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beard life, beard success stories

From teen beard to year beard!

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Michael was just a youngster when he first appeared on All About BEARDS as a teenage beard grower. Over the years, Michael has remained firmly committed to the beard, especially the full beard. Throughout the bearded period of his life, Michael has regularly supplied photo updates, documenting his beard journey here on All About BEARDS.

In 2021, Michael achieved two significant beard milestones. First, he started off the year by hitting the mark of being bearded for half of his life. Today he’s been bearded longer than he was beardless. Now his “beard time” keeps getting longer while his beardless time remains fixed.

In the months leading up to this first 2021 milestone, Michael had another beard achievement in the works. Starting on July first of 2020, Michael began to let his full beard grow freely without trimming for the first time ever. His goal was to achieve a year’s worth of unrestrained beard growth, informally known as a “yeard”. Michael reached his “yeard” goal on July 1, 2021.

Scroll down to read more about Michael’s beard story and his two major beard-growing achievements in 2021. All photos appear courtesy of Michael.

Michael: from teen beard to year beard!
Michael started out as a teenage beard grower. He’s remained a dedicated full-time beard grower ever since. And this month he has completed his first year-beard or “yeard” growing achievement.

Early this year your birthday marked a milestone of being bearded now for half your life. How do you feel about achieving such a long time of being bearded?

Yes, this year is a true milestone in my beard growing “career”. Though I rarely think of it as one, I suppose that it is somewhat of an achievement to stay persistent and consistent for such a time period, never giving up, and staying on the chosen path. All in all, it feels great and I will definitely keep going.

Did you have a special celebration to mark the occasion?

No, I did not. Not being the extroverted type, I rarely celebrate personal events. And with the recent year being quite rough, I did not have any special celebrations of the occasion.

When you started growing your beard as a teenager did you ever expect that you would stay bearded for such a long time?

I never thought of it that long term, or to be frank, at all. But I am quite glad it came out like this.

What was it that kept you choosing to stay bearded all along the way?

Since day one, the beard felt as I believe it should feel for a man — as a natural and integral part of me, of one’s look, feel, and essence as a man. This, what has always kept me going, is that authentic feeling of my bearded self. I cannot imagine myself in any other way.

Michael's beard in August 2020
Michael started his “year beard” or “yeard” with his pre-existing beard. He simply decided to let the existing beard grow unrestrained and untrimmed for at least one year. Here you see his beard in late August 2020, nearly two months into the process.

What prompted you to go for the year beard, aka “yeard”?

Firstly, the name is awesome, I must say. And I was not aware of it being a “formal” thing in our community. Secondly, regarding the yeard itself, it came naturally along the way. I used to trim the beard a little, once every few weeks. But last summer and autumn were quite busy for me with various occurrences. So I just missed one trim, then another, and then one more… And I saw that it was good. So about three-to-four months in, I just kept going until making a conscious decision to continue doing so.

Michael's beard in late September 2020.
By late September 2020, Michael’s beard had reached this size.

Your year-beard policy has been to let your beard grow unrestrained, without any trimming whatsoever, except for the mustache. How do you like having your beard so much bigger and longer now?

I like it very much! Having the beard fuller, longer, thicker, and pretty much unrestrained gives one a great sense of freedom. I love both how it feels and looks.

Michael's beard in early October 2020.
This is was the state of Michael’s growing beard in early October 2020.

Has anything surprised you about the bigger beard experience?

I never thought a beard could get that tangled and intertwined, ha ha. Sometimes it feels like a dense, yet very soft, little forest or maybe a plant of sorts. Regardless of how one describes it, the realization that it is a living “thing” is quite nice. Another thing which I knew before but haven’t experienced much earlier in my beard growing career is how soft it gets when growing this big. The thought of it resembling a small pillow crossed my mind before, but after adopting a cat it has been proven correct.

Michael's beard at the end of October 2020.
Here is a look at Michael’s beard’s growth progress at the end of October 2020.

Have you been pressured by any others to trim back the bigger beard?

No, I have not been pressured. Though here and there I did (and occasionally do) hear a few questions such as, “Are you going to trim / shorten it back?” But all in all, reactions mostly range from obliviousness to support and even amazement.

Michael's beard at the end of November 2020.
Michael’s beard had reached this size by the end of November 2020. The size of his beard is accentuated here by the flared shape achieved by styling.

Has this new growing experience changed your view of bigger and longer beards?

This wonderful, ongoing experience has not changed my view on big and mighty beards, which has always been strictly positive. What was added is a personal perspective on the matter — now it is no longer just an aspiration but my daily reality.

A closer look at Michael's beard at the end of November 2020.
Here is a closer look at Michael’s bigger beard by the end of November 2020.

What’s the best thing about the year-beard journey so far?

I think that the process itself, the coming of the beard, rejoices as much as the result, which is by far not even final. Seeing the beard getting fuller and more voluminous by the month warms a man’s heart…

This angle gives an appreciation of the new size of Michael's beard.
From this angle, the bigger volume of Michael’s beard is readily apparent. This view also shows off the height of his beard’s natural cheek line.

What are your beard plans now that you’ve reached your year-beard goal?

Keep growing it! I probably will trim a bit once in a while to keep things symmetrical, but nothing drastic, definitely.

Year-beard achievement day: Michael on July 1, 2021.
Year-beard achievement day: Here is Michael on July 1, 2021 with a full year’s worth of unrestrained growth added to his original beard.

Do you recommend that other men give the year beard a go?

Yes, very much so! I believe that every bearded man should give it a go, and see the full potential of their beard revealed before their own eyes.

Wider yeard: Michael's year-beard groomed for a wider appearance.
Here is Michael’s year-beard groomed to present a wider appearance.

How do you feel about having achieved your yeard?

It feels wonderful to achieve this important landmark, which I believe every dedicated beard grower should try at least once during their lives.I think such a trial of sorts is a real test of disciple, dedication, and firmness of character. It teaches calmness of mind and the ability to do what you wish, despite what anybody else might consider “right”. You should definitely give it a try!

Closer view of Michael's new yeard.
This is a closer look at Michael’s newly-achieved “year beard” or “yeard”. It’s been quite a journey from his original start as a young teenage beard grower.

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beard success stories

I was a teenage beard grower — Michael

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Many teenage boys dream of growing a beard. Michael did not have to wait long for the opportunity. He was already growing a slight mustache at twelve and a small beard at thirteen. He soon became a full-fledged teenage beard grower. And he’s been a dedicated beard grower ever since. Michael has learned a lot about the experience of growing a beard and being bearded during this time.

Naturally, Michael’s beard has matured substantially, growing stronger and stronger since those early teenage years. He has experimented with a variety of beard styles over the years. Yet he always comes back to the full beard. During all of this time, Michael regularly has supplied all about beards with beard updates, documenting many of the changes in his beard over the years. You can see these in Michael’s extensive beard photo album.

Michael’s first appearance on all about beards came in August 2006 with his beard success story. We followed up with a special update to celebrate Michael’s beard’s fifth anniversary in 2010. Today in January 2019, let’s check in with Michael to see how he and his beard are doing after all these bearded years.

This month your beard reaches its fourteenth anniversary. How do you feel about being bearded for that many years?

Wow… it has been a long time! …so long that I have even forgotten that I was beardless for about half of my years walking the face of the earth. I guess the beard is such an integral part of who I am.

During this time, what’s the longest amount of time you ever went without your beard?

The longest I can remember is about a week several years ago, when I tried out sporting nothing more than a couple of sideburns. Besides that, it can be about a day when switching beard styles, but never longer than that.

Has your view of being bearded changed much over these years?

I think that the only thing that changed over time is not thinking about it. At all. It’s just a part of who I am, and one gets used to that.

Would you consider your beard to be an asset?

Yes, definitely. For me, it is a part of what makes a man…well, a man.

Has your beard ever caused you any problems?

I remember that during high school it was pretty unusual to see a guy with a full beard walking down the hall, as most boys could not grow one, and the few who could mostly conformed to the beardless “standard” common in modern society. So there were some attempts at ridicule. But those were always fruitless endeavors.

Michael's beard in 2015, image 1
Michael's beard in 2015, image 2
Michael's beard in 2016
Michael's beard in 2018
2019: recent views of Michael's beard
Michael's beard on 2019/01/30, image 1
Michael's beard on 2019/01/30, image 2
Michael's beard on 2019/01/31


Above is a selection of photos of Michael’s beard from 2015 up to the end of January 2019. Click on any of the photos to view a larger version.

What are your thoughts on the state of beards in the world today versus when you first grew your beard as a young teen?

I believe that much progress has been made during the last five years or so. Fashion is circular, as the saying goes, and so it seems to be with beards as well.

I believe that it is easier for a guy to go bearded today compared to fifteen years ago — beards are much more accepted by mainstream society, appear in cinema, TV etc., with many celebrities appearing on and off screen bearded. Personally, I also see many more bearded men, especially young men, around nowadays.

Do you still intend to remain bearded from now on?

Yes, definitely, with not a trace of doubt!

Has the full beard remained your favorite beard to grow?

Yes. Most of the changes to my beard during the last few years were the length and width of my beard. But I don’t remember any times changing the style to something else.

What’s your beard grooming and maintenance routine?

There isn’t much of a routine, to be honest. What I usually do is shave the neck once every two weeks (more or less) to have a more well defined neck line, and trim a little here and there to get a more balanced look, maybe once every 4-6 weeks.

Do you have any helpful hints on beard growing and grooming that others might not know?

A good beard trimmer which can also be used as a shaver and has a variety of guards is a bearded man’s best friend. Such a device (my choice is the Remington Alpha series) can be used both for daily or weekly maintenance and for changing beard styles when one desires to do so.

Another thing I discovered over the years is that for a balanced look one can use a “gradation” of guards when trimming the beard. Use a certain guard / length setting for the sides of your beard; a little shorter, the next guard down for the chin; and another setting lower for the neck. Having the lower part of the beard be as long as the parts higher up can sometimes create a “bottom heavy” look that not everybody wishes to have, or at least not at all times. If that’s you, give this a try. For example: My trimmer goes in 3mm steps. So at times I use 18mm for the sides of the beard, 15mm for the chin, and 12mm for the neck.

What would you say to other men to encourage them to grow their beards?

Just do it! …as the Nike commercial goes. You might love the way you look with a beard, or with a certain style of beard. You might not. But you can never know unless you try for yourself.

Two things are of utmost importance: patience and resilience. Growing a good beard takes weeks to months. So there is no use in hurrying… It won’t grow any faster. Be resilient and dedicated. Humans are creatures of habit. So at first the change might be frowned upon by others (although some will be supportive, for sure). But don’t let this discourage you, as the reward is worth the risk.
Worst case scenario? You don’t like it or don’t wish to keep it. Then, a few minutes in the bathroom and you are done. Yet you now know yourself a little bit better. And that experience is priceless.

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