How I Tame My Coarse Beard: My Beard Journey

Meet our newest ambassador Kevin Bishop AKA Kev (@kev_drums. Fun Fact: He had to change his username to Kev as he was mistaken for the comedian, Kevin Bishop! No really, it happened. 

Joke aside … as you may have seen all over Instagram, Kev’s beard has been plastered throughout. We wanted to understand more about his journey, we learnt that having a beard is not always fun and games!

Kev’s biggest issue is his coarse beard, he has found ways to combat that by exploring different products and routines. Learn more about his beard growth routine and why he has decided to stick to a 1 year growth plan.

Tell us a bit about yourself …

I'm a Business Development Manager in the automotive industry, I’d like to think I play drums but I haven’t played them for some time now and I’m still hoarding all the stuff!

I had my first drum kit when I was 13 years old (man, I feel old!) and joined a band called; "Elysium Shift" when I was 19.

We played some amazing shows in our time, had a number one single for 9 solid weeks on an "unsigned" music chart, and our album launch party sold out within 30 minutes of the doors opening, which included pre-sold tickets.

Tell us about your beard journey... Why did you decide to grow it?

I normally grow my beard every winter just to keep my face warm and shave it by March. This time, I decided that I wanted to give it at least a 1 year growth and see how it goes from there, I have never grown it to the extent I have now!

It was mainly due to a change of scenery,  I’ve been saying for many years that I want at least a 1 year growth, but I just never do it because of jobs I'm associated with. I like to have a smarter appearance and as every beard grower can relate, there will be stages of your beard feeling coarse and looking an absolute mess! You want to get it to a position to make it look respectful, that’s typically where I get to. 

When it gets to that absolute mess stage and can't do anything with it, that’s when I normally shave it off! Due to lockdown it’s actually enabled me to keep on growing and get it to a position where I can start styling it as well.

That’s when I went on the hunt for more beard products, so I can start styling it and this is what pointed me into Mo Bros Direction. I was on the hunt to seek a UK business that equally did a beard balm and it was a friend of mine that recommended you guys.

When did you start growing it?

I haven’t cleaned shaved for years! I’ve always had at least a stubble, but this has been the first time in my life where I've kept going. I actually started last November and once it hits a year, there will be a high probability that I won't trim it down or shave it. No pun intended ... but it’s kind of grown on me, I quite like the look!

Have you suffered from any bearded problems?

About 4/5 months in with my personal growth, it goes out of control because my beard hair is really coarse and thick, it’s difficult to maintain. I’ve got friends of mine that use beard straighteners, but I don't think they do anything at all for my coarse beard hair.

I had a look on social media to see how other people deal with their coarse beards and it was essentially down to a hairdryers and a brush to help me straighten my beard. I noticed that it was still going out of control in some areas, so that’s when I went on the hunt for beard balm and it helped massively. The beeswax within it helps those strays hairs get back into place.

Do you have a favourite Mo Bros scent?

I like Vanilla and Mango, I went off the wood type scents for no reason at all, apart from the fact that I’ve always had it and vanilla & mango was different.  I've got to admit that I love Black Edition!

How do you help your coarse beard? Do you have a routine?

I wash my beard and condition it daily, but sometimes I’ll rinse it when I shower and I won’t always wash it. If I don't need to go out in public, I'll avoid putting an oil into it after washing, I’ll just let my beard run wild. I wash it everyday without fail, to keep it fresh and smelling nice. I then towel dry it, put oil in and use a beard comb to brush it, to make sure that all the products go through the whole beard.

I dry it using a hairdryer and a curling brush, I then rub the balm into my hands and run it through my beard. I make sure to use the cold setting on my hairdryer over my beard, to help it set quicker. 

I keep it on overnight and do the same the following day. In some cases, I have a shower in the evening and do the whole routine again, but I’ll leave the balm until the morning and surprisingly, it helps it shape beautifully because you’ve been lying on it all night.

On some rushed days, I either get the balm or butter, apply that onto a dry beard and style it with hairdryer, then brush it.

Do you believe using beard products are necessary?

For me personally, absolutely 100%! I cannot recommend them enough to people. I was having a chat with a guy at work about beards, and he mentioned that he didn't use anything and you could tell … it looked wild. I spoke to him about Black Edition beard butter, which I was using on a daily basis and fell in love with, as it holds my beard just like the balm.

Once I mentioned it, he went away and bought it. He then got in contact with me and said he can’t thank me enough at how good it is, it smells great and his beard looks different, his partner has started to compliment him too! Clearly he was really pleased.

I know some people don't post pictures of themselves and their beard, as it doesn't look a certain way, but everyone's beard is different and won’t all grow the same. Some people's perception about having beards is that they think it’s dirty, having companies like Mo Bros helps combat that. 

With the content I post, you see a before and after and that’s because I go out of my way to make an effort, so I can combat that perception of a dirty beard. It's possible to maintain and keep clean, it's easy!

Do you have any advice for those that suffer from a coarse beard or starting off their beard journey?

I think the biggest advice is to understand that it will feel itchy and sometimes look rubbish, there will be times where you just want to get rid of it but bare with it! Give it time, as you won’t get the look you want overnight. It will take at least 6 months, if not double or triple that. Get yourself into a styling routine, use the oils, balms and butters. 

Find the manner that suits your type of beard hair, with mine if I didn't do anything with it, I would have shaved it off as it looks crazy and messy. For me, finding the right type of products is absolutely key to that beard growth journey! A balm is important to take control and hold my coarse hair into the shape I want.

So, if you have a coarse beard, now you know how to tame it! Thanks to the right products and routine, Kev has found a way to keep growing his beard, with a possibility of never shaving again .. well lets hope!

Keep an eye on our socials to see more content from our bearded ambassadors!

Check out some of our other My Beard Journey blog posts below and get the advice you need to growing and maintaining a healthy beard.

1. How I Solved My Beard Itch
2. How I Style My Moustache
3. Growing a Beard
4. Growing My Confidence
5. What Can I Do To Make My Beard Softer?

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