Does Shaving Make Hair Thicker? – Urban Legends Revealed
The beard not only connotes manliness, it is also the ultimate symbol of virility. Throughout history, it has always been associated with masculinity, leadership, wisdom, and power. Is it any wonder that beards have suddenly come back in fashion? There is no better way to say you are a man than by adorning a beard. However, you need to ensure that it is thick, dark (where applicable), and well-kempt. Failure to take good care of your beard will leave you looking like a God-awful hobo.
From the psychological point, beards signify great maturity. And in the mind of most of the women you’ll encounter, your manly mane connotes your ability to spew forth generations of healthy kids.
However, before you learn how to grow your beard faster and thicker, consider the following:
Contents:
The Razor and the Beard
More often than not, men – particularly who are having a hard time trying to get the mane of their dreams – ask “does shaving make hair thicker?” The answer to this question, sadly, is no.
As early as 1972, Dr. Herbert Mescon advised that shaving won’t make your whiskers coarser, darker, or grow any faster than they do. To this end, you can rest assured that shaving won’t rescue your beard and make it spout.
Although the rate at which your hair grows will certainly increase immediately after you shave, this increase will be followed by a slowing down in growth over the next couple of hours. This is why the net effect of your visit to the barber’s or time spent with a razor won’t lead to any significant increase in the size of your mane.
back to menu ↑Understanding Your Beard
The hair on your body, as well as on your face, goes through 4 distinct phases. These include:
– The growing phase (Anagen)
– The regression phase (Catagen)
– The resting phase (Telogen)
– The shedding phase (Exogen)
During your teens, your beard will mostly be in the Anagen phase, at which point it will start coming on full force. Therefore, shaving it on the regular will lead to more hair sprout up.
However, the growth won’t be caused by shaving. The reason behind it will be that your body will have started getting into its prime phase of growth resulting from the increase in testosterone.
Therefore, in the shortest of time frames, you will think that your beard is growing rather rapidly. The cause, of course, will be that your body (and any accompanying cover/hair) will be taking form.
In the same way, the hair follicles in your body can be in any of the stages outlined above. Shaving your beard, therefore, will normalize these follicles to a standard length. As a result, your beard will look like it has become thicker a couple of days down the line.
Since the beard naturally sheds and thins over time, during the Exogen phase, when you take a closer look at your freshly-shaved face, the beard will seem more concentrated.
back to menu ↑Tips to Increase Beard Growth
That said there are a couple of things you can do to make your beard grow faster, longer, and thicker. Consider the following:
a) Diet and Exercise
The outer layer of hair follicles and nails is mostly comprised of keratin. Adding more protein to your daily diet will have a profound impact on this build-up. It will, in effect, strengthen, build, and restore the luster of your beard.
Therefore, if you are looking to make your facial hair grow thicker, you will be well advised to increase your consumption of such foods as nuts, fish, eggs, and lean meats.
Similarly, exercising regularly will increase the flow of blood in your body. This will result in a steady increase in the rate at which the hair on your face growth. The same goes for getting tons of rest and sleeping in each night.
b) Mineral and Vitamin Supplements
Biotin ranks among the most common of vitamin supplements used to spur facial hair growth. This B-complex vitamin has a positive impact on the rate at which your beard grows. It is for this express reason why supplement companies are adding biotin to their chemical formulations to help men grow their beards faster.
To further elucidate, earlier, we talked about diets that can help you make your hair thicker. Eggs rank among the proteins that you need to add to your daily diet to maximize the rate at which your beard grows. This power protein, to this end, is packed with biotin. Actually, you get about 8 mcg of the vitamin in a single egg – which equals around 27% percent of the daily recommended value.
Almonds, on the other hand, provide tons of biotin per gram. Taking a cup of these nuts, therefore, will supply your body with 49% of the vitamin amount it requires (around 12.72 mcg of biotin).
c) Razor Type
The type of razor used to cut your facial hair directly impacts the rate at which your beard will grow. Actually, the technique that you use which shaving will alter the rate of hair growth.
More particularly, how low you cut your hair beneath the skin will determine whether you need to shave weekly, every other day, or daily. The best cartridge razors for men are effective because they pull hair from the root before cutting it.
With an electric razor, the blades are not as effective at matching the closeness you can achieve with a razor. The only way around this problem: use shaving cream with a foil-based electric shaver. If you use cartridge razor like Gillette Fusion ProGlide, your beard will be cut down shorter. This will make it take longer to grow and become thick. To this end, in case you would like for your beard to grow faster, you might want to use a simple electric shaver.
Concluding Thoughts
Over and above everything else, keep in mind that shaving – by itself – will not make your hair thicker. However, you can achieve faster growth, thickness, and volume by changing your diet and exercising more regularly. Similarly, you should add more minerals and vitamins to your meals to achieve your aims in a shorter period of time. Last but not least, ensure that you use a shaver that promotes faster beard growth and thickness.
