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Uneven facial hair

ilmmadilmmad Registered User regular
edited June 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
Alright, so to preface this, I should let you know that I'm 18 right now.

Just over a year ago, I started getting hairs on my face. I'm a guy so that's pretty normal. My sideburns got longer, and I got those creepy chin hairs teens have. It started growing up my jawline soon enough, and this is where the problem lies: it's only really one up one side of my face (my left). There is a decent amount going from my chin to my sideburns, but only on the left. On the right, I have very sparse hair there. Very sparse. I could pass on shaving every 2 days and my right side would look fine, but my left would get hairy and I'd look like a bum.

I understand I'm still young, and my facial hair keeps getting denser and covering more area, but it seems like nothing is happening on my right jawline. I'd like to know if I will ever grow denser hair there, or if I'll be doomed to shave forever to keep from looking like I'm trying to grow a half-face beard. Is there anything I can do to make it grow, like yell at it? I heard Mozart helps your plants so maybe I can aim some heavy metal at my face to encourage it?

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ilmmad on

Posts

  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    as far as I know, there's very little you can do to get a more even beard

    some people (like me! oh wait that's a :() just don't do facial hair

    some people claim success with hormones and testosterone, but that's iffy at best

    some people claim rogaine can be used on your face, which i don't think works

    Raneados on
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2010
    Most likely it will fill out, but that's not a guarantee. My brother was nearly 40 before he could grow a full beard. I'm 30, and my cheeks stil don't fill in, nor do the sections connecting my upper lip to my chin.

    Just... get used to shaving for a very long time.

    Bionic Monkey on
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  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    I'm 33 and my facial hair is slightly uneven. If I wanted to (which I don't at all) grow any facial hair it would look a little wonky.

    I'd just say give it time, but sometimes that's just how it goes.

    Esh on
  • ZedarZedar Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    I think you should grow a beard on one side of your face and embrace your newfound identity as a batman villain. It's the only logical solution.

    Zedar on
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  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Most likely it will fill out, but that's not a guarantee. My brother was nearly 40 before he could grow a full beard. I'm 30, and my cheeks stil don't fill in, nor do the sections connecting my upper lip to my chin.

    Just... get used to shaving for a very long time.

    Hey! Let's hear it for thirty-something Oregonians with uneven facial hair!

    Esh on
  • ilmmadilmmad Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Yeah I'm not concerned enough to use some sort of product.

    ilmmad on
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  • PkErthbndPkErthbnd Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    I'm not sure if it's ever been debunked or not, but I'm personally convinced that the more often you shave, the quicker the hair grows back. I've been shaving since before I was a teenager (Ugh. Most certainly not all it's cracked up to be.) and now I can hardly go a day without my 5 o'clock shadow becoming the 8 o'clock Nightline. Growing out facial hair is also a lot like growing your hair out. There's always, ALWAYS that awkward lumberjack/hobo stage where it doesn't look like an actual beard, but it's longer than peach fuzz so it looks unkempt, and you've just gotta suffer through it. But maybe if you keep yourself clean-shaven for now it'll be easier to grow more even when winter rolls back around.

    PkErthbnd on
  • nukanuka What are circles? Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    PkErthbnd wrote: »
    I'm not sure if it's ever been debunked or not, but I'm personally convinced that the more often you shave, the quicker the hair grows back. I've been shaving since before I was a teenager (Ugh. Most certainly not all it's cracked up to be.) and now I can hardly go a day without my 5 o'clock shadow becoming the 8 o'clock Nightline. Growing out facial hair is also a lot like growing your hair out. There's always, ALWAYS that awkward lumberjack/hobo stage where it doesn't look like an actual beard, but it's longer than peach fuzz so it looks unkempt, and you've just gotta suffer through it. But maybe if you keep yourself clean-shaven for now it'll be easier to grow more even when winter rolls back around.

    You don't touch where your hair is actually growing from when you shave, so it won't grow in thicker and it won't grow in faster if you shave. You're just removing the hair you can see.

    nuka on
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  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    PkErthbnd wrote: »
    I'm not sure if it's ever been debunked or not, but I'm personally convinced that the more often you shave, the quicker the hair grows back. I've been shaving since before I was a teenager (Ugh. Most certainly not all it's cracked up to be.) and now I can hardly go a day without my 5 o'clock shadow becoming the 8 o'clock Nightline. Growing out facial hair is also a lot like growing your hair out. There's always, ALWAYS that awkward lumberjack/hobo stage where it doesn't look like an actual beard, but it's longer than peach fuzz so it looks unkempt, and you've just gotta suffer through it. But maybe if you keep yourself clean-shaven for now it'll be easier to grow more even when winter rolls back around.

    nope

    it's also partly because the sharp end of the hair caused by cutting it is a lot more noticeable than a blunted end

    Raneados on
  • exmelloexmello Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    I have very uneven and patchy facial hair too. I went through phases throughout school where I experimented with goatees and douchebag beards while hoping it would eventually fill out. It never did and I'm 26 now.

    The main advantage of trying to grow a beard is that you can be lazy and just trim the edges every couple days. If you're too lazy like me to go perfectly clean-shaven and can't grow a real beard, just rock the electric trimmer stubble.

    exmello on
  • thisisntwallythisisntwally Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    my dad always claimed that rubbing the area where you want the hair to grow in with rubbing alcohol every night would help. claimed it worked for him. I used the 'method' in a few spots. maybe it worked?

    my beard is full. as is his.

    but, we are italian, so maybe it just eventually grew in.

    thisisntwally on
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  • HyperAquaBlastHyperAquaBlast Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    My cheek facial hair started at 17 with right cheek having considerbly more then my left. It took until 22 for it to grow evenly although its not very thick.

    HyperAquaBlast on
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  • Dropping LoadsDropping Loads Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    18 is actually pretty young for a full beard. It will likely fill in throughout your twenties.

    PkErthbnd wrote: »
    I'm not sure if it's ever been debunked or not, but I'm personally convinced that the more often you shave, the quicker the hair grows back.

    Hair grows in cycles, with individual follicles alternating between active and inactive. If you don't shave over a given set of cycles, your hair will fill in, but the average overall length will not increase that much. If you shave constantly, then each cycle starts "fresh" and so the difference in length is much more noticeable, but it would still take just as long for all the other hairs in your beard to fill in.

    Dropping Loads on
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  • PkErthbndPkErthbnd Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Good information. I guess it's just a case-by-case basis, then? My dad has a full beard, and "stopped shaving as soon as the military let him go." I just inherited his genes, I suppose, so it always seemed like my facial hair grew really quickly. If it's any condolence, OP, I've already got grey hair (I'm 23) on my head so I reckon I'll be bald in a few years. I'd gladly trade facial hair for actual hair at this point!

    PkErthbnd on
  • NappuccinoNappuccino Surveyor of Things and Stuff Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    My experience was the right side growing in thicker and fuller and, while my left side still grows a decent amount, it took awhile before they even started to look even.

    However, trimming it all to the same length means most people don't notice that the hair on my right side is quite a bit more dense than that on the left.

    I think in high school I just kept usual Goatee because the sides weren't filling out. In college I started just doing a full on short beard. Give it some time, I don't think I was able to pull it off till I was 20.

    Nappuccino on
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  • CasualCasual Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Flap Flap Flap Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Pretty much anything people say promotes hair growth is an old wives tale. Shaving does not make it grow back thicker for instance. So yeah... just keep shaving to keep yourself looking normal and hope time solves the problem.

    Casual on
  • Psychotic OnePsychotic One The Lord of No Pants Parts UnknownRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Its mostly genetics. Most of the men in my dad's side of the family could grow a mustache but not a full beard. Me. I can grow a beard to the point where its patchy but doesn't fill in parts. Can't really grow a goatee or a soul patch. but I can get thick Mutton chops and a decent mustache. Never super thick but from a distance its okay. My neck beard on the other hand makes me look like some crack fiend who keeps setting his hair on fire :s

    Psychotic One on
  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited June 2010
    It's a crapshoot. You may just need a few years or even a decade to see results. There's also the possibility you just can't really grow a bear like other guys.

    I'm doing pretty well at 25, but it's pretty damn curly.

    Sterica on
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  • LearnedHandLearnedHand Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2010
    I'm 31 and also don't have much facial hair. A few hairs on the sideburn area that I could just tweeze but I usually shave. A few hairs on the cheeks that I tweeze. Usually have to dig those out because they get ingrown. A patch on my chin (mainly left side) that I try to keep down by tweezing but also shave on occassion. Upper lip comes in decently but I've never grown it out because mustaches haven't been popular in 25 years so I don't know if it would actually come in good. I shave it with just a dry razor. I've never used shaving creme or gel in my life and don't even know what it's for, really.

    I also prefer to keep the razors dull and it's always with great hesitation that I use a new razor. I try to keep hair in the razors to dull it even more. Every couple months, I'll knock the hair out of it.

    Not having to shave is no curse. Women aren't into hairy guys. And the money saved on razors is substantial. I got a free box of razors from Gilette around the time I was 18. I don't know, they just sent it. They must have had my data from somewhere that indicated I was about 18 so they sent this crap out hoping to hook a young consumer. Those five blades about four years.

    I remember buying some more razors in about 2001. It was a package of Gilette. Buy five get five free. Sweet. Those lasted until about 2007. Would have been longer but they got moldy in some shit place I was living.

    So then I bought one of those Headblade razors because I planned on shaving my head. It came with like 20 razors. I ended up not shaving my head, but I use it for regular shaving now. And as long as I don't lose them or they get moldy, those 20 razors are basically a lifetime supply.

    Total amount spent on shaving supplies in my life = maybe $30

    LearnedHand on
  • KrubicksCubeKrubicksCube Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    ilmmad wrote: »
    Alright, so to preface this, I should let you know that I'm 18 right now.

    Just over a year ago, I started getting hairs on my face. I'm a guy so that's pretty normal. My sideburns got longer, and I got those creepy chin hairs teens have. It started growing up my jawline soon enough, and this is where the problem lies: it's only really one up one side of my face (my left). There is a decent amount going from my chin to my sideburns, but only on the left. On the right, I have very sparse hair there. Very sparse. I could pass on shaving every 2 days and my right side would look fine, but my left would get hairy and I'd look like a bum.

    I understand I'm still young, and my facial hair keeps getting denser and covering more area, but it seems like nothing is happening on my right jawline. I'd like to know if I will ever grow denser hair there, or if I'll be doomed to shave forever to keep from looking like I'm trying to grow a half-face beard. Is there anything I can do to make it grow, like yell at it? I heard Mozart helps your plants so maybe I can aim some heavy metal at my face to encourage it?

    Dude, I feel you, I'm 21 and I feel like a pubescent teen in terms of facial hair. It remains in permanent dirty stubble mode. I'd recommend shaving at it, unless you REALLY want facial hair but what's the point if you can't have a Pei-Mei beard? I've got an electric shaver that lets me clean up the ugly looking stuff in about five minutes when I get too lazy to do a proper wet shave (which is most always), and it works pretty well to making me look (fairly) clean shaven with minimal effort.

    Also, where'd you get your last fm sig? It's very cool.

    KrubicksCube on
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  • FiggyFiggy Fighter of the night man Champion of the sunRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Just going to pipe in that I also don't grow very impressive facial hair. I'll be 27 in a month.

    I can grow a satisfactory "chin strap," but I've tried many times to let a full beard grow in with no luck. The cheek areas are just too sporadic.

    At your age, whatever you do, don't just let shit grow in and hope for the best. Shave often. It will encourage a thicker beard in future years, and it will keep that dirty teen mustache look away, which is revolting.

    Figgy on
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  • Garret DoriganGarret Dorigan "Why can't I be DLC for UMvC3?"Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Get a cheap electric razor, and suck it up.

    Now, I'm not trying to be a dick, that's my advice. Let me explain...

    With an electric razor, well in my experience at least, it will cut through fine facial hair and cut/pull coarse. As fine hair is cut it will eventually become coarse and thus thicker, and with the coarse hair the pulling-but-not-pull-out action stimulates follicle growth through repair. You will, most likely, get fine hair in all the normal facial places, so this should lead to an overall even beard, though it will take time.

    The 'suck it up' part in the first sentence is me saying that until you get used to the shitty razor yanking on your face, it's gonna hurt.

    Garret Dorigan on
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  • Charles KinboteCharles Kinbote Registered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Nothing you do is going to make you grow a beard any faster or slower. Not shaving, not using a cheap electric razor. You just have to wait it out, unfortunately.

    Charles Kinbote on
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2010
    Figgy wrote: »
    Just going to pipe in that I also don't grow very impressive facial hair. I'll be 27 in a month.

    I can grow a satisfactory "chin strap," but I've tried many times to let a full beard grow in with no luck. The cheek areas are just too sporadic.

    At your age, whatever you do, don't just let shit grow in and hope for the best. Shave often. It will encourage a thicker beard in future years, and it will keep that dirty teen mustache look away, which is revolting.

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    Bionic Monkey on
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  • finnithfinnith ... TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    Is that urban myth about shaving making your facial hair corase and hard-to-shave true? I've always wondered about that ever since my Dad kept on telling me about it.

    finnith on
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  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2010
    The only thing shaving does is remove hair from your face. It does absolutely nothing else.

    Bionic Monkey on
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  • RaneadosRaneados police apologist you shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2010
    finnith wrote: »
    Is that urban myth about shaving making your facial hair corase and hard-to-shave true? I've always wondered about that ever since my Dad kept on telling me about it.

    it slightly alters the ends of your hairs from a natural rounded tapered look to a sheared off cut

    but that goes away as it grows and wears


    but no, it's not true

    the only think that alters how fast your hair grows/how thick your hair is is really just genes

    Raneados on
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