Heh, I've been bearded for 4 months, exactly:), so I am past the "impatient" stage, and that's what I am saying: if I go untrimmed, it grows longer, of course, but instead of a homogenious mass of hair, I have a lot of wild hairs that grow A LOT longer than the bulk of the beard. But maybe I am being too harsh and look at it too closely; maybe it is less noticeable from even a couple yards away...

So, to tidy up, I have to trim short-- probably at 4. But since my density is marginal, I'd love to keep the length. So, the best solution for guys like me is probably to use the scissors just to clip those separate hairs.

My strongest part is the goatee. I've had it for years (having to trim about once a month). The longest I've had it was probably at a couple of inches. I could chew it I remember:). It was probably bushy but looks ok in the few pictures I have-- from the distance. So maybe my full--and longer--beard would look ok too.. I don't know.