I’m at I think 1.5” length. I am very goblin mode and have just been letting everything grow out as much as possible.

Sensory issues compel me to wash my beard with soap every time I enter the shower - this is currently the 3-in-1 old spice, which I imagine strips oil. I have taken to drowning my face in old Amish oil, which seems to be an effective counter.

I work in a profession which will tolerate and appreciate things like beading, which I feel would be more feasible in an inch or so? Any tips on the hobby would be appreciated.

Really the question is - I want to have an extremely lengthy and healthy beard. What do I do to not look like a gross neckbeard, to convey less “this is long because I’m too lazy to do anything about it” but more “I love this thing and will actually maintain a routine for it.” I would like to at some point be a mall Santa. I want to lock in. Pretend you are my dad for a minute.

  • scott@lemmy.orgEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    It is not fucking worth years of growth just to bleach it so hard it falls apart, just to be a “mall Santa”? Malls are dead, get a fake

    I was also stuck around 4 or so inches for a while, and once you get to that length (takes a few years, be patient) it really needs a lot of moisture to keep going. I don’t quite keep up with it as much as I’d like to, but if I did, here’s what I’d do:

    • never ever ever let that 3-in-1 touch it again
    • get a better conditioner and apply it daily.
    • at your length, probably also soap every day or two. Goats milk bar soap, same stuff I use on my face, as recommended by my dermatologist. I only soap the beard every few days, a rinse with the conditioner soak is enough to keep it clean for a while if I do it daily
    • beard oil or beard butter. I wet my hands and apply a good glob of beard butter to my still-wet beard after showering. I’ve heard oils work well, too. Leave-in conditioner is essential. More goat milk. Coconut oil. Jojoba. Castor. Hempseed. That sort of thing.

    Finally, listen to and take cues from women in your life who have long hair. They know more than either of us.