Why is my beard a different color than the rest of my body? Is this a question you’ve had? People, including this author, have wondered why our beards can be different from our head and body hair.
If you have these traits, then you should read this:
- Red beard with different color hair
- Black beard with brown hair
- Blonde hairs in the beard
- Technicolor beard
- Chest, legs, head hair different color than the beard
Every Hair Follicle Has Pigmentation
Just like your skin, your hair follicles have their pigmentation. Depending on various levels of pigmentation within each inch will determine what color that particular strand of hair is.
This is why some beards have red, blonde, and gray all mixed into one. This is also why your chest hair could be one color, and your beard could be another color or many colors.
Stress Can Cause Hair Color Changes
If you’re young and your beard is turning gray rapidly, it could be a sign of stress. A man should spend time in thought to determine if he’s stressed out. If so, it’s time to start looking for ways to relax. As you age, your hair follicle pigmentation levels can change, and this, of course, leads to those well-earned gray hairs.
As a man ages, the greater the chance the hair is to change colors. It’s life – don’t sweat it!
Sun Exposure
If you’re in the sun a lot, it can cause hair damage. Of course, you probably already know the sun can cause skin damage if you get over-exposed to it, so it’s only fair that it can cause damage to our hair and beards as well. Limit yourself to extreme amounts of sun exposure whenever possible. This means wearing a hat to cover your hair and scalp and try to keep the beard out of the sun as much as possible.
Consider wiping in a bit of sunscreen with SPF 30 in the beard to help keep the sun at bay. Just remember if you do apply sun lotion to the beard, you’re going to want to wash the sunscreen out of the beard later to avoid blackheads, skin rash, and other blemishes.
You’ll also want to rehydrate the beard with beard oil, like these in the morning and evening, anytime you’re exposed to extreme weather. This is important to keep your beard from drying out and becoming unhealthy.
Vitamin Deficiency
Other issues that can change your beard hair color are by having a deficiency in specific vitamins. These issues are rare, but you’re going to want to make sure you’re eating correctly to fix this. Dry, dull beard hair can be caused by lack of protein, overeating junk food/fast food. Many men are simply missing out on the proper amount of protein.
Protein is one of the building blocks of muscles, masculinity, and, you guessed it, hair. So scarf down that chicken! Of course, ultimately, you’ll want to eat well-balanced meals and avoid overeating fast food, high sugary foods, and super high fat. As always, moderation is always the key if you partake in these.
Should I Dye My Beard?
If your beard color is changing or has always been a different color, you might wonder if you should dye it. While I’ll admit that a man looks younger when his beard is the same color as his head, dyeing the beard can make the beard look fake. So always keep in mind there may be a slight downside to dyeing the beard to match your head.
Honestly, I say let it show! I think us bearded men look better with some character in the beard and shouldn’t be ashamed if the colors change slightly or are always different. This is coming from a brown-haired man with a reddish beard.
If you keep the beard evenly trimmed, the character in the beard can also make you look very distinguished.
Now you know why your beard is red, blonde or gray, or speckled with all sorts of colors.
In closing, here is a review of why your beard might be a different color than the hairs on the rest of your body.
- Hair Pigmentation
- Stress / Age
- Sun Exposure
- Vitamin Deficiency / Nutrition
These are natural things. If it's natural, we say, let it show! If you think it's stress or a vitamin deficiency, you should always talk to your doctor!