It’s true!  I’ve done quite a bit of observational study on this issue and have come to this conclusion: the longer your moustache, the fuller your beard will be perceived.  You can leave your beard the same length it has always been.  If you want people to really be impressed by the fullness of your beard, all you have to do is let that ’stache grow.

Let me speculate a bit as to the reason why.  I have to say that the robustness of a man’s beard is inversely proportional to the amount of his mouth left unobscured.  By that I mean, the less of your lips we can see, the bigger your beard seems.  The thing is, the hair on your chin has nothing to do with this!  Thus many people will look at your hidden mouth and think, “Dang, that’s a big beard!”  When in actuality the cheek and chin hairs may be barely longer than an electric trimmer guard.  I

Here’s how dedicated I am to your beard dedication.  I had a nice long moustache to compliment my beard just moments earlier. But to illustrate my point, I set my electric clippers to a 6 and knocked the ’stache back, taking “before” and “after” pictures for your comparison.  As you can see from the pics below, the effect is most pronounced when the beard is viewed in profile; although, this could just be an attribute of my own beard and not a universal truth.  Keep in mind that I did not touch my beard at all between photos (although I could probably use a little tidying around the edges.)

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think?  Can you see a difference?

(Time to start growing that sweet ’stache back…)

A recent issue of Outside magazine contained an “Editors’ Choice Awards” article in which the editors listed all the greatest things they could think of.  Some examples of things listed are sledding, PBR, great survivial stories, and rope swings.  However, it was number two on the list that caught my attention – winter beards.

Now anyone who has read my Beard Manifesto knows what I think of the winter beard.  And now so do the subscribers of Outside.  Because I wrote the editors and told them what’s up.  And guess what?  They recognized the wisdom and knew that it was worth sharing with their readers.

You’ll notice they chose not to cite me as the source (probably because they saw through my obvious efforts to sneak in free promotion for the site).  However, you’ll notice a certain original phrase I also used in The Manifesto.

So now, I present you with the first words from the Beard Coach ever published in a mainstream magazine.

I recently received a comment here at The Beard Coach regarding bald patches in the beard.  However this did not pertain to the more common problem of having areas that just never really filled in as well as the rest of your beard.  This gentleman had already enjoyed a good 17 years of a thick, robust beard, only to find that he is slowly developing new bald patches in his beard on either side of his chin.

You can imagine how terrible this would be if it happened to you!

I did a bit of research into the problem and found some valuable information to pass along so that anyone suffering this distressing development can put his mind at ease to some extent.  The condition has a medical name – alopecia areata barbae.  It can happen to anyone at any age and the reasons for the disease’s development have not been pinned down by science just yet.  Here is what wikipedia has to say about the causes.

“Alopecia areata is noncommunicable, or not contagious.^[2] It occurs more frequently in people who have affected family members, suggesting that heredity may be a factor.^[2] Strong evidence that genes may increase risk for alopecia areata was found by studying families with two or more affected members. This study identified at least four regions in the genome that are likely to contain alopecia areata genes.^[7] In addition, it is slightly more likely to occur in people who have relatives with autoimmune diseases.^[6]

The condition is thought to be an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own hair follicles and suppresses or stops hair growth.^[2] There is evidence that T cell lymphocytes cluster around these follicles, causing inflammation and subsequent hair loss. An unknown environmental trigger such as emotional stress or a pathogen is thought to combine with hereditary factors to cause the condition.^[4] There are a few recorded cases of babies being born with congenital alopecia areata; however, these are not cases of autoimmune disease because an infant is born without a fully developed immune system.”

Another interesting study suggests that alopecia areata barbae could also be an indicator of an infected tooth.

“We have found that bald patches caused by tooth infection are not always in the same place. They normally appear on a line projected from the dental infection and can thus can be located on the face at the level of the maxillary teeth, above a line through the lip-angle to the scalp, beard, or even to the eyebrow.”

So it appears that this condition is not preventable due to the lack of understanding of its causes.  That begs the question… is it curable?

The good news is that in the majority of cases, the hair fully grows back on its own.  However, the time frame is unpredictable.  It could be weeks, months, or years.  For severe cases, it appears that a doctor can prescribe a steroid regimen to slow the spread of the bald patch.  Minoxidil, commonly known by the brand name Rogaine, can also be used in a treatment plan.  However, any of the drugs prescribed would carry the possibility of side effects, so it may be best simply to wait it out.

To summarize, although your beard bald spots are a reason to feel upset, don’t feel too upset because they may be the result of increased stress level anyway!  Visit a dermatologist (and perhaps a dentist as well) to get a professional opinion.  It’s not normal for a healthy beard to start falling to pieces, so listen to what your body is trying to tell you in its ever-so-dramatic fashion.

Picture this: You are walking down the canned goods aisle at the grocery, holding your little plastic basket and trying to remember if the jars of artichoke hearts would be in this aisle or with the other jarred things like pickles or olives.  Suddenly you hear the subdued laughter of what sounds like a young woman of perhaps high school age.  You casually look over to see your hunch confirmed as the girl asks perkily, “Can I touch your beard?”

Hmm… what am I supposed to do in this situation?  What are the girl’s motives?  Is she really beard-curious?  Or is there a passel of her peers nearby looking on expectantly?  The girl’s pretty young looking… is this even legal?

Now picture this: You’re kicking it in a dimly lit booth at your local brewpub downing delicious craft-brewed pale ales with three of your good friends.  The conversation has been at times as bawdy as it has been intellectual.  As you wipe another moustache full of beer foam from your lip, your friend sitting next to you asks out of the blue, “Dude, can I touch your beard?”

Whoa… that’s pretty random.  I’ve had this beard for years and he’s never asked to touch the thing… what’s up?  Is he thinking of growing one himself?  If so, then for sure he can touch it.  Has he finally worked up the courage to come out as a homosexual by flirting with me?  He knows I have a girlfriend!

As you can see, the issue of allowing others to touch your beard can be quite a quandary.  One one hand, you want to be the consummate beard ambassador and will do anything within reason to encourage others to grow.  On the other, it can be hard to gauge the person’s motives, and since you obviously take your beard seriously, you don’t want to end up the object of a joke or the conduit for the fulfillment of a dare.  This is, of course, assuming that the person has even asked at all rather than suddenly lurching for your face with his or her grubby hands.  Wearing a beard can be a perilous thing, fraught with complexities.

While the above situations are fictitious, in my days of being bearded, I have encountered moments that are similar to these.  I’ve had high school girls who were my students at the time ask to touch my beard.  I’ve had lifelong friends in a fit of drunken mirth ask to touch my beard.  I’ve had casual acquaintances completely disregard courtesy and just reach out and make hand-to-beard contact.

What have I done in all these situations?  Happily let the person have a closer inspection. Every time.  Why?  Because it means they are sincerely curious about beardedness.  If they were repulsed, they would want nothing to do with my beard!  So if I let a person satisfy that urge to see what a robust beard feels like under hand, and they see how soft beards actually can be, then I think I’ve helped them chalk up a pro-beard point in their minds.  So what if it’s a little awkward?  It only takes a second, but the experience will stick with them for much longer.  That’s my advice to you, big beard wearers.  Joyfully allow others to investigate your beard and leave them with a positive experience to remember.

Lastly, my advice to you folks who have always wanted to see what a puffy beard feels like is this.  Politely ask a bearded guy who you have spoken to at length at least once if you may touch his beard.  Do not take liberties and do not ask a stranger.  Understand that a person’s facial area is a very personal space, even when it has a big beard on it.  If you abide by these simple rules, you should finally get to see just how great all that fuzziness is to touch.

I recently replied to an email from a newly-bearded gentleman who posed a question that I knew would be relevant to a lot of you guys.  Here’s the text of the email:

Hey boss,

I'm about three weeks into my beard growing excursion, and I've noticed though I have
extremely dry flaky skin under the beard, which was never an issue beardless, so
it's not a skin condition or anything. I was just wondering if you knew anything good
to help without rubbing big globs of moisturizer into it, as attractive as that is.

Thanks Alot,
Mike

Now, I’ve been lucky in that I haven’t had to deal with this myself, but I know Mike isn’t the only guy dealing with this issue.  I’m afraid that if I can’t help you find a way to avoid the dryness and the flakes, you’ll give up on those bearded dreams.  That would be a disaster!  What kind of coach would I be if I let that happen?  So I did a bit of research on the topic… and I’ve come up with three potential solutions to share with you.

Solution 1: Take a cooler shower

Man, nothing feels better than a long hot shower on a wintry day.  Too bad that steamy heat robs your skin of its natural oils.  It seems a bit counter-intuitive that water can dry out your skin, but that’s truly what happens.  So if your under-beard skin is feeling dried out, try turning the hot water knob a bit back to the right net time you shower.  Your solution could be as simple as that.

Solution 2: Stop soaping your beard

If you’ve just grown a beard, you are probably used to just washing your face with the same bar of soap you use for the rest of yourself.  If you’re a man of routine, you’re probably trying to keep up that habit even though your face has undeniably changed.  Using a cheap body soap on your beard can dry out the skin under it causing that unsightly flaking.  Do you use a bar of soap on your head?  Isn’t your beard made of hair too?  Make a new habit of putting a little extra shampoo in your hands and washing your beard along with your head hair.  It’s all connected, so it really makes a lot of sense.  If your regular shampoo doesn’t do the trick, you can step it up and try a different shampoo for your beard.  Find one that includes vitamin B or E.  A lot of times these are marketed as dandruff shampoos.  So even if you don’t have dandruff in the beard, don’t be afraid to use the old Head and Shoulders.

Solution 3: Completely dry your beard

For new beard wearers, it can be surprising how well those hairs retain moisture from your washing routine.  You can give your beard a little towel dry, and it will surprise you with a random drip a few minutes later.  If you have hard water this is problematic for your skin.  The minerals in hard water, if they linger, can be quite detrimental to your skin’s health.  So don’t just give your beard a quick little brush with the towel.  Really dig in there and fluff the hell out of it.  Even better, if you have the time, treat your beard to a little blow dry.  Pamper yourself.

There you go!  Three easy solutions to try if your under-beard skin gets a little dry and flaky.  If they work for you, leave a comment and let the rest of the bearded world know about your success!