3 Beard Mistakes you might be making as a trans guy - Beard Growth for Trans Men
- Zy N.
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Speaking from experience, growing a beard as a trans man can be a very satisfying, euphoric, but imperfect process. Lots of trans folks may not have been given the same attention from role models regarding beard care, maintenance, and even if so, might not realize some of the truths behind beard growth.
Don’t feel bad if you're making mistakes, lots of folks don't know! That's why I’m hoping this article will help guys be more aware of these common beard mistakes.
Here are the 3 common mistakes trans men (and cis men) may be making when trying to grow or maintain their facial hair.
The first mistake…
Not using products that are hormone safe, and/or using products that are low-quality, highly-adulterated, and therefore negating their skin health & facial hair development.
Not all beard products are created equally. Grabbing anything on the shelf runs the risk of you using products that hinder your growth, or cause breakouts.
Unfortunately, most beard companies do not think about trans folks who are changing on T, don't consider the unique timeline and hormonal needs, or simply do not prioritize high-quality ingredients that actually help. Beard growth for trans men includes these considerations. This was a huge problem I came across as a trans man trying to find high-quality products that made sense for me. The good news is, it drove me to create DR DHT, so folks like me now do have high-quality products that work for us, from a brand who is made for and by the trans community.
The second mistake…
Assuming you do not need to care for your beard, and/or that products made for your head-hair or body are the equivalent to beard-specific products.
Beards need a little work to be their best. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes a certain style highlights its strong points. But a little work goes a long way. Few people just have a perfect beard appear on their face with no effort.
Additionally, beard products should be specifically optimized for the right ph of your beardzone, have ingredients that don't clog your pores, have actually useful ingredients, and should not overly-strip the natural oils on your beard. Also, scalp and body products might have ingredients that are not hormone safe, very rough on your facial skin, or cause product build-up. Which can negatively impact growth and development over time.
The third mistake…
Thinking shaving is what stimulated your beard to grow.
Unfortunately, shaving does not stimulate beard growth - but it also does not hurt it! When shaving, the hairs are cut off on the surface (the already dead part of the hair.) Sometimes it may look like it helped with growth for 2 reasons:
It cut off the early part of the hair’s timeline, where the hair thinned to a taper. That taper is gone for the rest of that hair's lifecycle so as it keeps growing in length, as it typically would, the hair looks more thick and uniform. Until the hair sheds and begins again with a tapered end.
Hair keeps developing and maturing behind-the-scenes as you shave! It doesn't care that you shaved. It's still doing the work in the background. Lots of folks will shave for a period of time, a few weeks.. a few months… a few years. Then decide to grow the hair out, while noticing that the hairs appear thicker, and/or there are more hairs. This is because they were changing in the background anyways, as noted. This is also why you can use beard growth stimulating products successfully, while still shaving every day! This is a personal choice some folks make in order to “omit the baby stages” then grow it out at a later time when it comes in more solid.
My closing remarks, beards don't usually appear on your face in their best condition. They do require both work and proper hormone safe products, especially during the development years, in order to develop faster, thicker and better. There are shaving myths still going around, where folks believe that shaving triggered the majority of growth, but unfortunately, beard development does not work like that. I hope after reading this, you feel a bit more confident in the positive steps you can take to care for and grow your beard, and what to decide to trash!
If you're someone who is looking to develop your facial hair, even if starting from nothing, consider grabbing our flagship Hormone Safe Beard Grower Oil and Beard Derma Roller, and swap out your old, low-quality products that could be hindering your hormonal facial hair growth, with something that is tried-and-true for trans men and mascs alike.
