Many people believe that beards can increase a man’s attractiveness. That’s why you’ll find many guys hoping to grow their beards, though actually growing it can be a little challenging, especially if your genetics don’t exactly line up with long, thick beards.
If you’re a fan of basketball, you must’ve heard of James Harden. The first thing you’ll probably notice other than his playstyle is his beard.
There’s no doubt that his beard is quite long and glorious looking. This may lead you to wonder, how did he manage to grow it that long and dense?
Well, other than genetics, there are a few other factors that come into play with beards that are that dense and long.
Thoroughly washing your beard and applying beard oil or cream afterwards will increase the chances of it growing longer and more healthy. Trimming and combing the beard hair after the 4-week mark will also improve its growth. If you follow these steps, you should be able to grow a beard like James Harden.
In the following sections, we’re going to discuss all the ways you can improve your beard hair’s condition and how you can stimulate the follicles to grow more.
How to Grow a Beard Like James Harden: Detailed Breakdown
Now let’s get to the fun part of growing your beard! Other than genetics, there might be other factors hindering your beard from growing longer.
What factors, you might be asking?
Well, it all comes to whether or not you’re actually taking care of your beard or letting it grow out naturally.
Don’t get me wrong, letting your beard grow without disturbing it is a good thing! But once you reach a certain density, typically around the three weeks mark, you’ll need to take matters into your own hands.
1. Sorting Out Your Tangled Beard
Beards, just like head hair, can get tangled up or suffer from split ends. When this happens, your beard will naturally stop growing to try and repair its hair first. Oftentimes, it doesn’t work and it just ends up badly shaped without reaching your desired length.
To prevent this from happening, you’ll need to spend time combing it every day. You can start to comb it once after waking up and then later before bed. This should help keep it completely untangled and prevent the hair from having split ends.
This may seem like a simple action at first, but you’ll be surprised by how much it’ll help with your beard growth!
Keep in mind that you’ll need to comb your beard in the direction you want it to grow. Don’t comb it in a random direction as it will take shape and grow towards the direction you’ll comb.
2. Washing Your Beard
Throughout the day, your beard can accumulate dust and dirt from the air. The dirtier it gets, the worse the condition of your beard will get. This will be due to the dirt reaching your beard’s hair follicles, blocking them and preventing the hair from growing.
That’s why it’s important to thoroughly wash your beard whenever you get the chance. You can wash it whenever you take a shower during the day.
It’s better to check your shampoo to see if it has natural components or if it contains more chemicals. It’s recommended to use shampoos containing natural ingredients when washing your beard rather than shampoos with chemicals.
The chemicals in the shampoo may cause your beard to dry and ruin its texture. It may also cause you to feel itchy after.
That’s why you can look for shampoos with more natural oils or vitamin B included.
3. When to Trim and When Not to Trim
The next thing you should do to encourage your beard to grow is to trim it. But wait! Can all beards get trimmed?
Unexpectedly, the answer is no! You can only trim your beard when it has grown fully. So not before the 3 or 4-week mark. If your beard is still short and you trim it, you will cause it to start growing irregularly and it may hinder its growth.
If you, however, start trimming it after it has reached an appropriate length, then it will greatly help with your beard’s growth.
Usually, not trimming your beard will cause it to have split ends. And as we’ve mentioned above, split ends will stop your beard from growing.
Once you trim your beard, you’ll be able to get rid of all the split ends and thus encourage the hair to grow.
4. Using Beard Care Products
Another thing you can do, especially if you have a patchy beard, is to use beard care products.
What products, you might ask?
There are a few you can use. In this situation, beard oils, creams, and conditioners are your best friends!
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Beard Oil
Beard oil can help smoothen your beard’s hair as well as keep your skin moisturized. Hydrated skin will always allow your beard to grow better. That’s why applying beard oil should be a constant in your beard care routine.
To apply beard oil, simply use 2 to 6 drops—depending on your beard density—and proceed by spreading them through the hair. You can do that by using your fingers as a comb and moving them from up to the very end of your beard. Do that until you make sure that you’ve spread it evenly to the hair.
Just make sure to wash your face and beard before applying the beard oil. Your beard must be cleaned before you apply anything to it so don’t skip this step in your care routine!
Beard oil is not only great for beard growth, but it can also help lessen any itching you might feel and also prevent your skin from drying. That’s why it’s a great product to use even after you’ve achieved your desired length.
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Beard Cream
Just like beard oil, beard cream will also help smoothen your beard hair while also strengthening it. It’s recommended to use in summer as it’ll help keep your skin moisturized while also unblocking any pores that might’ve been blocked by dirt or sweat.
You can apply it in the same way as beard oil. However, please keep in mind that you’ll need to wash your face and beard before applying. Don’t attempt to apply the cream over an unwashed beard.
After you’ve washed it well, all you’ll need to do is spread it through your beard and leave it to do its work. You can apply it before bed to allow it to spend as much time on your beard without coming in contact with the outside air in the streets.
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Beard Conditioner
Beard conditioners work on restoring any damaged hair in your beard while also getting rid of any dandruff that might’ve shown up in it.
In addition to that, beard conditioners will help provide your hair follicles with the nourishment it needs to grow as well as prevent the hairs from drying or becoming frizzy.
They can also help you with skin irritations and itches so it’s definitely a great product to keep in hand.
Beard conditioner is best applied after washing your beard with shampoo. As we’ve mentioned before, the shampoo to use is either natural shampoo or specially made shampoo for beards.
Though beards are also made of hair, they need other specially made products to get the best results. Using products that don’t suit your beard might give the opposite effect.
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Face Moisturizers
Aside from beard creams and oils, you should also use face creams and moisturizers. It can be used on all other areas of your face. Like the beard oil and cream, you’ll need to wash your face first.
Once you wash it, make sure to dry your face well before scooping a small amount of face cream. You can proceed with gently rubbing it through your face. The cream will provide your skin with any other nourishments it needs and help keep your entire face hydrated.
Rubbing the cream in a circular motion will also help improve blood flow and increase your beard growth. You can also rub in a circular motion around your beard without any cream. This motion will also help just make sure to use your fingertips.
You can continue rubbing for two to three minutes to get the best result.
5. Using Essential Oils
If you’re unable to get your hands on beard oil, you can try using essential oils instead. The best essential oils for beard growth are avocado oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, and tea tree oil.
You can try using them individually or you can mix them up to create your very own homemade beard oil.
You can try mixing up one ounce of jojoba oil with a few drops of tea tree oil—7 drops would be enough for this recipe. Add half an ounce of avocado oil and a quarter ounce of almond oil and just mix them all together.
Though it may not work as well as bought beard oil, it will still give you almost the same result.
6. Taking Care of Your Health
It’s no surprise that your health plays a big role in your beard’s growth. Whether you follow a healthy diet or do exercise, they’re all factors that decide your beard’s health.
This is why if you’d like to give your beard a better chance of growing longer, then it’s better to follow a healthy lifestyle.
This means that you’ll need to add a more balanced meal to your day. Protein is a must-have in your food, as well as vegetables. You need to stock up on the vitamin C and E in your meals to encourage your beard to grow.
7. Exercising Everyday to Reduce Stress
Another reason for beard hair not growing is stress. This is also the same with your head hair. Stress can affect your hair growth greatly and can even lead to hair loss.
This is where the exercise comes in handy. Not only does exercising help improve your overall health, but it can also help you overcome your stress.
In addition to that, exercising can help increase your testosterone and blood flow which are two of the main factors when it comes to beard growth.
Once you get that blood pumping, your beard’s hair follicles will start getting everything it needs to grow well.
8. Drinking Enough Water Everyday
We all know how important water is to our health regardless of whether we want to grow hair or not.
It’s a known fact that water can help greatly with your skin’s health as it can keep it hydrated and smooth. And since it can improve your skin’s overall condition, it naturally improves your beard’s condition as well. The better your skin is, the more likely your beard will grow without obstacles.
That’s why you should remember to always drink water throughout the day. Drink at least 8 cups, which is the recommended amount per day, and if possible, drink more. You can also keep a reminder on your phone to remind you of drinking it whenever you’re outside.
You can consider carrying a 2-liter bottle of water around with you wherever you go outside or when you exercise. These 2 liters should be enough to complete your daily quota of 8 cups per day.
9. Taking Enough Time to Rest Every day
Another thing to consider is taking enough rest every day. The less you rest, the more stressful and exhausted you become. The more stressful you are, the less likely your beard will grow.
That’s why it’s recommended to follow the 8 hours of sleep schedule every night. Once you’ve become well-rested, your stress and exhaustion levels should decrease, and thus improve your chances of growing a beard.
10. Consider Taking Supplements
There’s a big chance that your beard isn’t doing a good job with growing because your body is lacking the vitamins needed for its growth. In this case, you can try taking supplements.
There are a lot of supplements that can help boost your beard’s hair growth. A few of them are vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, and iron.
People with anemia usually suffer from low iron levels which in return, causes hair to fall. It’s the same for beards too. If your body is lacking iron, it’ll also stop your beard from growing well.
Taking these supplements can help improve your body’s overall health while also assisting your beard’s growth and strength.
11. Let It Grow!
Now that we’ve gotten all the other methods out of the way, it’s time to go back to the good ol’ days where you just let it be! That’s right! The last method of getting your beard to grow is to just simply leave it alone! We’re all different and unique in our own way, from personality to looks.
The same is for how our body works and our genetics. Some people naturally can get their beards to grow as long as they want, while others will have a little harder time getting to grow out.
For the people who can naturally get their beard to a long length, it’s better to simply keep it clean and comb it to make sure it stays healthy. You won’t need to follow many steps to get it to the James Harden level.
For people who have a little harder time, you might have to follow all the previously mentioned methods to get your beard to that level. However, since it all goes back to genetics, there’s a small chance that it won’t lead to a large difference.
But don’t be disappointed! It can still greatly help with any empty patches in your beard and will allow your beard to grow to a certain degree and keep it in a healthier condition, which will allow it to look better!
Final Thoughts
Growing a long, full beard can require just as much care as your head hair. Yes, it takes quite a bit of effort, but the end result can be well worth it, especially if you’re the type who has a harder time growing your beard.
There are multiple methods you can follow to improve your beard’s growth. We’ve listed a few of the best methods to follow, and depending on your needs, you’ll certainly find the most suitable one for you.
Wonder if your beard will grow better if you pluck it? Click here to find out if it will or not!
