Traditionally, certain ethnicities have been known for growing thick beards, including those in the Middle East, Mediterranean, and South Asia. Other ethnicities are less likely to have thick, full beards.
Ethnicity and Race: Different ethnic groups have varying beard growth patterns. For example, men of Mediterranean descent often develop beards earlier and more fully than men of East Asian descent.
Asian hair is the thickest, with a larger diameter of about 70 µm. Caucasian hair has an average diameter of 65 µm, and African hair is the finest, with a diameter of 55 µm. The cross-section of Asian hair is the most round and uniform, Caucasian hair has an elliptical shape, and African hair has a flattened shape.
To keep their full beards looking healthy and well-groomed, many rely on premium beard oils to hydrate and nourish their beard hair. In contrast, East Asian populations, like the Japanese and Chinese, tend to have less facial hair and slower growth rates.
Afro hair is predominantly black and a healthy person possesses about 50,000 to 100,000 hairs on their head but they have the slowest growth rate of about 0.9cm per month.
It can! Similar to growth rate, facial hair thickness can increase with age, but only up to a certain point. While some men may observe their facial hair becoming thicker and coarser with age, particularly during the initial stages of puberty, others may not experience significant changes in thickness over time.
Throughout history, facial hair has been linked to leadership and masculinity. A thick beard is often seen as a sign of maturity, wisdom, and dominance.
Ethnicity - Different ethnic groups can tend to have larger or smaller gaps. For instance, Asian men don't often have very thick facial hair and thus have quite noticeable gaps on their philtrums. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern or Arabic men tend to have very thick facial hair with less of a gap.
Age is a big factor in beard growth. While most men experience some facial hair growth around the age of 16, it doesn't usually turn into a full beard until the mid 20's. Your beard will continue to thicken well into your 30s and 40s, so if your beard is still patchy in your early 20s, try again in a few years.
Anthropologist Joseph Deniker said in 1901 that the very hirsute peoples are the Ainus, Uyghurs, Iranians, Australian aborigines (Arnhem Land being less hairy), Toda, Dravidians and Melanesians, while the most glabrous peoples are the Indigenous Americans, San, and East Asians, who include Chinese, Koreans, Mongols, ...
There is no scientific basis to claim that any particular ethnicity or race has "more dominant" genes than others. Genetic diversity exists within and across all human populations. All humans belong to the same species, Homo sapiens, and share the vast majority of their DNA sequence.
Asian hair
Because of its extra diameter, it is also the strongest, and most resistant to damage. It is normally straight or only lightly wavy with a good amount of volume, because of its thicker diameter, even though there are typically less hairs per head (around 500,000).
Patterns of facial hair growth seem to correlate closely with ethnicity, even more so than other genetic factors. East Asian and Hispanic men, for instance, often struggle to grow high-density facial hair even as they age, while some Caucasian and Middle Easterners grow beards with relative ease early on.
A man's ability to grow a fulsome beard isn't actually neatly linked to his testosterone levels. Despite this, a number of studies have suggested that both men and women perceive men with beards as older, stronger and more aggressive than others.
Various ethnic groups share the characteristic of larger lips, including African-American and Asian (Fig. 11.21). For the remainder of this chapter, racial lip differences with larger lip anatomy is referred to as ethnic lips.
Caucasians Lose The Most Hair
After Caucasians, people of Afro-Caribbean heritage tended to experience the next highest levels of hair loss, with Asian men having the lowest hair loss rates.
Genes from both parents can influence your hair growth, depending on the dominant genes on your chromosome. Usually, paternal genes dominate the facial hair growth pattern. But if your paternal ancestors belong to the population that tends to grow less facial hair than usual, your maternal genes are your only hope.
Beard Growth in Mid-20s to 30s
As a matter of fact, most men don't hit peak beard growth until their early to mid thirties. This is when testosterone, the hormone primarily responsible for facial hair growth, peaks. You'll likely notice your beard becoming fuller and more robust.
A study conducted by the Official Journal of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society found that men with moderately full beards are found most attractive, and men with full beards may be perceived as better fathers who could protect and invest in their children. “Men with beards have a powerful look,” Dr. Harvey says.
The Genetics of Beard Growth
Unlike the genetics of head hair, which has been studied extensively, scientists don't yet fully understand the role of DNA in facial hair thickness. But in general, if your biological father or grandfather had thick beard hair, you're also likely to have a thick beard.
Where you fall on the spectrum of thickening beard growth depends on your genetics. Some men are able to grow full beards in their teens, and others have to wait until their late twenties – but in general, the trend is the same: Thickening growth over time until about the age of 30.
Reduced growth of beard and body hair
Testosterone promotes body hair growth in men. As a result, one common symptom of low testosterone is a loss of body hair. You may notice thinning of your armpit or pubic hair. Many men find the change is most noticeable in their beard because they don't have to shave as often.
Shaving your beard so that it can grow back better is a myth. Scientific studies have shown that our knowledge of hair follicles and our skin has greatly evolved to allow us to understand how it works, and shaving your beard has no impact on its growth, its thickness, or even its hardness.