Has anyone tried to reduce their beard in other ways?

[celishave]

I've been on here about half a year and generally speaking I am getting better shaves and fewer ingrowns. I know that many on here say this, but I am fairly confident that I have the thickest, fastest, darkest beard growth on here or perhaps in the world even . Basically in 3 or 4 days I could have a full thick beard. Even after shaving and getting BBS the beard area still looks very dark due to its thicnkness. There are those wolf guys in Mexico that are totally covered in hair...if they were to shave I'm pretty sure I'd grow back a full beard faster than those guys.

So anyways, are there alternatives to reduce beard growth permanently? I only know of electrolysis, laser and hormone therapy which obviously I would not do as I have no interest in becoming a female. I'm not sold on laser working, but I know that electrolysis does work but I hear it is painful. Has anyone ever done this? I would not want to remove it, but just reduce the beard density...perhaps eliminate say 1 out of every 2 hairs or something like that.

 

[mmack66]

I think you are going to just have to accept that your beard area will look like Homer Simpson's after shaving. I don't think that eliminating half of your facial hair will make a difference, if it is as dark as you say.

 

[Ohio]

"Belt Sander" is not the answer...

 

[HoratioCaine]

I would not want to remove it, but just reduce the beard density...perhaps eliminate say 1 out of every 2 hairs or something like that.

Interesting. I don't know enough about electrolosis to know if they can be that selective and exacting about it. Getting exactly every other hair might be quite a challenge. And if it could be done, you'd better hope you got an expert at it, lest you get someone who hacks it up and gives you an awkward, irreversible beard pattern. It's kind of the same way I feel about hair plugs. I may not have nice hair, but I have a nicely shaved head - something I'd lose if I got a hack plug job. Better off sticking with what you've got.

On that same note, I don't see anything wrong with having a thick beard pattern evident after a shave. It's not like you're badly shaven. And besides, not to sound sexist, but you're a man, so who cares? Now, if you were a woman, I could see why you'd stress about such a predicament. (Don't laugh. I knew a woman recently who did have a very evident dark follicle pattern on her shaved chin and cheeks. Not pretty. I felt bad for her, but almost worse for me, since she was clearly interested in dating me... Ok, I guess you can laugh.) Anyway, I say don't sweat it. Sorry if that's the easy answer, and not what you want to hear, but that's my honest feeling on it.

 

[krevo]

Consider yourself lucky and take advantage of it. You get to shave in the morning and at night

 

[marvin100]

"Belt Sander" is not the answer...

Sure, NOW you tell me...

 

[koso]

Lolz, I have enough Scandinavian extraction that my beard doesn't grow as fast as I'd like when I'm into the contemplative shave.

I couldn't imagine a life (now) where I didn't grow what whiskers I have.

 

[Luc]

I also have a densed and dark beard. What I noticed is depending on which razor I use, I get a cleaner look. If I use a Tech, my whiskers are darker and the shave is not as close. If I use my NEW, close shave and the whiskers are lighter.

You could always pluck them, wax them, laser them... I prefer shaving!

 

[chfair]

tried plucking once.... too many hairs way to thick way to dense. tried waxing once will never do so again, very few hairs removed wax stuck to hair/face and did i mention blood? find shaving with a straight gives my face a lighter look after shaving than DE shaving. find a fusion, while pretty much BBS, looks like i did not shave and got me into trouble a lot in boot camp.

i enjoy shaving now that i have found DE's and straights and new soaps and aftershaves (who would have thought aftershaves did anything? took me 25 years to find that out), so i will just keep up with shaving and playing with different equipment and products.

 

[SiBurning]

depilatory?

 

[HoratioCaine]

depilatory?

If that's what happened to your avatar, I'll pass.

 

[Joe11002]

Cliniquie makes an after shave balm that really does work.

Post-Shave Soother Beard Control Formula. Unique after-shave treatment helps make beard hair softer and finer over time so shaves are easier, smoother. Soothing formula comforts just-shaved skin. Encourages healing of minor nicks, cuts. For all skin types.

 

[HoratioCaine]

Cliniquie makes an after shave balm that really does work.

Post-Shave Soother Beard Control Formula. Unique after-shave treatment helps make beard hair softer and finer over time so shaves are easier, smoother. Soothing formula comforts just-shaved skin. Encourages healing of minor nicks, cuts. For all skin types.

I never trust that kind of ad copy further than I can spit - and I can't spit very far. You say it works? Care to describe your own experience with it?

 

[talibeard]

Grow a beard; if nothing else works well enough that would be the easiest option.

I need at least a week to get myself a beard but that is still pretty quick and that is why I grow a goatee that only comes off once a year.

 

[saltypete]

Have you considered a controlled burn?

Pete

 

[Nishnabotna]

I tell mine that it's a worthless failure, and it'll never amount to anything.

 

[HoratioCaine]

I tell mine that it's a worthless failure, and it'll never amount to anything.

I suppose you've tried to get it to start smoking cigarattes, too, huh?

 

[Emmett]

Laser will work best of your beard is dark and coarse. I know a guy who had his back hair lasered and he said it wasn't that bad, pain-wise. Electrolysis is supposed to be worse.

 

[HoratioCaine]

Laser will work best of your beard is dark and coarse. I know a guy who had his back hair lasered and he said it wasn't that bad, pain-wise. Electrolysis is supposed to be worse.

That raises the same question I had about electrolysis. Can the procedure be performed so exactingly that it can uniformly thin out a growth pattern (say, eliminating every other follicle, like the OP mentioned) rather than eliminating the growth altogether?

 

[tlanning]

Have you considered a blow tourch????