Does heavy exercising increase beard growth?

Question

The claim that exercise promotes beard growth is common around the Internet. The explanation that is the most common is that heavy exercising increases the testosterone levels in the body and that in turn increases beard growth.

Does exercise indeed increase the beard growth and if so is the "increased testosterone levels from training leading to increased beard growth" explanation correct?

I guess beard growth will be because of testosterone elevation if you work out for x number of months/years?! If that is the case then here is what I found via WebMD. But I don't know how tenable WebMD is, to be honest. — Janus Boffin, Jun 17 '16 at 17:20
I was going to copy/paste in a quote of the claim from the link, but it's displaying so badly on my browser that I can't really make out the page. Dunno if someone else might have better luck? Or it might be best to just find another source. — Nat, May 25 '19 at 08:31
Is the belief that it's testosterone, or just increased circulation/blood flow stimulating the follicles? — PoloHoleSet, May 28 '19 at 20:20
I don't know that this claim is common around the Internet. You just linked to a single forum post - in the "beard board"... — einpoklum, Dec 21 '19 at 21:22
Who is this question supposed to be about, everyone or just cis men? As a cis woman who's been exercising heavily lately (with no beard growth), I find it absurd that this question doesn't specify. — Laurel, Jan 08 '24 at 16:51
@Laurel OP asked about an existing claim, they didn't invent their own claim. The original claim does not specify. — pipe, Jan 09 '24 at 17:14

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited Jan 08 '24 at 21:04

Yes, exercise does indeed seem to have a positive effect on beard growth, but it's not a direct one. This is primarily due to the fact that certain types of exercise, such as weightlifting and other forms of explosive training, can help to raise the levels of testosterone and DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in the body. These hormones are necessary for facial hair growth.

Testosterone primes the facial hair follicles for thicker growth, while DHT has a linear growth enhancing effect. Therefore, anything that has a positive impact on these two hormones tends to result in better, healthier, stronger beard growth.

In addition to hormone production, exercise also improves blood circulation, which can be beneficial to beard growth by nourishing beard follicles. Improved circulation allows more nutrient-rich blood to reach the hair follicles, promoting healthier and more robust beard growth.

However, it's important to note that while exercise can enhance beard growth, it doesn't guarantee a full beard for everyone. Genetics also play a significant role in determining the thickness and fullness of a person's beard. So, while some men might notice a significant increase in beard growth with regular exercise, others might only see a modest improvement.

In summary, while the "increased testosterone levels from training leading to increased beard growth" explanation is somewhat simplified, it is fundamentally correct. Exercise can boost the production of key hormones that promote beard growth and improve blood circulation to the hair follicles. However, individual results can vary widely depending on genetic factors.

Sources:

Welcome to Skeptics! Each of the resources you use to provide this information is a low-quality content farm. The first two articles are practically the same. They all make the same jump: Exercise increases testosterone. Testosterone is correlated to beard growth. Therefore, exercise causes beard growth. Skimming the articles, none of them have direct evidence to support that. — Oddthinking, Dec 07 '23 at 12:27
@Oddthinking Are you saying they lack direct evidence for the effect of exercise on testosterone levels? — Amir Riazi, Dec 07 '23 at 15:46
No. I am saying they lack direct evidence that exercise promotes beard growth. — Oddthinking, Dec 08 '23 at 00:02
@Oddthinking I couldn’t find studies that go into the direct relationship between exercise and beard growth. The closest study that I found was from Nature, that studied the effect of sexual activities on beard growth. It seems to me that exercise doesn’t directly affect beard growth, but it has an effect on your hormones and on your skin and, therefore, the growth of your beard. — Amir Riazi, Dec 08 '23 at 18:38

score -2 · Answer 2 · edited May 25 '19 at 08:27

-2

Two studies support this claim:

Margaret Chieffi; Effect of Testosterone Administration on the Beard Growth of Elderly Males. J Gerontol 1949; 4 (3): 200-204. doi: 10.1093/geronj/4.3.200;
Testosterone metabolism by cultured human beard outer root sheath cells in comparison with epidermal keratinocytes. Journal of Dermatological Science Volume 6, Issue 3, December 1993, Pages 214-218.

Both studies state that increased testosterone levels leads to increased beard growth for males, but both studies worked with men who were already able to grow beards.

However, there is no evidence to show that men who cannot grow beards in the first place were able to grow beards by increasing their testosterone levels.

edited May 25 '19 at 08:27

Nat

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answered Feb 27 '17 at 22:12

Realhermit

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The question is about heavy exercising causing beard growth and not about administration of testosterone stimulating beard growth in elderly men which is known from the abstract of the first paper. The second paper talks about testosterone conversion to weak androgens in the beard's outer root sheath cells under experimental conditions and nothing about exercise. The effects of DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) is very complex to explain because tissue DHT is noted to be associated with hair loss in the scalp, but surprisingly, tissue DHT also encourages body and facial hair growth! – pericles316 Feb 28 '17 at 17:25

Does heavy exercising increase beard growth?

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