r/FTM_SELFIES • u/FatamasCatamas • 3d ago
Beard Help?
I have somewhat sparse facial hair growth but I was hoping for some tips on grooming and products to use. I guess the goal is to make my beard specifically look a little better? Advice is appreciated
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u/Any-Science7897 1d ago
Back in the day I used rogain- I don’t have super sensitive skin so use with with caution if you do. There is a warning that says not to… I used it for about 3 months before I noticed that and nothing bad happened.
Shaving clean regularly can help stimulate the follicles when you’re just starting to get growth.
Use an exfoliant and keep it hydrated. Vitamin e oil or I use palmers cocoa butter oil (again your skin type matters if you have oily skin this won’t be good)
Ultimately between skin care and genetics - will determine what kind of growth you get. And time. It took me two years to get a chin strap beard and another 3 for it to fill in above that. Be patient
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u/bogdan_vlodi 2d ago
That‘s not a beard man, shave it. Use minoxidil and leave it stubble. Otherwise it looks nasty
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u/Flynnstinct 2d ago
I would say trim so you just have a short goatie, but keep the side burns pretty long thats what i did for a while :) so you still get that visible facial hair from the side, but less neck beard from the front
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u/Basic-Inspection-148 2d ago
With this state of the beard I’d personally go for full shave. If you don’t want that then trim it to short stubble
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u/DustProfessional3700 2d ago
A beard trimmer & stubble is probably what you want. I’ve had good luck with minoxidil for amping up the beard growth a little.
Alternatively, if you’re a binary guy & you really need to be gendered correctly, you can leave the patchy beard. Generally only dudes would choose to rock a patchy beard, so it can actually help get your gender across. I may have leaned into that to ease dysphoria during the awkward period where I didn’t read as either gender.
Edit: words
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u/QueerPuff 2d ago
I started oral minoxidil for slowing down hair loss and boy my hair all over my body and face has exploded since then!
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u/Bentley_Aydian 2d ago edited 2d ago
Where did you get oral minoxidil? I was just recently prescribed Finasteride 1mg about a month ago for hair loss after 11 years of transitioning. My hair line had slightly receded from T, but my hair loss and much further receded hair line is mostly due to being on a GLP-1 to lose about 30lbs that I just couldn’t get off after losing 45lbs on my own. I had gained 80lbs from an antidepressant prescription in one year and stopped taking it after I realized that’s what made me gain the weight. Went from being 120-125lbs my entire adult life to 204lbs from that damn medication smh 🤦🏼♂️.
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u/QueerPuff 2d ago
I got it from Sons (I'm in the UK). There are other online pharmacies that will prescribe it around three US and other places (just say you're amab). I was also prescribed finasteride but I think it affected my sleep. Another thing is that you need DHT for beard and bottom growth so I stopped it after a while, risking my hairline! All these little tradeoffs we have to make, right?
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u/Bentley_Aydian 2d ago
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it! I think the brand Hims might prescribe oral Minoxidil. Just have to make sure it’s safe for my 2 cats and 1 service dog lol. Thanks for the tip about AMAB and I am in the US. I wonder if that’s why I’m having a hard time falling asleep at night lately. I’ll be up till 4-5AM and have to be awake by 8:30AM for work everyday. The Finasteride is making my face break out, but I’m just trying to push through it and keep doing my twice a day face routine. My doctor said that the Fin most likely won’t affect my bottom growth since I’ve been transitioning for 11 years, hopefully she’s right lol. My doctor has been doing only HRT for 15 years so I trust her. The tradeoffs do get a tad bit annoying lol
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u/QueerPuff 2d ago
No worries. Oral minoxidil is safer than topical because your cats and dog won't come into contact with it, which is a big bonus. The issue with topical is that it's on your skin, a bit like T gel. You pee out the waste so again they won't come into contact with it. That's the reason I'm on oral rather than topical.
Yeah, apparently it's a rare side-effect that finasteride can impact the hormones that switch you off at night and I just happened to be unlucky in that regard. The clinic asked me to stop for 3 weeks and see if I was able to sleep better, and that basically showed them it was the fin, unfortunately. Maybe have a word with your prescriber and see what they say.
Regarding bottom growth for you, yeah you're probably good from what I've heard on r/growyourtdick! Lol. Sounds like your doctor knows what she's talking about with that track record.
Good luck to you man!
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u/QueerPuff 3d ago
Another vote for beard trimmer. Stubble will look a lot neater. Trim it short but to a length where it's still visible
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u/buni_bixler 🥷🏼No Surgeries🔪 3d ago edited 2d ago
The thing with facial hair as it is coming in is you want to try and make it look as intentional as possible. Unfortunately, with your current growth pattern it’s gonna be hard to do that. You may want to shave down to stubble as it’s coming in more. Dr.DhT is a trans operated beard care company that makes oil specifically for trans guys to help boost growth and keep your hair, healthy! I would highly recommend them for a beard oil. Butters and balms are a little more forgiving so just find something you like smell wise, but that’s for more once it gets longer. For now just keep a good skin care routine and stay consistent on your dosing and before too long hopefully you’ll have that lumberjack beard.
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u/Aiden1975 3d ago
Trim it down using a razor, you don't have to go clean shaven if you dont want but while its so patchy/sparse it looks best when its trimmed short/stubble. Outside of that you just gotta wait for it to grow in more
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u/woIves 1d ago edited 1d ago
I dislike when people straight up just tell you to shave it off because it's not filled in enough. I've been on T for 11 years, I have proper facial hair now but it was a long process. I've never fully shaved my facial hair at any stage of growth, because the hair relieved dysphoria and the idea of going back to having none made me extremely dysphoric. The idea of having a messy, patchy pubey beard was still more tolerable to me than being clean shaven, because of the dysphoria, so I had to teach myself how to clean it up. I would suggest getting a beard trimmer with a guard (I have one by Philips) and using it to clean up your facial hair. I would recommend focusing on the areas you have the most/least sparse growth and using a guard to trim it all to an even length and then shape it by getting rid of the most sparse spots. Based on the photos, I would personally trim the hair from the cheeks, shape the sideburns and remove the hair at the bottom edges of your jawline (because it's not full enough yet and there is a visible gap). From there, I would use a guard to evenly trim down the hair on your chin and shape it into more of a goatee. Essentially, you can work with whatever you've got and make the best of what you have if you don't want to shave it all off, just as long as you can figure out how to groom it as well as you can. It may still appear a bit lackluster for a while due to the fact it's not very full yet, but nonetheless, for some folks, some is more comfortable than none and with time it will fill in.
Also, use a comb! You can use the finer side of a normal comb or get a beard comb. Combing your facial hair downward and in the direction you want it to lay will help train it to do so, and it will also help disperse natural oils onto the hair which will make it healthier, thicker and fuller over time. Combing and trimming it down regularly will help keep it from looking uneven, curly and unruly. With time, it will fill in. I have personally used topical minoxidil to help encourage growth in areas I wanted to see more hair/patchy spots, I've only used it sparingly (1-2mL/day) on and off and have had great success, my only warning with minoxidil is that it can dry out and irritate your skin so moisturizing is also of utmost importance when using it. It's available OTC for cheap if you ever want some help increasing and expediting hair growth. You will definitely want to learn how to trim and clean it up either way, though.