Chin Stroking Head Scratcher: Why Some Men Can’t Grow Beards

Chin Stroking Head Scratcher: Why Some Men Can’t Grow Beards

Chinsulation.

tl; dr ... Short and to the Point
Who is this article aimed at?
Guys who are looking at puberty in the rear view mirror but are still a little thin on the chin and are wondering what the deal is.
I am busy - summarize it for me

Here we separate the beardychops from the beardyflops. We examine why some guys sprout them with ease while others don't and whether those who can't should worry.

No shave is all the rave

It’s been several years now, but it looks like the beardnaissance is still going strong. Look around and you’ll probably be greeted by a dense thicket of face fuzz the likes of which has not been seen since the 70s.

It’s a brave man who chooses to go out in public flashing a bit of chin skin these days.

That’s if it’s a choice at all of course. Growing up most guys just naturally assume that puberty will do its thing and we’ll automatically go from zero to Viking on the eve of our 13th birthday. In reality though, it doesn’t always work like that.

The fact is there are plenty of otherwise developmentally healthy men who either struggle to grow beards or else have the full lower jawbone Brazilian their whole lives. Have you ever wondered why that is?

In this piece we’ll get the low down on chinsulation and look at what separates the not so blessed from the Brian Blessed.

DHT

The key is DHT. Dihydrotestosterone if you want to get all formal about it. This is a spin off from testosterone whose job it is to deal with secondary sex characteristics. One of these being production and volume of facial hair.

DHT is essentially a modified, more potent form of T. Your system allocates a certain amount of your testosterone to be converted into DHT, after which it has strong transformative effect on the body.

It all has to do with how sensitive your system is to DHT. If you’re especially responsive to its power, you’ll probably be able to sneeze a full beard out. Whereas if you’re less receptive to the hormone you might need to think about pricing up hook-ons.

A lot of it has to do with the genetic cards you’re dealt. If your family get togethers resemble a ZZ Top convention, then you can expect to carry on that tradition. On the other hand, if the male side of your family tree contains more smoothies than an average juice bar that’s likely to be your fate also.

DHT sensitivity can be a good thing or a bad thing as it happens. Yes, enough of it will ensure you’ll at least be in the mix to play Santa at the office Christmas party, but some believe high amounts may be the culprit of the dreaded Male Pattern Baldness.

We’ll cover this long form at some point, but here it is in short. It’s thought DHT’s powerful effects shrink the hair follicles on the scalp. Particularly the highly sensitive ones at the front of the scalp, stopping hair from being able to grow, which is where the pattern comes in.

Regular T often catches the blame of what is most probably DHT’s fault.

Should I worry?

Absolutely not. We told you earlier that plenty perfectly healthy guys can’t grow beards. But don’t take our word for it, here’s Dr Thomy Kouremada-Zioga, a hair loss specialist and transplant surgeon,

“Capacity to grow a beard has nothing to do with manliness, virility or testosterone levels, it is a matter of genetics,”

That’s a relief, cheers doc.

However if it does bother you there are a few things you can to give yourself the best chance of a face forest. It all centres around getting your testosterone as high as you can naturally and safely.

Ways to do this include: taking more exercise, eating healthily, getting plenty of sleep, cutting excess weight, reducing alcohol intake and using a reputable organic supplement.

Concluchin

So if you can grow a beard literally in your sleep, great! Enjoy it. But if you’re dealing with perpetual peach fuzz, don’t worry too much.

It doesn’t mean you’re somehow underdeveloped, unhealthy or just coming up short in the man stakes. It really is just the luck of the draw, and as we’ve you’ve just read it’s not like there aren’t things you can’t do to improve things.

If it makes you feel any better, I reckon we’ve past peak beard. We’re on the last couple of seasons of Game Of Thrones now and Kings Of Leon shaved a while ago, didn’t they. Yeah, I can see things starting to peter out soon.

tl; dr ... Short and to the Point
Who is this article aimed at?
Guys who are looking at puberty in the rear view mirror but are still a little thin on the chin and are wondering what the deal is.
I am busy - summarize it for me

Here we separate the beardychops from the beardyflops. We examine why some guys sprout them with ease while others don't and whether those who can't should worry.