't any hard or fast rules here. That's what makes each beard unique.