A poll for the gents

[Winston Smith]

I'm in the process of growing a goatee. I almost completely hairless, so it's taking a while, but I strap slabs of bacon to my lip and chin at night before going to bed and that helps. Anyways, I'm wondering how long it takes the rest of you strapping brutes to grow your beard/mustache/etc.

[jali]

Photos of the process would be very helpful.

[What Exit?]

I am unfortunately a very hairy guy. The only good part is I am not going bald yet at 42. I get 5:00 shadow at 9:00 AM.

[Cluricaun]

Around a week or a week and a half, but I've been known to let it go for a few months with only the most needed trims, i.e. the photo I put in the self portrait thread. I shaved a great deal this morning and now only have an ominous long set of chin whiskers.

[hatesfreedom]

at about 2 weeks its long enough to be kind of annoying again

if that's what you mean

[Claptree]

I generally shave once a week, using a trimmer and leaving only the beard. Like my head, my face is sadly quite sparsely behaired.

[Suburban Plankton]

Its been a few years since I grew any facial hair. The hair on my face comes in mostly gray, whereas the hair on my head is still mostly not; this makes me look pretty funny if I have any sort of beard. If I go 4-3 days without shaving, I get a pretty heavy 'shadow', so I think about 2 weeks would give me more or less full coverage. But I'm going to need to wait for my head to go gray before I try it again.

[Batman]

2-3 weeks, but frankly, I have a very sparse beard. It never really grows out.

[garygnu]

I had to pick 2-3 weeks, but it's actually excruciatingly longer than that.

[Chimera]

At the age of about 26 I attempted to grow a beard. It was bright orange. The hair on my head is a mixture of dark and light that evens out to a dark brown, lighter when it gets sun bleached. So it was kinda frightening, and needless to say, I didn't keep it long. It was about 6 years before I grew one again, by which time it came in a bit darker.

Now it's totally white, except for my mustache, which has always been blonde, and a bit of occasional dark hairs around the goatee area. (see my picture, from 4 years ago, in the Dark Room thread).

Takes about a week to go from clean shaven to "hey, he's growing a beard" and another week or two to where I usually keep it. I only trim it up and shave the non-designated beard areas about once a week, sometimes twice.

[Liberal]

Too bad there wasn't an "or more" tacked onto the first one. Indians don't put out a lot of facial hair, as a rule. But there were a few nations who did, and I have just enough European (1/8) to get pretty scruffy after a couple of weeks. But a beard? Gosh, I have no idea how long it would take.

[silenus]

I've had a mustache since 1973, so I don't remember how long that took. But I can replace a beard in less than a week. 2 weeks until it looks good, mind you. But it never comes in scraggly or in patches. Just in gray.

[Glazer]

I've been sportin' this 'stash since '84 and a full beard since '98. I have to trim my mustache about twice a week to keep it off my lip. And cut back the bush on my face twice a month or they will lock me up in Guantanamo for being in the Taliban.

[Agent Foxtrot]

Too bad there wasn't an "or more" tacked onto the first one. Indians don't put out a lot of facial hair, as a rule. But there were a few nations who did, and I have just enough European (1/8) to get pretty scruffy after a couple of weeks. But a beard? Gosh, I have no idea how long it would take.

You're Indian, Liberal? I had no idea.

I've had a Van Dyke (a goatee is a chin beard with no mustache) ever since I left the Air Force in 2000, but judging by my cheek and jawline growth, I can comfortably say it would take about 2 weeks to have a full facial bush. Bonus: I've totally forgotten what I look like without facial hair and even though I'm blond, my beard is red.

[sublight]

Mine's pretty slow-growing. I had to shave it off for a photo shoot once, and it was at least 3 weeks (maybe a month) before it was recognizably a goatee again instead of a dark patch around my mouth. I trim it every few months or so.

[dread pirate jimbo]

By the end of two weeks I have a pretty convincing beard and have to start trimming, so it doesn't take very long at all. I could probably justifiably shave twice a day if I were that ambitious. Instead I shave more like twice a week because I'm a slob.

[Malaky]

I had to pick 2-3 weeks, but it's actually excruciatingly longer than that.

Same here.

It's very sparse on the cheeks, and I can't grow a real mustache to save my life, but it's nicely hairy and dense under the jaw/throat area. So when it began to grow, I didn't notice at all and I went months and months with those sparcely scraggly hairs down there.

I rarely shave my face though, I usually just trim it all close. Way less painful when it grows again.

[Wheresgeorge04]

I used to have a full beard, but got tired of it. Now I have a LONG goatee, and shave the beard part about every 2 weeks. It comes in in a week, and is annoyingly scuzzy-looking by 2 weeks.

Joe

[iampunha]

I have no idea.

I have never liked the idea of cutting things off of my face, and I was getting mistaken for a woman a frightening amount of the time, so once the hair started growing, I let it live (so to speak).

My then-hunny wasn't entirely happy with this, but it was my hair, not hers, so unless she shaved me or got on my case enough, there it stayed.

I haven't had it short in probably two years. People said I looked better without it, but they specified that it made me look younger. (I'm trying for the opposite effect.)

I trim every month or so, more often with the mustache, especially when it gets in the way of eating.

I'm still not going to be mistaken for William Lee Golden any time soon (from the front, anyway).

[BooBoo]

Give me a month and I can go Grizzly Adams. I used to have a full beard, but now I have to shave for work and it is starting to come in gray around my chin these days, so I just go clean-shaven. *sigh* I miss my beard.

[Liberal]

You're Indian, Liberal? I had no idea.

Yep. Osiyo. (Hi.) :smile:

[Alan Smithee]

Over a month for me. I didn't vote, since there was no appropriate option. Once I let it grow out enough, I think it looks pretty good (though others may disagree) but for a long time it comes in both sparse and patchy. I liked having a beard, but I was never very good about keeping it trimmed nicely. Unfortunately, I can't grow a goatee.

[Papaw]

I grew a beard in 1969, and have only cut it off once since then. My wife laughed at me and it scared the kids! They asked where daddy went.
It took about 2 weeks to grow back full. I now wear it ZZ Top style.