How to Fix a Patchy Beard?

If you’re wondering how to fix a patchy beard, you’ve come to the right place. As beard growers, we’re constantly combing, grooming, and looking at our facial as it grows into luscious facial hair. However, if you’ve noticed patchy areas and are wondering “why is my beard patchy on one side?”, and “what am I doing wrong?”, fret not – you’re not alone. A patchy beard is not something to be overly concerned about and is extremely common.

Stress is counterproductive to growing a thick and healthy beard - stop worrying about your facial hair growth, and instead, implement these six practical tips for a patchy beard.

1. Give Your Beard Time to Grow

While some parts of facial hair will grow fast as weeds, some areas can take a bit longer to foster the same sort of growth. As such, if there are areas that still need more time, it's not no need to panic.

Consider the length in which it takes to grow - growing a beard can take up to 90 to 120 days. This amount of time will allow the patchy areas of hair to grow at their own pace. Don't give up after a month or two, as growing a full and healthy beard takes time.

When it comes to facial hair, peak growth abilities are between the ages of 25 to 35. Depending on your age, your beard growth will improve with time.

2. Implement A Healthy Diet

A healthy diet will make a huge difference in supporting beard growth. To grow and nurture the follicles that produce facial hair, your body needs protein and healthy fats. Therefore fish, eggs, nuts, and seeds are excellent sources to get the nutrition you need to grow a healthy and full beard. Fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains provide a lot of essential vitamins and minerals your body needs – and the healthier your body is, the easier it will be able to produce more facial hair.

One vital mineral you should definitely include in your diet is zinc, which is essential to hair growth. You can find this mineral in many healthy foods like beef, pork, chicken, dairy products, nuts, legumes, whole grains, spinach, mushrooms, sesame, and pumpkin seeds. Zinc helps to regulate your hormone levels, including dihydrotestosterone, an essential hormone for hair growth.

Finally, be sure to drink plenty of water every day. Water helps not only with skin hydration, but is also vital to promoting healthy facial hair follicles.

3. Exercise Makes Blood Flow and Hair Grow

Another tip for improving a patchy beard is to engage in regular exercise.

While going to the gym has no direct influence on hair growth, regular physical activity will provide a wide range of benefits from increased blood circulation.

Blood circulation refers to the delivery service of oxygen and nutrients around your body, including your hair follicles. The more regularly you are exercising, the more frequently you’ll be delivering blood, oxygen, and nutrients to your hair follicles.

Additionally, exercise reduces stress and inflammation in your body - two significant obstacles to hair growth.

4. Beard Styling Makes a Difference

When growing and maintaining a beard, using the right beard products on your facial hair is vital. Beard shampoo and conditioner are designed to support your beard growing faster and healthier. Avoid use the same shampoo you would use on your scalp, as it is generally designed for these specific hair follicles and can be way too harsh on your facial skin. 

While a beard shampoo makes sure to get rid of dirt and debris, a beard conditioner helps to soften and detangle the hair. This is beneficial when combing and grooming your beard. A softer and detangled beard is easier to form, making it the perfect environment for patchy beard areas to be overcome.

Styling products such as beard balms and beard butters are gamechanger when styling your beard, as they moisturise your skin and facial hair even further. These products are enriched with a blend of natural oils, so they soften the hair and prevent dryness and skin irritation. Therefore, they are a great way to nurture hair follicles. Furthermore, beard balms and oils add a slight hold to the hair, allowing you to maintain the shape of your beard that covers up patchy areas.

5. Find Patchy Beard Styles That Work

Ok so, not every beard is going to be absolutely perfect. Sometimes, a patchy beard occurs as a result of genetics, and no amount of zinc, exercise, and pumpkin seeds is going to cover all areas.

If you do find that you have stubborn patchy areas, find a patchy beard style that DOES work. For some, this means growing the surrounding facial hair a bit longer to cover the patchy areas. For others, this means keeping the hair at a certain, shorter length so as not to accentuate the patchy areas. Patchy beards are extremely common and many men find that patchy areas of a beard are less emphasised when a beard is kept short and well-groomed.

6. Consider Dyeing Your Beard

The final resort for making patchy areas in your beard less noticeable is dyeing your beard. Using small amounts of natural-colour hair dye can help to give your beard a thicker and fuller look. Particularly if your beard seems to grow different coloured facial hairs, a bit of colour can go a long way in keeping the overall look nice and tidy.

Wrapping Up

Before we finish, let’s be real - having patchy areas in your beard is normal (more common than you think) and nothing to be concerned about. No one spends more time looking at your beard than you, so while it may be something that you’re bothered about, you can rest assured it’s likely not being noticed by those around you.

Jericho are Australia and New Zealand’s leading provider of beard grooming products. Whether you’re looking for the perfect styling agent or beard oil to promote hair growth, we’ve got you covered.