Why Does Beard Getting Lighter
If you notice that your beard is getting lighter, a couple of different factors may have been causing it. It might be due to aging, genetics, sun exposure, or others.
Unless you intentionally bleach your beard, beard lightening is entirely natural and does not necessarily mean that an illness causes it.
Most Common Reasons
Genes
If you started with a black or dark brown beard and it started turning into a blonde or ginger beard, it might be because of your genetics. If either one of your parents, or even your grandparents, has blonde hair, that might be the reason.
You might have inherited their blonde hair gene, which lay dormant until you grew older, so you should look for blonde mustache styles that might suit you.
Sunlight
If you work under the sun most of the time, that might be why your beard changes colors. The UV rays in sunlight can bleach the melanin in the hair, so extensive exposure to sunlight might be able to whiten your beard considerably.
Chemical Damage
Does your line of work constantly expose you to chemicals? If so, then this might be the reason for the discoloration. It is like a bleaching beard.
Certain chemicals, like bleach and hydrogen peroxide, can instantly discolor hair upon contact. Even a slight misting of hydrogen peroxide can turn the blackest beard into light brown.
Age
As people age, the melanin production in their bodies also decreases considerably. If you are starting to see a couple of white hairs in your beard, the bad news is that there will be significantly more of them later.
You should pick a salt and pepper beard style right now because you will be rocking it sooner than you think.
Overheating Hair
You might also be setting the heat on your hairdryer a tad too high. Excessive heat can destroy the melanin inside the hair strands, turning them a lighter shade. You have to either lower the heat or towel dry your beard.
Stress
Excessive amounts of mental stress can cause a hormonal imbalance within your body. This is why even people in their 20s who work in a high-stress environment tend to grow many gray hairs prematurely.
Hormonal Change
Speaking of hormonal imbalance, you might also have a low testosterone count. Some ailments can cause the hormone glands to run rampant or not produce enough at all.
Just like stress, if you do not have enough testosterone, it will hamper the production of melanin. This might cause the new hair growth to be lighter.
Lifestyle Choices
Did you change your diet recently? Do you smoke or drink? Every little thing we do can negatively and positively impact our bodies. If your beard is turning lighter, look back at what you changed in your routine recently. It might be the cause.
How to Prevent
Step 1 – Notice
The first thing you need to do when you start noticing lighter hairs in your beard is to avoid the things that could have caused it. If you are constantly under the sun, wear DIY beard wax for sun protection.
Step 2 – Use SPF
Anything with a relatively high SPF will do. Consider wearing a beard guard or mask if you handle harsh chemicals for a living. If you are constantly overstressed at work and cannot find a way to mitigate the amount of stress you experience, then you should just quit and find employment elsewhere.
Step 3 – Avoid stress as much as possible
Graying hair should be the least of your worries when you are constantly under stress. You can also develop severe heart conditions and mental health issues.
In terms of your genetics, well, there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot choose your parents, so you need to embrace the lighter beard.
How to Treat
Unfortunately, once your hair gets discolored, it will not naturally return to its original shade. One of the prevailing beard myths is that you can turn back discolored hair. The only way for you to treat discolored beard hair is to use hair dye.
Otherwise, you can overcome the fact and learn to live with a slightly lighter beard. There are lots of white beard styles that might look good on you.
On the other hand, if the cause of your discolored hair is hormonal imbalance, or you think that it might be, have yourself checked out by a doctor. Many other health issues can result from low testosterone levels, so you must take care immediately.
FAQ
Why is my beard losing color?
This can result from several different causes, like genetics, age, and lifestyle choices. You may even be exposed to bleaching chemicals without you knowing it.
Why is my hair getting blonde?
If you are initially a brunette, but you find that there are a couple of hairs in your beard that have turned blonde or red, your new Irish beard might be due to a recessive gene that you inherited from your parents that has only begun to kick in now that you are older.
Why is my beard color lighter than my hair?
It might be because it is constantly exposed to the sun. If you are working under the sun for most of the day, you will most likely be wearing a hat that protects your hair.
On the other hand, nothing is covering your beard, so the UV rays from the sun-bleached the hair quite a bit.
Conclusion
If you notice that your beard is several shades lighter than your hair, you should not panic just yet. Discolored beard hair has many natural causes, like overexposure to sunlight and genetics. In most cases, sun exposure seems to be the most common culprit.
Once your beard has discolored, there is no way to bring it back to its original color other than using beard dyes. On the other hand, if genetics cause it, you should learn to accept your new beard color and use blonde styles that work for you.
Vinnie is one of the members of the Beardoholic writers team. He’s also a barber and hairstylist for 15 years now and he has a kick-ass beard of his own, so he surely knows what makes a magnificent beard and hair and how to achieve them. He’s our go-to guy for all the latest beard and hairstyle trends and he always has a tip or two on how to grow and style a thick beard fast.