The Small One thinks it’s wonderfil I can grow hair out of my face and has asked I stop shaving for awhile, so after a lifetime of clean shaven-ness I’ve gone four days without shaving.
GAH OH MY GOD SO ITCHY.
How do I make this bearable without shaving?
When I got my hair cut short a couple of months ago, they shaved the very back on my neck. First time my hair’s ever been so short, and ohmigod the itching! Someone told me to dab a little rubbing alcohol on it, and by gum, it worked! No idea why or how, but it did. I wouldn’t overdo it, alcohol’s pretty drying, but maybe it’s worth a judicious shot.
For me, weeks 2-5 were absolutely unbearable, but after that you’ll hardly notice it. During that time, it’s like wearing a wool blanket on your face 24 hours a day. Don’t shave it and don’t trim it, you’ll just have to regrow it and you’ll make that itchy phase take longer.
The beard board I’m on always suggests jojoba oil. It never really did much for me, but most people love it. Barring that, even a little bit (literally a few drops) of olive oil will help soften it a bit and make it a bit easier to deal with.
Jeffs Beard Board is a great community if you need a ‘support group’ or just have any questions.
There’s a thread on that board documenting my progress going from (more or less) nothing to this over the course of about 10 weeks (and then shortened just a bit). A lot of people on there have threads like that. It’s kind of fun to take a weekly picture and then look back at it later. See how unsure of everything you were at the beginning, have everyone tell you ‘it’s fine/it’ll fill it/it looks great’ and realize at the end that they were right all along.
Patience. The itching is temporary.
Triim the neckline (you’ll probably need to continue shaving up to a point somewhere beneath your chin, unless you’re going for the wild man look.
After about a week of growth, try combing it - I found this helped, even though it was still too short to seem to need combing.
After washing your face, try rubbing some hair conditioner into it, then rinse. Softer, smells nice, and maybe just greasy enough to help relieve the itching.
Shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and hydrocortisone cream if the above doesn’t help. Source.
I’d also recommend mild exfoliation after conditioner, but before lotion. Wet a knobbly washcloth with warm water and rub in a circular motion. Don’t scrub the shit out of your face or anything, just get the dry skin off.
your face is having an adverse sensation to the lack of abuse that its used too.
have The Small One rub it, that will may provide some relief to your itching and provide them with more amazement.
I feel your pain. I always break down into the second week. I just can’t make it.
For me, the first week is the worst. Once you get past that, it gets a lot more bearable. I would wash my face with cold water, and rub a bit of aftershave on it, which seemed to help the itchiness.
Try some aloe vera with lidocaine. The lidocaine is a numbing agent. Works well for itchy bug bites and mild sunburns.
Another vote for it only lasts for a couple of weeks.
These are the things that I found to help the most, back when I grew out a beard. Mine mostly itched at the bottom of the neck part of the beard, so if I trimmed it to look nice, and then shaved the parts that I didn’t want to grow, it turned out that I was shaving the itchy parts off anyway.
Combing/brushing it is just a good idea anyway.
Don’t scratch. Go wash your face in ice cold water (do it now for the relief). Alright, now that you are temporarily sane… Don’t scratch.
Real men don’t scratch.
Hmm, guess I’m lucky because growing a beard never bothered me. I’m surprised to learn it’s a problem.
It’ll pass. You may be like me, though, and have trouble with the bizarre sensation (especially noticable when laying down to sleep) of having HAIR ALL OVER YOUR FACE. 
IHNGAB* But I know from itchy skin.
Anbusol. Or the neosprin with pain relief. Anything with benzocaine. Rub it into the itchy area before bed. It will give you the relief to sleep,a nd the nerves will calm down. Irritation builds day after day, this gives it the old ctrl-alt-del. Relief at night, and starting from a much lower level during the day.
The stuff can be drying though, so use a good moisturizer during the day.
*I have never grown a beard
I’ve grown mine out to about 4 inches off the chin and I can’t remember the last time I woke up without hair in my mouth. It’s annoying but worth the awesoemness.
OP, just wait it out, like a real man. Don’t be a non-bearded-man sissy.*
EDIT: * I’m not talking anyone in particular since the simul-post might make it look like I was talking about TruCelt
