Tom, earlier you said that the single braid affects your jaw's mobility. That sounds to me like you may be pulling your beard too tight when you braid it. I've been braiding my beard with the braid starting a few inches below my chin. The trick I'm using is that I put an elastic band around my beard where I want the braid to start. Then I braid it below the band. And then remove the band (well, except for that day I forgot to remove it and walked around all day with an elastic at the top of my braid!). If you try this, you might be able to keep your beard loose above the elastic, so that it won't be as tight on your jaw after it's braided.