How to Grow a Beard or Mustache Quickly

Once you have decided to grow a beard or mustache and embrace your masculinity, it is natural to want your facial hair to achieve its full potential as quickly as possible. Know everything you need to know to get your desired look rapidly.

Facial hair may grow on the outside, but it starts on the inside. What does your body need to grow lush facial hair?

Nutrition

You are what you eat – and so is your beard. That might sound amusing, but it also happens to be true. If you want to grow a luxurious beard or mustache, the first step is making sure that you eat the right foods. Nutrition affects every part of your body including your facial hair. Here are some of the things to make sure you include in your diet:

• Complex carbohydrates. It's fashionable to think of carbohydrates as the enemy, but they're not. You need carbohydrates to survive. The best carbs for beard growth are those with plenty of fibers. Stick to whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits. Sugar is not good for you and it can result in dry, brittle hair. Get your carbs from other sources and you'll be fine.
• Protein. Hair is made of protein, so it stands to reason that getting enough of it in your diet will help your beard grow. Stick to lean sources of protein like poultry, fish, and eggs. Red meat is fine occasionally, just do not overdo it.
• The right fats. Like carbohydrates, fats have been vilified in recent years. Your body needs fat to survive, but all fats are not created equal. Saturated fat is impossible to avoid completely – it's the kind of fat that is found in animal products – but you should keep it to a minimum. Monounsaturated fat like the fat in olive oil, almonds and avocados is very good for you and will encourage your beard to grow. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish, nuts and seeds are also great for facial hair.
• Water. Your body needs water to do everything important, and that includes growing facial hair. Make sure to drink plenty of it to stay well hydrated.

It is also important to eat enough – but not too much. Men who restrict their calorie intake also tend to have scrawny beards. Even if you want to lose a few pounds, it's important not to overdo it. Your body needs fuel to grow a beard.

Exercise

After diet, the next most important thing you can do to help your beard grow quickly is to exercise. Exercise improves your circulation, which is essential to healthy hair growth. In fact, traditional Chinese medicine links blood flow directly to hair growth.

Exercise helps to distribute nutrients to every part of your body including your facial hair. Strong hair is healthy hair. The last thing you want is to have a brittle, breakable beard.

Finally, exercise also helps to boost your body's production of testosterone. You can not grow facial hair without testosterone, so anything you can do to up your body's production of it will also help you grow a great beard.

Stress

Stress is terrible for you. It can cause serious health problems. It increases your chances of having a heart attack or stroke, and it can wreak havoc with your digestion. It can also disrupt your sleep and ruin your mental health. It should come as no surprise, then, that something so dangerous can also make it impossible to grow a healthy beard. When your body is under stress, it shuts down all but the most necessary functions. It's a condition called "fight or flight," and its job is to conserve energy so you can avoid danger and stay alive.

As important as growing a beard is to you, your body does not consider facial hair production to be an essential task. If you're chronically stressed out, your beard is not going to thrive. How can you reduce stress? We already talked about exercise, which is a great natural stress reliever. Other things that can help are:

• Getting enough sleep. Your beard grows best when you are asleep because that's when testosterone levels are at their highest. Sleep also helps to reduce stress.
• Have a good laugh. Laughter is one of the world's best stress relievers. If you're not surrounded by funny people, try watching a sitcom or some stand-up comedy clips on YouTube.
• Have sex. It's hard to be stressed when you're having sex. Sex improves blood flow, helps you sleep better, and boosts your testosterone levels. While sex with a partner is responsible for most of the health benefits associated with sex, masturbation can also be a good way to relieve stress.

Hormones

There is no denying the connection between hormones and facial hair growth. Men with low testosterone have a difficult time growing healthy facial hair. We already talked about the testosterone-boosting benefits of exercise and sex, but let's talk about a few other things that can help your body make more testosterone:

• Take a multivitamin that includes zinc. Many men are deficient in zinc and taking a multivitamin can be a good way to make sure you're getting enough.
• Get enough Vitamin D. A huge percentage of the population is Vitamin D deficient, and there's a good chance that you are, too. The best source of Vitamin D is direct sunlight, but you can take a supplement if you prefer.
• Lift weights. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your testosterone output will be. In addition to getting enough cardio, try hitting the gym to do some bicep curls or legwork. Your beard will thank you.
• Try eating some testosterone-boosting foods. Good options include egg yolks, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, spinach, oysters, garlic, and Brazil nuts.

Lifestyle Changes

Finally, let's talk about a few lifestyle changes that you can make to help your beard grow more quickly:

• Quit smoking. Smoking is terrible for you in a lot of ways. It restricts oxygen and blood flow, and your facial hair needs both to thrive. It will also make your beard smell like an ashtray.
• Take it easy on caffeine. Moderate caffeine intake is fine. However, if you drink a ton of caffeine you should be aware that it can impair the growth of your facial hair. It narrows blood vessels and has the potential to disrupt sleep – both things that are bad for your beard.
• Drink in moderation. Drinking a reasonable amount of alcohol is not going to hurt your beard – in fact, it might help it. Overdo it, though, and you can damage your liver. You need a healthy liver to grow healthy facial hair. It's just that simple.

How to Grow a Beard or Mustache Quickly by Eliza Taylor