Welcome, Marcus. Your five-monther shows the dedication you've afforded it. You're wearing one mighty fine, full, dense, stylish beard there, sir!

By keeping you beard at this length, though, you've locked yourself into what, for many guys, is the scruffiest phase of beard growth, hence your frustration with letting it go. There's a transition that happens for most men between 5 and 10 weeks where their beards go from being scruffy and unruly to being tame and manageable. So, I suggest you just let it go for a while and let the transition happen. That said, doing some surface trimming over the coming weeks can go a long way to keeping it looking clean and professional, just be sure you aren't cutting so much that you're hinder growth.

Also, if you're not doing so already, I highly recommend using a few drops of jojoba or similar light vegetable oil in your beard daily. Just massage that in and brush it through. It will help soften your beard and make it less unruly.

Tom


Some helpful links:
Library Central of Beard Growing


Taming the Wild Mustache
Tips for eating and drinking with a big mustache

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. ~ W. Somerset Maugham
A jerk with a beard is just a bearded jerk, but a bearded gentleman is awesomeness personified. ~ Triibeard