{"id":2084,"date":"2020-03-25T22:17:10","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T22:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boldbarber.com\/?p=2084"},"modified":"2020-03-20T23:13:35","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T23:13:35","slug":"vellus-hair-into-terminal-beard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boldbarber.com\/vellus-hair-into-terminal-beard\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Vellus Hair and When Does It Turn Into Terminal Beard?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re spending a lot of time staring at the mirror, wondering when your facial hair will start growing, you\u2019re not alone. Most teenage boys wonder about it and that\u2019s understandable as facial hair heralds the growth of the boy into a man and prepubescent facial hair is often looked down upon.<\/p>\n

Often called \u201cpeach fuzz\u201d, the prepubescent hair on teenagers\u2019 faces is nothing shameful, however \u2013 it\u2019s perfectly normal. But what is peach fuzz? Otherwise known as vellus hair, this type of hair can be found all over the bodies of both boys and girls, as well as men and women.<\/p>\n

What is vellus hair?<\/h3>\n

Vellus hair is the short and incredibly thin soft hair that grows all across our bodies from our birth to our death beds. The only places on our bodies you won\u2019t find vellus hair are the soles of our feet and the palms of our hands. There, and everywhere else that actual \u201cterminal hair\u201d grows.<\/p>\n

The purpose of vellus hair is similar to that of terminal hair \u2013 to help sweat evaporate and to help regulate our bodies\u2019 temperature. The difference between vellus and terminal hair is that the latter is better at regulating temperature and the former is better at allowing sweat to evaporate. Vellus hair regrowth is also faster than that of terminal hair as its shorter and thinner.<\/p>\n

In that sense, vellus hair replacing most of the humans\u2019 terminal hair is one of the main evolutionary leaps our species has taken over the ages as the ability to sweat has made us competitive on the ground against other land predators<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All that being the case, when most people think of vellus hair they are usually interested in when the vellus hair to terminal hair transition is going to happen. When the peach fuzz mustache will turn into an actual mustache and when does peach fuzz turn into a beard.<\/p>\n

Vellus hair to terminal hair beard<\/h3>\n

Puberty is the time for most teenage boys to start replacing portions of their facial vellus hair with a terminal beard instead. Not all vellus hair is replaced \u2013 the areas on our upper cheeks, nose, foreheads, and temples usually remain covered exclusively with vellus hair.<\/p>\n

\"\"Most men’s\u2019 jaws do switch from vellus to terminal hair, however, and that happens during puberty when men\u2019s bodies start pumping more androgens – the male hormones testosterone & DHT. In addition to facial hair, vellus hair turns into terminal hair on most men\u2019s chests, legs, arms, abdomen, feet, and pubic areas.<\/p>\n

How long for vellus hair to become terminal beard and what can you do to speed up the process?<\/h3>\n

When the transition happens and how long it takes depends mostly on the hormonal balance of each individual. We\u2019ve covered the reasons why some men\u2019s beards grow slower or not at all here<\/a> but here\u2019s a quick list of things you might want to do to speed up the growth of terminal facial hair:<\/p>\n