Patchy beard is one of the most common problems many men suffer through, and some years ago, even we were struggling too to fix it. Luckily, we found a solution for “how to fix patchy beard” after researching and trying several things at home. It has not only boosted our confidence but also urged us to find its cause.
That’s when we tried to closely monitor ourselves to note down the list of things that contribute to sparseness. We even tried to cross-check them to validate, and they turn out to be the causes of beard patchiness. Furthermore, we even got some technical points that are accountable for patchy beards. All these points will refrain you from committing the mistakes that you would be doing unknowingly.
You might even wonder when these patches will go away after dedicating strictly to the solutions. Well, we have a deadline for it as well. Lastly, we have got you covered with some beard styles to wear despite having patchy beards.
So are you ready to fix your patchy beard? Let’s get started:
Table Of Content
Why is My Beard Patchy? What Causes a Patchy Beard?
Several factors contribute to bald patches in beard hair, which need to be timely fixed. We have compiled a list of reasons that could be the same even for your beard patchiness. So go through it and let us know what triggered your bald spots.
Insensitive Androgen Receptors
Around 2 to 5 males out of 100,000 suffer from Androgen insensitivity, which leads to slow hair growth or patchy beards.
Though testosterone and DHT levels are accountable for facial hair growth, they are nothing without androgen receptors. It’s because these hormones are required to enter the beard follicle cell’s DNA, for which the hormones will need the support of androgen receptors.
The beard will grow patchy or sparse since the androgen receptors are highly insensitive or unresponsive to the hormones.
In simple language, androgen receptors act as a bridge between hormones and the DNA of the beard follicles. To let the hormones work with full fledge requires entering the DNA, which is only possible if the bridge is working.
Low Blood Circulation
Beard patches are often seen on cheeks than the other beard areas, and the reason is slow blood flow. It is one of the reasons you see a fuller growth on the upper lips and chin rather than cheeks.
Unhealthy Lifestyle
In this fast-moving world, we prefer eating hybrid food or do not get enough sleep, which leads to an increase in stress levels. All these unhealthy lifestyles slow down hormone production, which leads to slow and sparse hair growth.
Underlying Skin Conditions
Alopecia Barbae & Alopecia Areata are two underlying skin conditions that cause beard patchiness. It is spot baldness that creates dime-size bald spots into the facial hair.
It happens when your immune system misinterprets hair follicles as foreign elements and attacks them. It is the sole reason why Alopecia Areata or Barbae are called autoimmune conditions.
Although you have to consult your dermatologists who handle such cases, these conditions do not have any fixed solution.
Genetics
Do men in your family have a thick and luscious beard without any patches?
If that’s the case, then there are high chances that you would be growing one without any complaint. However, there are only a few men who can grow flawless beards, while some seek solutions.
The genes play an important role not only in your overall body growth but also in facial hair. However, with the advancement of technology, there are now solutions to it, which we will discuss in a while.
Low Growth of Hormones
Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone hormones are responsible for facial hair growth. The abundance of these hormones shoots up to full beard growth and overall density. Contrary to this, if your body does not produce sufficient hormones, you will struggle with beard growth.
Age
Age is a contributing factor both in beard growth and no growth. Beard hair starts to grow as soon as you reach puberty, which may look embarrassing at the beginning since it grows only on upper lips, and that too, a thin line. However, if one gives their beard time to mature, he will surely grow a full beard. Don’t fret; if you haven’t seen any growth in puberty, even one of our team members, who is 25, has just started growing facial hair, which most men grow in puberty.
Now that you know patchy beard growth causes- let’s see the patchy beard remedies.
How to Fix Patchy Beard? How To Fill In Patchy Beard? (12 Solutions)
For every problem, there is a solution that is neat, clean, and wrong. – H. L. Mencken
If a beard patch is a problem, we have a list of solutions to it, which are tried and tested. Here are the tips and products at your disposal to fix your patchy beard.
No Trimming for First Two Months
Patches in facial hair during the first weeks are common amongst men with genetics or hormonal imbalance. Though it looks embarrassing, you still need to resist the urge of trimming or shaving and let it grow for at least two months.
Usually, beards take 4-weeks, but it’s better to wait for more than a month to grow to the fullest. It will help you figure out the uneven growth and even the patchy areas. Generally, they are cheeks, but it’s better to know for a safer side.
Contrary to this, who knows, you might even notice a fuller beard growth without any patches that you had discovered 2-months ago. However, if you still see patches, the next tip will help you style your patch beards.
Trim Evenly
Patchy facial hair is not a curse, and you can fix it with some adjustments. Trimming is one of the patchy beard’s solutions that can save you from embarrassment. Once you grow your beard for 2-months, it’s necessary to trim them to make it look uniform.
Since patches are visible on the cheeks, it is easier to sculpt the area. Trim the facial hair on cheeks shorter than jawlines and neckline. Then trim slightly on the jaws and neck to make it look fuller and denser from all sides.
Say No to Poor Diet
Incorporating a healthy diet is one of the solutions to not only patchy growth but overall body growth. You know how high T and DHT levels can shoot up facial hair growth. Contrary to this, if the levels of the hormones are low, you will suffer from slow hair growth or patch beards.
Fortunately, some fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds spike up hormone levels, resulting in patch-less beard growth (like enough consumption of biotin for beard). Also, there is more nutritional intake that brings back life to beard follicles. So, let’s know what they are and how do they work:
- Meat, Peanut, Sunflower Seeds, Tuna, Beef – contains Niacin that supplies oxygen and nutrients to hair follicles.
- Fish & Other Sea Foods – rich in Omega-3 fatty acids promote growth.
- Pomegranate Juice – intaking pomegranate juice daily can shoot up the testosterone and DHT levels by 24%. It also boosts blood flow and helps reduce patchiness.
- Sorghum- enzymes are responsible for producing DHT, and Sorghum mounts up the levels of enzymes by 54%.
- Coffee- is linked to boosting testosterone levels.
So these are some foods linked to fuller beard hair growth. Others are milk, chocolates, and avocados. However, you should not expect overnight results as they are not specifically proven growing beards, but they will start showing results with months of regular intake.
Apply Rogaine for Beards
Minoxidil (Rogaine) has proven to be effective against hair loss. It started as a medication for lowering blood pressure, but hair growth turned out to be its side effect. Soon, it was approved by the FDA as a hair growth pill.
There is even a study between Minoxidil and Placebo wherein a few peach fuzz men applied 3% Minoxidil, and others applied Placebo for 4-months. The Minoxidil turned out to be effective against Placebo, and the growth rate was touching the skies.
Now you might be wondering, are the results permanent?
Of course, the only condition is that you must continue to apply Minoxidil until all your vellus hairs transform into terminal length. Also, it is one of the things that even our team member has applied. Guess what, the results were amazing. The hairs actually grew, and the bald spots slowly started covering.
Microneedle Your Beard Area
Sometimes, the inactive hair follicles can also be the reason for patches on your facial hair. It needs to be activated, which is possible with micro-needling your skin. It causes micro-punctures into your facial hair area.
As soon as it punctures the skin, the body responds to healing the area by increasing the flow of blood filled with nutrients and hormones that produce collagen. Collagen is responsible for healthy hair growth.
Use Derma roller 1-2x per week in horizontal, vertical, and diagonal directions. To double the results, you can use Minoxidil with Derma Roller. A group of volunteers who used both the products got amazing results than the ones who only used Minoxidil. It is one of the secrets that could quickly fill the beard patches.
Live Healthy Lifestyle
You know how poor sleep, increase in stress levels, and poor diet contribute to bald patches. Contrary to this, if you just bring a small change in your daily schedule, it may help you grow a full and thick beard.
- Walking daily increases testosterone levels
- Gyming makes the androgen receptors responsive
- Taking enough sleep keeps stress levels at bay and acts as a beard filler
- Physical involvement with the opposite sex can also increase beard growth hormones
- Limit stress levels to avoid a decrease in the growth of beard growth hormones
Maintain Beard Lines
You don’t want to look untidy or unprofessional, which is why you need to do some work on your patchy facial hair. What we suggest is:
- To trim your sideburns and create a sharp borderline around the face
- Keep cheekbones, jawline, nose, and lips tidy and in shape
- Maintain the lines around your beard and apply beard oil regularly
Condition Your Facial Hair
Another cause of patchy beards can be poor maintenance of your facial hair. And only the right products (like beard serums) can bring a big difference to your facial hair. You can use Honest Amish or Cremo Brand Beard oil or beard balm to maintain the health of your hair. Besides, you can even use an exfoliant to remove dead skin cells and prevent dry skin. Moreover, it stimulates the skin underneath and prevents itchiness.
Hide Patches
If the patches are small, you can even use an eyebrow pencil to hide them. You might be thinking, how can we use women’s grooming tools? Well, they have been doing this for years to fill in their eyebrows. It is quite a budget-friendly way to fix patchy beards. What you must keep in mind when using this pencil is it matches beard hair color.
Dye Your Facial Hair
If given a choice which one would you choose as a thick and patchy-free beard; darker or lighter facial hair?
Of course, it would be darker, but what if you have lighter facial hair? How would you make it look patch-less and fuller?
It’s simple; you can dye a shade darker than your facial hair. The beard dye will color vellus hair as well, which will make your beard hair look sparse-free. Choosing a beard dye is also a crucial task as you cannot bring home any beard dye. Also, you must know the different types of dyes, such as temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent.
In this case, you must choose a temporary beard dye that lasts for a maximum of 2-days. Also, don’t get tempted and start dying your beard without the proper information. A wrong selection can leave permanent stains on the face.
Apply Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil has been effective against growing beards and filling up the patchiness on the facial hair. The oil increases the growth hormone levels within the hair follicle cells and shifts the inactive hair follicles to the anagen phase (a phase where vellus hair turns into terminal length).
You know how powerful Minoxidil is, but what if we tell you that Peppermint oil steps ahead of Minoxidil when it comes to growing and filling facial hair. Besides, it even thickens hair and pushes more hair to the anagen phase. And not only do we claim it, but it has also been mentioned in the studies.
However, you cannot apply it directly to your face since it is highly concentrated. What you can do is add 18 drops of peppermint oil to a bottle of jojoba oil and mix well. It will create an exact 3% solution as suggested in the research. Fill the entire solution in dark amber glass and apply it daily.
Patchy Beard Supplements
There are so many products in the market that boast growing a luscious beard, out of which only a percentage of products delivers desired results.
In our opinion, you must select a supplement that contains amino acids, natural vitamins, herbs, and minerals. They not only spike beard growth hormone levels but also fuel up the enzymatic process.
You must look for Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, K2, and Biotin. Besides, when looking for minerals, you should consider magnesium, iodine, selenium, and boron for healthy beard hair growth.
Now that you know the solutions to fix a patchy beard- let’s know how to make a patchy beard look good by wearing different facial hairstyles.
How to Trim Patchy Beards? What are Different Patchy Beard Styles?
As you know, beard patchiness requires detailed sculpting to improve appearance. We have attached a video tutorial for a better understanding of how to fill in beard:
Since beard patches will remain for some time, you might want to know some beard hairstyles to wear despite having patchiness.
- Goatee Beard: A beard style that only requires you to grow a mustache, soul patch, and chin beard.
- The Balbo beard style: Grow hair on the jawline in addition to a goatee beard. Or you can even say that it’s an extension to goatee beard wherein you are required to grow hair on the jawline.
Lastly, you can let the beard grow in its way and try to trim it evenly as and when you notice unevenness. It may look odd, but it is widely accepted.
All these styles are suitable if you have beard patches on the cheeks, irrespective of the face shape. Similarly, there are other styles as well that suit different bald spots.
There are 27 different beard styles that you can wear if you grow a fuller beard. Now you might be thinking about how to get rid of a patchy beard? Read on to know more about it.
How Long Patchy Beard Last? Will Patchy Beard Ever Fill?
A mild patch takes somewhere around a couple of weeks to months to fill in, but you must resist the urge of trimming or shaving in the meantime. The time may vary from person to person since the growth rate is different. You just need to let the beard grow and stay patient during the time.
Besides, you can even try the tips and products that we have mentioned in the solutions. Beard patches will definitely fill either with the time or products.
It generally takes almost took 6-8 months to fill in the entire beard area when we stay committed to several things such as:
- Applying Minoxidil with Derma Roller
- Regular diet and took 8 hours of regular sleep
- Proper beard grooming with products like beard oil and beard balm
- Timely trim with a beard trimmer
So that is our secret to turning our weak beard into a full, dark, and thick one. Now let’s answer some commonly asked questions.
FAQs:
1. How to grow a beard without patches?
In our opinion, you must let the beard grow to its full potential that is around 2-3 months, without even thinking of trimming it. During this time, the hair grows maximum, and you will know whether you have patches or was it just in the beginning. If you shave or trim it between, you won’t be able to grow a beard without patches. Also, you can go through this article to know more about if you encounter patch beards.
2. What causes a patchy beard?
Several factors contribute to patchiness, such as age, genes, hormonal imbalance, low beard growth hormones, lack of sleep, unhealthy food, high-stress levels, and fungal infection.
Conclusion
How to grow a full beard without patches depends only on your genes, hormones, and luck. However, if you grow beards with patches, you have now got the solution to it. With the use of the right beard care products like good beard oil or beard balm, you deliver essential nutrients. Besides, a little bit of lifestyle change can also plummet the patchy beard share.
Taking care of your beard is in your hands, and you must do whatever you can do to embrace your beard. It becomes difficult fixing a patchy beard, but sheer dedication and commitment will deliver desired results. Share your patchy beard success story so that we can know what worked the best for you.