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Comment by zackmorris | Hacker News Reader

Anyone have any luck growing a beard after a lifetime of not being able to? My dad could grow one after 40 but no such luck for me. Also I had a few bad sunburns under my chin snowboarding and I wonder if I triggered something like an electrolysis effect. I've noticed that some things like drinking alcohol seem to stimulate brief growth but it's not a permanent fix hah. Also I've read that testosterone levels today are much lower than what the baby boomers had, but I don't know how scientific that is. I haven't been to a doctor to get my T level checked, just curious.

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I thought I couldn't grow a beard for forever until I followed some advice to just give it three months to fill in natural bald spots. Looks great now that I gave it the chance to actually grow instead of just giving up after 3-4 weeks.

I’ve kept a beard since my late teens, and frankly it never occurred to me that some men may not be able to grow one. This has me curious. Do you mean it literally doesn’t grow, as in you don’t even need to shave - or just that it looks thin or uneven when you let it grow?

I know people that have the eternal babyface. At most, a few chin hairs but otherwise smooth. Some people just don't have the genetics for a beard.

Beards are linked to hair patterns, for some, beards don't really begin to sprout until you start losing some up top. A lot of european-descent men (and others) can't really grow a full beard until their 40s, that is very common.

I'm 42, and can only grow a mustache and a scragly looking goatee. I'm a small guy, due to health issues, but I also have my testosterone checked for the same health issues, and it is normal. Either it's a combination of more issues (digestion perhaps? I have issues there) or it could be genetic (I'm 1/8 Native American, for example)

I'm the same age, kind of a taller guy because I'm 1/2 Swedish. You bring up a good point about digestive issues, because I've definitely had them over the past few years and I think they were brought on by bodybuilding supplements and/or stress. At one point my eyebrows thinned pretty severely and I think it was due to anxiety/burnout at my job. I'm wondering if beards are held in such high esteem because they are an indicator of overall constitution like face symmetry or straight teeth.

it's probably something as basic as making your chin look bigger

I wasn't able to grow a beard until my late 20s.

By the time I hit 30, I was able to keep a decent goatee, but not a full beard. That didn't happen until a few years later.

Now my wife likes my full beard, and won't let me shave it off. Although she does like me to keep it shorter rather than longer.

You're not alone though I have never let it bother me. My father had a full beard and my brother can grow one too. I can't. My facial hair amounts to a rather crappy goatee. Though I've learned to work with it or use a clean shaven look.

I'm 27, and I can say my ability to grow a beard has slowly improved, though I don't have anything full. That said, I do have a twin brother who can. I have a few marks on my face, so maybe your theory is on to something!

If you are not afraid of a little experimentation check out /r/Minoxbeards on reddit.

Perhaps part of the increasing popularity of beards is to hide the weak chin and jawline that can be a result of low testosterone and is presumably more prevalent due to the secular generational testosterone decline?

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