# Male Dopers: How old were you before you could grow a full beard? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2007, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183 "2007-10-10T06:44:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/21 "2007-10-10T13:34:34Z")
I’m 40, and my beard never progresses beyond “scruffy.” I was 30+ before it was “scruffy with no patches,” even. And, FWIW, I _do_ have chest hair, but not so much on the arm or leg hair. _edit:_ Oh, and I’m going bald. At least, my hairline is receeding some – and that started at ~35, and I was late for it, at that. So enjoy the patchy beard; odds are, by the time it’s grown in, your hair will be thinning away. ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/22 "2007-10-10T13:42:42Z")
I was about 21 before I could grow a full beard. Even now my 'stache is a little thinner than the rest of my facial. I just turned 28. Because of the dress code at work, I can’t grow a beard anymore. And I want mine back. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/23 "2007-10-10T13:43:24Z")
Funny, I was just thinking of starting a beard thread. I was able to grow one by about age 18, but I didn’t know shit about how to groom it until I was around 30. The funny thing is, I’m sort of in Netherworld with my beard these days. It’s like a box of chocolates. Right now it’s sort of like Joseph Fiennes’ beard in Shakespeare in Love. I’m not sure it suits me. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Probably clean cut. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/24 "2007-10-10T13:45:24Z")
I grew a beard at the age of 17, straight after I finished high school. This was so unusual back then (early 60s in Australia) that I got my picture in one of the newspapers: unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of that paper. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/25 "2007-10-10T13:48:04Z")
44; still can’t; it’s kind of patchy, plus there’s gray starting to sneak in, so I never will. I only shave every other day, have exactly 1 chest hair, and I’ve seen 6 year old boys with more leg hair than me. The upside is that I have a very full head of hair with very little gray, which is fairly hidden because I’m a strawberry blonde/redhead. ---
**Author:** ![Koldanar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@Koldanar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koldanar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/26 "2007-10-10T14:48:00Z")
I think I started to shave at around 13-14, but that was just the moustache and sideburns. I think around the time I started college (17) most of the beard grew in, with just a small patch under my chin and along my jaw that didn’t grow fully. Since then, I think the hairs have become thicker overall, but no large changes . ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/27 "2007-10-10T14:53:12Z")
I grew a very scraggly goatee at 17; it was short-lived. The next time I tried I was 24, and it was full, although the Burnsides were thin, and are to this day. Alas, I will never be able to be Chester A. Arthur for Hallowe’en. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/28 "2007-10-10T14:54:19Z")
Had a full beard during parts of college and remember having to \*really \*shave pretty early in high school, so I’d say from pretty young… I can grow a goatee in about a week (not quite fully in, but it is clearly outlined and obviously there - in about two weeks I need to start thinking about trimming the edges…)… ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/29 "2007-10-10T14:55:52Z")
In my 30’s before the two bald patches on my cheeks started filling in. I still wear a goatee and mustache, but could probably grow a full beard now that I’m pushing 40. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/30 "2007-10-10T14:59:19Z")
Not me, but my lil brother went away to camp at 15 and came back a week later with a full, bushy beard. Mom and Dad were gonna make him shave it before going back to school, but it was so nice they decided to let him keep it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/31 "2007-10-10T15:01:35Z")
I grew mine in at 15 and it’s still holding strong today. I enjoyed the fact that I could be mistaken for a senior despite being a sophomore in high school. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/32 "2007-10-10T15:10:11Z")
My husband can’t grow even a decent mustache, and he’s 40. The 'stache is a little cheezy thing, and he can grow a little fuzzy patch on his chin a la Shaggy from Scooby Doo. He has patches on the sides of his face, but nothing connects…the sides next to the corners of his mouth are smooth as a baby’s bottom. He doesn’t mind too much, because it makes shaving quick, easy, and painless. Plus he doesn’t necessarily have to do it every day. **An Arky** mentioned that he is a strawberry blonde, and my husband is blonde, too. I wonder if it’s a blonde thing? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/33 "2007-10-10T15:10:38Z")
I just turned 49 and I still can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/34 "2007-10-10T15:46:22Z")
I’m 35. I’ll let you know. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/35 "2007-10-10T15:47:06Z")
32 and I can get close except for two patches on either side of my chin that won’t come in. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Sug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@Daniel\_Sug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel_Sug)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/36 "2007-10-10T15:48:34Z")
33 here. I could grow a “Chris Cornell” goatee since mid-twenties, but not a full beard–still too patchy on the right side of my face. The sides of my mouth finally connected in the past year, so when I finally shave my chin(tonight), I can leave the handlebar moustache. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/37 "2007-10-10T16:00:17Z")
About 14 or 15. I used to grow one when I was that age so I could go to bars and listen to bands – I really didn’t drink, at least not much, just enough to look like I belonged. Nurse one or two through the night. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/38 "2007-10-10T16:09:53Z")
I’m 37 and I still can’t either. But hey, my ear hair is comming in rather nicely though… Come on Ladies, you know you dig it… [quote from someone I can’t remember who] “It’s a cruel joke with men as we get older. You LOSE hair where you DO want to grow it. While at the same time you START growing hair where you DON"T want to grow it!” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/39 "2007-10-10T16:46:29Z")
15 for the moustache; full beard by 17. ---
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183/40 "2007-10-10T16:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] My husband can’t grow even a decent mustache, and he’s 40. The 'stache is a little cheezy thing, and he can grow a little fuzzy patch on his chin a la Shaggy from Scooby Doo. He has patches on the sides of his face, but nothing connects…the sides next to the corners of his mouth are smooth as a baby’s bottom. He doesn’t mind too much, because it makes shaving quick, easy, and painless. Plus he doesn’t necessarily have to do it every day. **An Arky** mentioned that he is a strawberry blonde, and my husband is blonde, too. I wonder if it’s a blonde thing? [/QUOTE] I’m a blonde guy and 24, I can grow in a full beard, but it takes like 2 months or more before it looks really solid. It’s been slowly getting more solid, probably since around 20, most notably on the chin area. I still have the aforementioned “Y” area around the soul patch where hair doesn’t grow, and the corners of my mouth are pretty sparse. Zero back hair and zero chest hair. I’m gonna credit the Scandinavian genes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-dopers-how-old-were-you-before-you-could-grow-a-full-beard/422183.md?page=3)