There’s a lot of fluff on the internet about genetic’s relationship or lack of a relationship when it comes to growing a Beard. Yes, it’s true that there are beard growing creams that have been shown to improve follicle growth on the face, but the majority of what determines the speed and thickness of beard growth is genetics and testosterone.

It’s not the be-all and end-all of beard growth, but it’s the most important factor in how easy it will be to grow out a full beard in a reasonable amount of time.

Genetics and your hormones are the main biological determinants of an individual’s beard development. If you’re a younger guy and have not started to grow facial hair yet, I wouldn’t be going straight to the ‘I have bad genetics’ argument. The timescale varies widely between people. You can reasonably expect to be able to grow a beard by your late twenties. Yes, it takes that long (and even longer sometimes) for guys, whereas other guys may have a full beard in their teens. That’s life guys!

One thing that we see bandied about a lot is that a man’s beard is completely and totally inherited from his dad. That’s not true at all, guys. You read it here first.

The truth for your beard is the same as pretty much any other genetically dependant and influenced feature – it can come from either side of your family tree, not just your father’s.

Obviously you don’t actually get beard growing until you mature in your teens or twenties, and so we don’t get the same benefit of knowing which side of the family our beard growth comes from when we are kids, like your eyes, ears, nose etc.

By the time you reach maturity, you’re no longer cute, people no longer coo at you, and quite frankly nobody cares who’s side it comes from. How harsh!

For example, I think that I look like a lot like all of my uncles on my dad’s side, and dad himself also, but none of them ever wore beards. I dunno if that means they couldn’t (highly doubtful, as everyone can grow out some sort of a beard) but they just never did. I have brown hair, but when my beard gets longer, it grows out to a reddish auburn colour, and there is none of this in either side of my family, from what I can see.

I do have an uncle on my mom’s side that wore a thick black beard for years in the 80s, but he’s been clean-shaven for years, and so I have come to the conclusion that I have probably gotten my beard growth genetics from my dad’s side, even though I have no idea really as none of them ever wore one.

I’m sure there are a lot of other bearded bro who visit My Man Beard with the same conundrum. I mean, beards haven’t been ‘popular’ or widespread for a long time, and so it can be difficult to see where your genetics are originally derived from.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter at all who your beard genes come from. What matters is that your beard is YOURS and nobody elses, and nobody can grow a beard just like yours.

Think of a beard as an outward expression of your heritage and history, of who you are and who went before you. Beard growing may or may not have been in your family, but if it’s a part of you, it’s a part of your family’s history. Be proud of it, continuously.