I actually considered starting this as a new thread completely, but, the people who might profit most from it are those readers who are less gifted with follicles by virtue of age or genetics.
For that reason, it might get more in the way of people reading it and thinking about it if it were placed under Growing Tips instead.
As I go through the motions of everyday life as we all do I am always attracted to beards and enjoy looking at what one fellow does versus another.
The end result of what you grow is dependent on a number of factors. I would say with little doubt that 50% of the quality of the "look" of facial hair when people attempt to grow it is of course genetic. What few fail to realize however is that the other 50% is totally dependent on what the individual did or does with the styling of their facial hair. What that means is that one can compensate for a great deal of facial fur flaws and still look darn good. It just takes more effort.
A careful choice in the style of facial hair and the length of facial hair can make a person look like they have a great deal more facial hair than they in fact do.
A good common sense way to look at this is to think of it as showing what you do have instead of showing what you don't have.
Let's make the assumption for a few minutes that you are still young and developing your beard growth patterns. Look at the patterns as they are right now and clarify where the hair patterns are most dense. (number of follicles in a small space) Some of you may have dense hair in the area of your sideburns go-tee and moustache, but may not have enough hair to connect this into a good looking beard. In that case what you do is to use these areas to build upon to create a "look" in facial hair. If the only area you have heavy hair is in the area of the moustache and chin use that as your building point while keeping the rest shaved until it develops a little more. If you can create or "sculpt" a pattern it is better in the earlier stages of development to keep the length of the hair shorter. The reason for this is that again a definite edge creates the illusion that you have more hair than you do. The natural thought in most is that you shaved it rather than there was not much there to shave.
Maybe your chin is not a strong point, but your sideburns are. Again, go with an edged conservative look when your facial hair is developing. Shave and trim to a style that flat out obviously looks like you did exactly that. Do not try and edge in areas where hair is still in the vellus stages or it will not give you the more defined masculine appearance that you want.
If the only thing that works well for you is a fu-manchu moustache go with what works well when you are still young and developing.
Also you need to realize if you are a "late bloomer" that a lack of facial hair now will not necessarily be a lack of same a few years down the road. There are a scant few who would do better to shave and wait until they have something to build on.
The best example I can think of is comic actor Martin Mull. If you look at the very faint blonde moustache of Mr. Mull when he was in some of his very early appearances versus what it is today you will see an incredible difference. Some of his early stuff airs on "Nick at Nite" periodically and currently he is often seen on the most recent version of "Hollywood Squares". Martin Mull was well into adulthood when "Fernwood Tonight" and some of his other early stuff aired.
Another common error is to think of looking hairy first and good second. Think about that one.
A good analogy is food.
A cake with too much icing/frosting is a really lousy cake as a whole. Think of your facial hair as icing on a cake. It is an adornment or ornament. When a good baker makes a cake a great deal of attention is given the frosting. It is coated to just the right thickness, sculpted to be appealing to the eye and by so doing the baker knows that a customer will enjoy what he/she has created.
Your beard is really no different and it makes an impression even if you are just walking throught the mall.
To wear a long beard such as Dan Haggerty (Grizzly Adams) and many others takes a great number of densly packed follicles to look good. Most men cannot wear this style of beard when they are younger simply because they do not have the hair/follicle density.
Also in the consideration when considering the length of the beard is the maintenance involved in maintaining the quality of the look. Some have the time to devote to it and others do not.
In my own case I maintain my own beard at a very short level. The length of each whisker is probably about 1/4 inch or maybe even a little less and yet I still have a full dense beard. I maintain at this length because it makes trimming and maintenance a very speedy event. (I admit to my own laziness reluctantly!)
Submit your pictures and there are a bunch of great guys who are more than willing to offer suggestions on ways to go!
There is very likely a style of facial hair that will work and make most of you look great. Just be patient and do a little experimenting. Remember, It grows back if you shave it off and start over!
Fuzzy Ken
For that reason, it might get more in the way of people reading it and thinking about it if it were placed under Growing Tips instead.
As I go through the motions of everyday life as we all do I am always attracted to beards and enjoy looking at what one fellow does versus another.
The end result of what you grow is dependent on a number of factors. I would say with little doubt that 50% of the quality of the "look" of facial hair when people attempt to grow it is of course genetic. What few fail to realize however is that the other 50% is totally dependent on what the individual did or does with the styling of their facial hair. What that means is that one can compensate for a great deal of facial fur flaws and still look darn good. It just takes more effort.
A careful choice in the style of facial hair and the length of facial hair can make a person look like they have a great deal more facial hair than they in fact do.
A good common sense way to look at this is to think of it as showing what you do have instead of showing what you don't have.
Let's make the assumption for a few minutes that you are still young and developing your beard growth patterns. Look at the patterns as they are right now and clarify where the hair patterns are most dense. (number of follicles in a small space) Some of you may have dense hair in the area of your sideburns go-tee and moustache, but may not have enough hair to connect this into a good looking beard. In that case what you do is to use these areas to build upon to create a "look" in facial hair. If the only area you have heavy hair is in the area of the moustache and chin use that as your building point while keeping the rest shaved until it develops a little more. If you can create or "sculpt" a pattern it is better in the earlier stages of development to keep the length of the hair shorter. The reason for this is that again a definite edge creates the illusion that you have more hair than you do. The natural thought in most is that you shaved it rather than there was not much there to shave.
Maybe your chin is not a strong point, but your sideburns are. Again, go with an edged conservative look when your facial hair is developing. Shave and trim to a style that flat out obviously looks like you did exactly that. Do not try and edge in areas where hair is still in the vellus stages or it will not give you the more defined masculine appearance that you want.
If the only thing that works well for you is a fu-manchu moustache go with what works well when you are still young and developing.
Also you need to realize if you are a "late bloomer" that a lack of facial hair now will not necessarily be a lack of same a few years down the road. There are a scant few who would do better to shave and wait until they have something to build on.
The best example I can think of is comic actor Martin Mull. If you look at the very faint blonde moustache of Mr. Mull when he was in some of his very early appearances versus what it is today you will see an incredible difference. Some of his early stuff airs on "Nick at Nite" periodically and currently he is often seen on the most recent version of "Hollywood Squares". Martin Mull was well into adulthood when "Fernwood Tonight" and some of his other early stuff aired.
Another common error is to think of looking hairy first and good second. Think about that one.
A good analogy is food.
A cake with too much icing/frosting is a really lousy cake as a whole. Think of your facial hair as icing on a cake. It is an adornment or ornament. When a good baker makes a cake a great deal of attention is given the frosting. It is coated to just the right thickness, sculpted to be appealing to the eye and by so doing the baker knows that a customer will enjoy what he/she has created.
Your beard is really no different and it makes an impression even if you are just walking throught the mall.
To wear a long beard such as Dan Haggerty (Grizzly Adams) and many others takes a great number of densly packed follicles to look good. Most men cannot wear this style of beard when they are younger simply because they do not have the hair/follicle density.
Also in the consideration when considering the length of the beard is the maintenance involved in maintaining the quality of the look. Some have the time to devote to it and others do not.
In my own case I maintain my own beard at a very short level. The length of each whisker is probably about 1/4 inch or maybe even a little less and yet I still have a full dense beard. I maintain at this length because it makes trimming and maintenance a very speedy event. (I admit to my own laziness reluctantly!)
Submit your pictures and there are a bunch of great guys who are more than willing to offer suggestions on ways to go!
There is very likely a style of facial hair that will work and make most of you look great. Just be patient and do a little experimenting. Remember, It grows back if you shave it off and start over!
Fuzzy Ken
