I'm almost 23 and I still can't grow a full beard. What is wrong with me??

[SmileyBoy]

I still have patches of bare skin on my jaw where hair doesn't grow. I only have the ability to grow a goatee, moustache and sideburns. And I'm about 5 or 6 years removed from puberty. I only shave about once a week. I just got done shaving and I noticed this.

Do I have a problem??

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. No. That is cute. I think guys who have trouble getting past the peach

fuzz stage are adorable...even though I married a mountain man.

[SmileyBoy]

2. Well, most of it isn't peach fuzz.

Lemme put it this way. Remember Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution where he had patches of bare skin on his beard??

That's the most I could grow.

[Sanity Claws]

3. Don't worry

I'm even older than you and never could grow a beard. I think it's because I'm female.
Besides, would you really want to look like ZZTop? Goatees are much more becoming than full beards.

[newscott]

4. It's all genetic.

My older brother was shaving daily when he was 16.

I didn't have to shave more than once a week until I was in my 20s. Now I'm a daily shaver and can grow a full beard.

[SmokingJacket]

5. Twenty three is still young.

You probably still look all fresh faced, doncha? I bet by the time you hit 28 or so you'll be in full hair.

Some guys can never grow an unpatchy beard, though.

[realisticphish]

6. yes

you are a pathetic waste of testosterone.

Seriously, though, its not that big of a deal; it took THREE years of not shaving to FINALLY grow in the area around the sides of my mouth, and by then i had a 6 inch metal-head goatee. don't worry about it

[neuvocat]

7. Shave every day, even if you don't need to.

You'll be able to grow a beard within a week. You'll also miss the days when all you had was peach fuzz.

[maveric]

8. Consider yourself lucky.

My beard grows so damn thick that I have to shave twice a day if needed.

[sweetladybug]

No, there is nothing wrong with you. When my husband was your age

he only had to shave maybe once a week and our 2 sons are older than you and they don't have to shave everyday. You just aren't a hairy man, so be thankful that you aren't all hairy and you don't have to shave everyday (or even 2 times a day like some men have to)

[brainshrub]

9. Nothing.

Some men aren't ment to have good facial hair. I'm in the same situation.

[ghostsofgiants]

10. Haha, I can barely grow more than a little patch on my chin

I'm 20...can't even grow sideburns, haha.

[amazona]

11. no it's a natural variation

I dated a few guys like that since I had an obsession with a certain boyish body type but didn't want to, you know, actually date boys. There are plenty of men who can't grow full beards, trust me.

You need to talk to your doctor, because you might not have a problem or you might have one, and we can't tell from here. One of my exes did have to get medication for undescended testicle, but you'd know about it by now if you had that problem. (And it is easily treatable.) Another was just fine from the get-go and it was perfectly normal for him to have a "scraggly" beard. He did a goatee for awhile just for a kick. He could not grow a normal beard but he had normal function, if you know what I mean, and the doctor saw no reason to get him drugged up. There are testosterone patches now that can be worn if need be but I would not get into that without a doctor's advice. You need to understand the risk/reward. Plenty of women prefer a smooth look so if you're looking to attract the female breed, you might not want to sweat it too much if you can't grow a beautiful full beard.

On edit-- how did I forget to say this? If you can't grow a full beard on the chin, it means the hair on your head won't fall out until you're, like, 80. So you WILL have the last laugh on all your full-bearded friends.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[KG]

12. consider yourself 'more highly evolved'

i'm over 40, still can't grow a decent moustashe.

[BikeWriter]

13. It's a genetic thing. Check out these pictures...

I was baby faced for years. It takes longer for some people.

[SmileyBoy]

14. Now you look like Rasputin.

What branch of the Armed Forces were you in??

[BikeWriter]

17. Rasputin? Lol! Thank you, I think. I was...

Air Force from 1965 to 1969. I was in my mid twenties when that picture was taken. I could grow a beard, but nowhere as thick as later.

[amazona]

15. dude is that you? for real?

Wow. Great sequence of pictures.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[BikeWriter]

18. That's me, thank you. I'm glad you think they're cool. :-)

[bigwillq]

16. Then you're a lucky man!

I wish I never had to shave ever, ever. Having facial hair doesn't make you any more or less of a man.
I would choose not to have any facial hair if that meant I never had to shave again.

[noahmijo]

19. Dude you don't want a beard

I'm 23 I can't grow anything past a goatee which is crazy given my Hispanic heritage (we generally gotta shave like twice a day to keep clean shaven)

A beard is an itchy pain in the ass thing in my opinion and it makes most guys look like old men, unless you're Paul Bunyon/Mountain Man type it just doesn't look right.

[Throckmorton]

20. Simple, you are a girly-man

[Book Lover]

21. Many men I know would call you lucky

What are the other men in your family like? If you are very different in your development, you *may* want to talk to a doctor in a few years; but I wouldn't worry about it unless you have other issues related to testosterone.

[Allenberg]

22. Heh, I'm 23 and I'm the same way.

I can't even grow a mustache, and if it wasn't for these past 6 years in the miltiary, I'd probably still be a babyfaced guy.