jasjes wrote:

...but in truth, you'll need the slower starters and transitionals to take off before densities start looking more solid.  The longer you let the goatee grow, the more see-through it will be... for that reason, I wouldn't let those hairs get super long.

K. I'll trim it. It actually was looking its best to me about a month or so ago. Unfortunately, it seems like the "perfect" time is all too brief. Question about slower starters though...the goatee has been growing for 5, almost 6, months now. Am I likely to get any slower starters this late in the game, or will it probably be a while before my goatee wants to fill in further? 

Also, that brings up a second question. In this case of developing beards like mine, a couple months can do its development favors. So let's pretend I have hair that's come in after 2 and a half months that's never come in before, or hair that's matured after having had two months of growth. If I were to shave, would it take 2 months for me to reach this point again, or would those hairs grow in more quickly since my beard may have developed further in the time I grew it out?

How are the sides coming now?  Are you starting to see a little more coverage?  
Let me put it this way: am I seeing more coverage? Arguably, yes, but it's not significantly different than what you saw last time, I don't think. It's looking more full on the left than it was (the left side is the stronger side), and on the right, many of the hairs that have been really thin have thickened a tiny bit (either that, or slower starters have come in). But the pattern is quite the same.

I'll give an update mid-next week, cause by then I feel certain the mild improvement will be indisputable. I'm looking forward to reaching Week 13, the "magic number." I think I'm going to do No Shave November for the sides, to help myself get to the 4 month mark, but I'd like to reach 3 months before promising anything.

“For God wished women to rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane; but has adorned man, like the lions, with a beard.” - St. Clement of Alexandria