# how old is the average man until his face stops growing new beard hairs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281 "2005-10-28T05:35:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AllahFearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce73a5/32.png) [@AllahFearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllahFearer)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/1 "2005-10-28T05:35:43Z")
im 22 and have a few missing splotches where i want some hair to grow for a thick manly beard. im hopeful that my beard isn’t done growing yet and one day i may be able to grow a beard to be proud of. so what is a common age for beard length to reach it’s max and for there to not be any new beard hair follices growing out? im just looking for a simple straight-to-the-point answer, preferably. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/2 "2005-10-28T12:23:44Z")
> [@AllahFearer](#): > > im 22 and have a few missing splotches where i want some hair to grow for a thick manly beard. im hopeful that my beard isn’t done growing yet and one day i may be able to grow a beard to be proud of. so what is a common age for beard length to reach it’s max and for there to not be any new beard hair follices growing out? im just looking for a simple straight-to-the-point answer, preferably. I’m 44 and still missing a bunch of splotches - I just can’t grow a decent beard. I think that you’re outta luck and you got what you’re gonna get. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/3 "2005-10-28T13:09:29Z")
I’m 61 and the spots seem to still be there. But when you get to be my age, you can find those “missing areas”…they’ll be in your ears and other random locations. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/4 "2005-10-28T14:25:46Z")
I’m 27 and I’ve noticed a slight thickening of my beard of the past couple years, even though it stopped “improving” from about 21-25. Having said that, I still have areas of non-growth. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/5 "2005-10-28T14:35:10Z")
I wouldn’t give up just yet; at 22 my beard was still a bit patchy and wispy, so I never really tried growing it; a couple of years back (when I was, I dunno, 35), I grew one specifically for a Victorian-themed event and it was thick, bushy and wiry (to the extent that it was incredibly uncomfortable and I couldn’t possibly have kept it). If it’s not too impolite asking, **AllahFearer** ; -What sort of hair do you have elsewhere on your body (i.e. is the hair on your forearms dark and dense, do you have hair starting to form on your shoulders and back?) -Does/did you father have a thick beard? -Is the hair receding on your head (or likely to, from family history)? - certainly in my case, as I started to lose the hair on top, it grew thicker everywhere else. Just ignore me if these questions are too personal. ---
**Author:** ![AllahFearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce73a5/32.png) [@AllahFearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllahFearer)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/6 "2005-10-28T17:38:40Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I wouldn’t give up just yet; at 22 my beard was still a bit patchy and wispy, so I never really tried growing it; a couple of years back (when I was, I dunno, 35), I grew one specifically for a Victorian-themed event and it was thick, bushy and wiry (to the extent that it was incredibly uncomfortable and I couldn’t possibly have kept it). > > If it’s not too impolite asking, **AllahFearer** ; > -What sort of hair do you have elsewhere on your body (i.e. is the hair on your forearms dark and dense, do you have hair starting to form on your shoulders and back?) > -Does/did you father have a thick beard? > -Is the hair receding on your head (or likely to, from family history)? - certainly in my case, as I started to lose the hair on top, it grew thicker everywhere else. > > Just ignore me if these questions are too personal. my body hair is dark and only thick on the chest and legs but my arms are a bit lackluster. as for back hair all i can grow there is about 15 long black ugly hairs. i have very noticable male pattern baldness but my hair line is not receding, it’s just getting much less dense on the top. my dad has some pretty good male pattern baldness too. he tells me he was never able to grow a good beard either. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/7 "2005-10-28T18:22:31Z")
My dad couldn’t grow a decent beard until he was 26 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/8 "2005-10-28T18:27:04Z")
I had a few bald patches (complete underside of chin, one cheek) at 22 that filled in by maybe 30 maybe? There’s still hope! ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/9 "2005-10-28T21:46:00Z")
I’m 47. All I’ve ever been able to manage is a goatee. After that, my facial hairs are too sparse to be considered beard-worthy. I can’t even grow sideburns! So this may be all you get… ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/10 "2005-10-28T23:39:47Z")
In ten years, my husband has grown a lot more chest hair, but his beard still looks like the cat shed on him. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/11 "2005-10-29T00:22:31Z")
> [@AllahFearer](#): > > my body hair is dark and only thick on the chest and legs but my arms are a bit lackluster. as for back hair all i can grow there is about 15 long black ugly hairs. i have very noticable male pattern baldness but my hair line is not receding, it’s just getting much less dense on the top. my dad has some pretty good male pattern baldness too. he tells me he was never able to grow a good beard either. Male pattern baldness often goes hand in hand with strong beard growth, but if this didn’t turn out to be the case for your dad, then you’re quite likely to be similar. Perhaps a little too soon to be resigning to failure though. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/12 "2005-10-29T07:23:10Z")
I’m gaining confidence by this thread. I have an incredibly hairy chest/stomach, decent bear-skin rug on my back, and above-average on my legs. And I’m balding. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![AllahFearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce73a5/32.png) [@AllahFearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllahFearer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/13 "2005-10-29T07:26:06Z")
ya, but how old are you? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-the-average-man-until-his-face-stops-growing-new-beard-hairs/328281/14 "2005-10-29T07:43:58Z")
Almost 19.