Does One's Beard Ever Stop Getting Tougher?

[NewbieRedux]

Since about two months ago it seems that my beard has become tougher to shave, much to my consternation. I understand that a man's beard gets tougher as he ages, but I'm 65; will it ever stop?

My prep is the same, my tools are the same, my technique is the same, but the shaves require more work, take longer, and introduce irritation where there was none. I am not a happy shaver. What gives?

 

[heybatter]

This thread(http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/319111-Saw-these-facts-on-a-website) has a fact that claims that beards are toughest at age 35.

 

[BBrad]

That thread claimed that mens beards are thickest at age 35 . . . thick doesn't equal tough.

You mention there were no big changes to the equation two months ago . . . anything subtle and seemingly insignificant, maybe? New skin irritation comes from something . . . probably not the beard toughness. A pull or tug felt when shaving could be from a batch of dull blades and will lead to irritation as you press harder to make the dull blade cut.

Is the irritation healing completely between shaves? Could be that one shave with a bad blade or poor lather produced a condition that doesn't have a chance to heal in one day. Can you take two or three days off from shaving and see what happens then?

I find now that I am more likely to be aware of a bad shave as it is happening than I was earlier in my life, and can generally pinpoint the cause to blade or lather issues.

 

[takeshi]

My prep is the same, my tools are the same, my technique is the same, but the shaves require more work, take longer, and introduce irritation where there was none. I am not a happy shaver. What gives?

Something definitely changed but I doubt it's beard toughness. Seems like a leap in causality to me.

 

[Seadooer]

I hear the grayer it gets the tougher it goes.

 

[one cut]

it depends on who you are, If you are Chuck Norris the answer is no, because your beard is already as tough as it can get.

 

[NewbieRedux]

I hear the grayer it gets the tougher it goes.

You might be on to something.

 

[Johnny_Ludlow]

I'm with takeshi here. It's not - in my view - sensible to think that your beard has gotten noticeably tougher in two months at not so tender age. If it is about your beard being tougher (I think it's not), it makes more sense to think that it's tougher for other reasons than aging, like nutrition.

BBrad's suggestion is a good one. One bad shave sometimes leads to more bad shaves. There are other possibilities; maybe your skin is more dry and sensitive now than it was in the summer. I guess it's also possible, yet unlikely, to have a bad batch of blades.

 

[santamariasteve]

I think the answer is no one knows. Every man is different. One's overall health as he ages may be a factor, as well as a man's testosterone level.

 

[Mad Man]

I hear the grayer it gets the tougher it goes.

I have the most greys around my chin and just under the chin/neck (yes, I'm a codger in his 40s). It's no suprise that THIS is the area that is hardest for me to get smooth. Those greys are like heavy-gauge tensile wire. So my answer to the original question is yes, it's getting tougher...for me. YMMV.

 

[reboot]

If mine gets any tougher, I'll just hammer it in and chew it off from the inside.

 

[NewbieRedux]

I think the answer is no one knows. Every man is different. One's overall health as he ages may be a factor, as well as a man's testosterone level.

Low testosterone? Me? Me, who used to walk into my manager's office breathing fire just for the sport of jousting with the old SOB to raise his blood pressure and watch his face turn red? Me?

That does it. I am going to stop whining and try to analyze my methods and find an improved approach. John Wayne wouldn't whine about this.

I'll report back if I discover anything worth sharing.

 

[Big_John]

My beard has definitely gotten tougher as I've aged. For forty years, shaving was easily done with a Norelco. That stopped a few years ago.

 

[Yobo]

I've thought about it and belatedly decided that the increased toughness was probably imagined, the result of gnawing impatience with my beard, which I first let grow out in college but periodically shaved thereafter. I really need lots of hot water, a highly alkaline shave cream, a very sharp blade and a thickly emollient post shave balm in order to tolerate the shaving ritual and its aftermath in place of just settling for the aging mullah look. Top bad as I do enjoy shaving, but not at the cost of time, discomfort and that hauntingly unfinished feeling.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Wow, a long forgotten thread from 2012 revived!

 

[santamariasteve]

I've changed my view from my post #9 back in 2012.

My answer today definitely is No. My whiskers are much tougher today at age 85, than what they were at age 65.