Shaving?

[culticexecution]

So I have been on T for almost a year now and I do not have that much facial hair as I would like to have. Granted I do have chin fuzz, mustache, and side burns, nonetheless they are not as noticeable as those who have been on T for 8 months and have a full blown beard.

I have heard that shaving can help it grow? I am not sure. I have never shaved before. I am quite hesitant because I feel when I shave it off it won't grow back. I feel like I would be loosing a precious possession, haha. What are your thoughts on it?

[Jamie D]

Will shaving make my beard grow back thicker?

No.

In an article titled "On beards, no beards, and other hairy problems" in the April 1972 issue of Science Digest, Dr. Herbert Mescon, then professor and chairman of the department of dermatology at Boston University was quoted as saying: "There are a number of myths about shaving. It is not true that shaving makes whiskers darker or coarser or grow faster."

In the October 1963 issue of Science Digest, an article titled "What happens when you shave" included the following:

    Does shaving make your hair grow faster?

    Shaving has no permanent effect on the rate of hair growth, says Dr. Howard T. Behrman. Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Behrman notes that although there is an immediate increase in the rate of hair growth after shaving, this increase is followed by a decrease within the next few hours. The net effect of a shave on the rate of growth, therefore, is zero.

    Dr. Behrman also says cutting or shaving the hair does not make it darker or coarser. However, a hair shaft is darker and coarser at the root than at the tip, and cutting it near the root makes the hair appear darker and coarser.

http://www.beards.org/beardfaq.php#shaving

[Darrin Scott]

So I have been on T for almost a year now and I do not have that much facial hair as I would like to have. Granted I do have chin fuzz, mustache, and side burns, nonetheless they are not as noticeable as those who have been on T for 8 months and have a full blown beard.

I have heard that shaving can help it grow? I am not sure. I have never shaved before. I am quite hesitant because I feel when I shave it off it won't grow back. I feel like I would be loosing a precious possession, haha. What are your thoughts on it?

A few weeks ago I shaved EVERYTHING on my face off. I shaved my beard and mustache. Just to see what I'd look like. It came back within like 2 weeks. It really depends on you when it will grow back, but it will grow back. That's one of the irreversible effects of T.

[Kreuzfidel]

It can take up to 5 years or more to grow a full, thick beard.  As you can see, having not been on T for even 1 year means that you still likely have a ways to go yet.  I am at the 2 year mark and am only starting to see the facial hair creep up onto my cheeks and that bit is still very thin. 

I have also heard the shaving rumors, but after doing my research came to the conclusion that shaving will do nothing for the thickness of the beard growth itself.  What I've been trying for the last few weeks is taking biotin daily, along with a men's multi-vitamin, scrubbing my face with an exfoliant face wash and applying Eucalyptus oil to my beard and the areas where I want thicker growth.  According to some reports, biotin can stimulate hair growth and so can Eucalyptus oil.  Daily exfoliation of the skin helps to unclog pores and make your face a more healthy environment in which potential new hairs can flourish - not to mention that the massaging of the skin is also said to speed up hair growth.

[Simon]

I hate shaving but sometimes it's a necessary evil. Nope, as others have said shaving won't encourage more growth but for me I have noticed the more I shave the quicker the hair seems to come back. I guess it's the same thing as cutting your hair often. I can get a trim every 3 months and it takes awhile to grow back but if I buzz my head I have to do it every 3 weeks.

Don't worry about it not coming back, it will. The time it'll take to do so all depends on your body.

[gatsby]

Go ahead and shave, it will come back!

How think / fast it grows is probably more genetic than anything. I've been on T over 3 years, and I don't dare to even try to grow a stache or goatee because it just looks patchy and dumb. But my dad and brother are exactly the same way. So I don't expect to ever be able to grow a full beard. Oh well. 

[Nygeel]

You've got more than I had at that point on T. Shave if you'd like to, don't shave if you don't want to. Neither way will promote hair growth.

[Femboy]

Like everyone else said, I understand the shaving thing to be a myth.  But there are a couple little things you could do if it's really troubling you! Like someone else said, biotin stimulates hair growth.  Another thing that stimulates hair growth is rosemary essential oil! You can get it at health food stores. You can mix a tiny amount in with some olive oil (or whatever oil you prefer!) and massage it onto your face once a week just before a shower. When I was doing it I would leave it on my face for 10 minutes or so, but it depends on your preference/skin type/etc.  Also, if you have a lot of light colored hairs which are present but not visible, you could experiment with a beard dye! I haven't tried this personally, btu I've thought about it and I've looked up testimonials by cis men.  Could be worth a try, and if you don't like it you can always just shave it off!

[thatboyfresh]

Well it wont speed up hair growth or make more grow . Shaving does give the appearance of thicker/darker/courser hair. I just started shaving my hair . My peach fuzz and stuff and it really made a difference for me.

[aleon515]

I used Just for Men Beard and Mustache dye. But the thing is I had mustache growth it was just too light. It came in blond and grey. So dying it helped make it visible. It will NOT work on peach fuzz. There really isn't enough to dye. I tried my side burns and it didn't cause any harm but didn't help either.

It's cheap stuff, esp if you don't have much. I use about a pea size amt of each tube. I don't know if it says you can reuse it like that (I do not use the gloves and got a small make up brush) but it doesn't seem to make any difference. I give it an A rating. It's a little oily is all. But it doesn't smell too bad, for me.

--Jay

[dalebert]

An FTM posted a tip on here somewhere that if you only have peachfuzz so far, it can actually make you look less masculine than if you shave it. I thought it made a lot of sense. If you look clean-shaven (but basically pass), people just assume you have facial hair and you keep it shaved. I have a pathetic beard myself which is why I just shave. I just end up looking kind of unkempt.

[aleon515]

It might be. I either pass or not usually seems like it is too quick a response to depend on whether I shave facial hair. I am usually shaving in that I want my mustache to look intentional so I want the other hair not to be there. It's growing pretty fast though.

--Jay

[thatboyfresh]

Another tip from when I had light peach fuzz was I would get a water proof eyeliner ( in case of rain /sweat) and put some on my finger then rub it through the spots I wanted mainly the mustash area and it would give me the "i might have just shaved this morning look"

[Mariax]

If this post isn't welcome, I will be happy to delete it, so just say the word.

When I was growing up, my dad said the reason to shave when hair just starts to appear is because the growth will be uneven for a while and look silly. Shave for a few years until you have nice, even growth, then it should look okay. Of course, this is for a GB. I don't know what hrt would bring, given that I'm going in the opposite direction!

[Kreuzfidel]

I always hear from other trans* guys "shave off anything that is fuzzy because you are less likely to pass" - well in my opinion that may be true for guys with lighter-coloured or blonde fluff on the face, but not for me.  Even when my facial hair was thin and wispy, it was the difference between my passing and not passing until the fat in my face re-distributed.

[aleon515]

I always hear from other trans* guys "shave off anything that is fuzzy because you are less likely to pass" - well in my opinion that may be true for guys with lighter-coloured or blonde fluff on the face, but not for me.  Even when my facial hair was thin and wispy, it was the difference between my passing and not passing until the fat in my face re-distributed.

I definitely think the stache helps me pass, even though it's kind of a middle school type stache.

--Jay

[LilDevilOfPrada]

I get what you are saying about its a profewssional who says it wont grow more.

I however disagree as I have only shaved my mustache and once shaved my side burns. My mustache got thicker with time and my side burns remian near smooth. But hey maybe the world isnt this perfect ideal situation and shaving does make your hair thicker?

[Magnus]

I've taken to using the left over T in the barrel and applying it directly to my more or less trouble areas. It actually does work and I do not encounter any negative consequences (e.g. irritation or acne) from it. It doesn't work a miracle but where I didn't even have the beginnings of the womanly vellus hair (particularly in that rectangular patch of the chin), now they sure are and they're more the intermediate virilized types.

So yeah, it is probably best to apply it after a good wet shave to get the pores more open and unobstructed (skip the astringent/after shave to keep them open). Let it get absorbed overnight (so don't go washing your face for a good few hours or until the next day).

However, please don't try and waste your T using it out of the vial for this. There is more than enough left over in the barrels to suffice for this purpose. Cut the ends off to get more out. And don't do this again if you experience irritation or really bad acne (unless you want too but I don't see why anyone would if that were the case for them. To each his own I guess). Oh and, don't neglect to wash your hands off really good after. Don't want to be giving someone else a bit of T on accident lol.

[Kreuzfidel]

I've taken to using the left over T in the barrel and applying it directly to my more or less trouble areas. It actually does work and I do not encounter any negative consequences (e.g. irritation or acne) from it. It doesn't work a miracle but where I didn't even have the beginnings of the womanly vellus hair (particularly in that rectangular patch of the chin), now they sure are and they're more the intermediate virilized types.

So yeah, it is probably best to apply it after a good wet shave to get the pores more open and unobstructed (skip the astringent/after shave to keep them open). Let it get absorbed overnight (so don't go washing your face for a good few hours or until the next day).

However, please don't try and waste your T using it out of the vial for this. There is more than enough left over in the barrels to suffice for this purpose. Cut the ends off to get more out. And don't do this again if you experience irritation or really bad acne (unless you want too but I don't see why anyone would if that were the case for them. To each his own I guess). Oh and, don't neglect to wash your hands off really good after. Don't want to be giving someone else a bit of T on accident lol.

I tried doing this for two years and it never made a bit of difference.

[Exus]

Give it another 5 months or even another year, Idk how it works but I'm sure it has to do with genetics. I'm actually a pretty hairy person, I'm not on T yet and get a mini mustache so when I do get on T I will be one of those dudes with full blown beard.