Does a Beard Shed? (With 3 Actionable Tips!)

If you’re new to maintaining longer facial hair, it can be jarring to notice your beard is shedding. But why do we lose beard hair?

A beard does shed, although it’s usually nothing to worry about. Beards follow a cycle of shedding and growth, and it’s natural to lose 20-30 hairs a day. Additional loss is likely caused by touching, brushing, and blow drying. Use a beard comb and beard shampoo to minimize excessive fallout, and try to keep your hands off throughout the day.

Keep reading to learn about how beards shed and when you should be worried when losing beard hair.

Should I be worried when my beard hair sheds?

When you find your beard shedding a few hairs, don’t be worried.

Even if you notice this process happening daily, this is common. Beards shed their hair as a part of the natural process of shedding and regrowth. 

All hair – including beard hair – follows the same basic growth cycle. During the anagen (or growth) phase, hair grows; this accounts for about 90% of your hair at any given time. As the growth phase comes to an end, the hair enters the catagan (transitional) phase before finally being shed in the telogen (resting) phase.

If your hair starts falling out in patches, there is something else at work and you should consider consulting a medical professional.

Are beards supposed to shed

Unless you’ve started cultivating a relatively long beard, you’ve probably never noticed that your beard sheds. Is it normal?

Beard hair goes through the same developmental stages as all body hair, including shedding. Throughout these stages the beard hair grows, then it detaches from the follicle to create more space for the next hair to grow. So, scientifically, we can assure you that shedding is supposed to happen. 

The scientific stages are called the anagen, catagen, and telogen phases. 

Whether you’re trying to avoid excess shedding or your goal is to ensure it all happens at once, it’s helpful to know what causes beard hair to fall out. Shedding can be caused by:

• Touching your beard
• Overbrushing
• Shampooing

Touching your beard

Believe me, I am guilty of this one too.

A gentle touch is fine, but twisting or bending your beard can cause separation or breakage at the follicle. Touching can be okay in small doses, but the less you touch the better.

That being said, we personally believe all significant others get a pass on the no-touching rule.

Overbrushing 

With beards, and the men who wear them, a little bit goes a long way. 

Due to the nature of fast beard growth and regrowth, we have to treat our beards differently than our head hair. For those hairs that are at the end of their life cycle, brushing your beard too often can rip them out. 

Shampooing

Beard hair is fundamentally different from head hair. 

Shampooing your beard can have dire impacts on beard hair health, causing it to shed.

However, we are also proponents of beard hygiene. You should use a beard wash that is specifically geared toward keeping beard hair healthy.

How much should your beard shed?

There are many factors that can play how much beard loss is normal.

Everyone is different but it’s generally accepted that your beard will shed up to 20 to 30 hairs per day.

If you’re not shedding an abnormal amount or if you don’t lose your hair in patches, you should be okay. 

How long does beard shedding last?

Beards shed because their type of hair follicle is different from head hair.

Head hair grows longer and thinner than our body and beard hair. Similarly, beards grow until they shed and replace themselves. Beard shedding is a daily occurrence and should expected.

What if beard hair is falling out with a white bulb?

When your beard hair falls out it can be its natural color or sometimes its white.

The bulbs of the beard hairs are white because they do not contain melanin, the natural pigment that gives your hair its color. When your hair comes out white, that means it may have been plucked before it was ready to fall out on its own.

Shedding many white bulb hairs at once can be a sign of telogen effluvium, a form of temporary hair shedding that’s often caused by stress. 

How to keep your beard from shedding

We know it’s normal for your beard to shed, but that doesn’t mean you have to like it.

If you’re looking for a few ways to stop shedding, consider these tips:

• Beard comb
• Beard oil
• Touch less

Beard comb

The proper comb can do wonders for your beard hair. 

The best tip we can give you is to avoid the plastic comb. Plastic combs can add static and volume to your beard as opposed to giving it that finely groomed look.

Beard wash and oil

If you haven’t started using beard oil for your facial hair, do it now. 

We recommend beard oils that have sunflower oil, jojoba oil, and avocado oil as those are reported to create a healthier batch of beard hair. Add in a few essential oils for a manly musk, and you will have that special someone all over your beard.

Touch less

Half the fun of having a beard is touching it, we know.

If possible, leave touching your beard for that special someone. Beard hair is less sturdy than head hair, so pulling or bending can cause it to shed more quickly.