Why is My Facial Hair Blonde?

While a jet-black or dark brown beard looks masculine and adds to the self-confidence of a guy, a blonde beard can make men suffer as it even makes full-grown men look like they are going through puberty. 

It is obvious for people with blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes to grow a blonde beard. But do you wonder “why my facial hair is blonde”, as a dark scalp haired guy? Also, would you rather have different colors of hair in your beard that make it look like it is growing in weird patches and it is impacting your self-esteem as a man?

 If your answer is yes, it is time to stop worrying. Let us discover the reason behind the unusual growth of blonde hair in your beard along with the methods to deal with it. 

Table of Contents:

• Part 1: Why is My Facial Hair Blonde?
• Part 2: Is Blonde Facial Hair Normal?
• Part 3: Managing Blonde Facial Hair

Part 1: Why is My Facial Hair Blonde?

Once you know the factors that are causing your facial hair to turn blonde, you can have an idea about which type of management technique will work for it. So, here are the reasons that will help you find “why is my facial hair turning blonde”.

1. Genetic Factors 

Two main genetic factors determine the color of hair on your face and head. These are given as, 

Family History 

Have you noticed how our facial features resemble our parents, grandparents, and even other ancestors in our family tree? Your facial features and hair color are the result of a genetic combination from your father’s and mother’s side of the family. 

Therefore, if people in your extended family have had blonde facial hair, it is likely that your got genetic combinations similar to them resulting in a light beard. 

Inheritance Pattern 

There is a single gene that determines the pigmentation of hair on your body. It is the MC1R gene that influences facial hair color through the production of melanin, a pigment that gives facial hair a light color. 

Although the gene works equally on all hair follicles, any mutation in this gene can lead to the production of blonde hair on your face while the color of your head hair is dark. 

2. Hormonal Influence 

One of the major factors that determine how many, how coarse, how dense, and which color of hair your beard is going to grow is the level of hormones and their balance in your body. 

The Way Hormones Influence Facial Hair Color 

Hormones control the level of melanin in the hair. It is because these hormones stimulate the production of eumelanin and eumelanin, in turn, causes the hair to become dark. The hormones involved in this include, 

• Testosterones 
• Progesterone 
• Estrogen 
• Cortisol 

Therefore, the high level of cortisol and other hormones can give you a dark beard while their reduced level might be the reason why your beard is blonde. 

How Puberty Influences Hormones and Thus Beard Color 

The level of androgen hormones is low before puberty leading to light hair colors. However, as men hit puberty, the hormone peaks and darkens the blonde hair. However, it is not always true as the hair might also turn light due to aging as the melanin distribution on the hair is reduced. 

3. Environmental and Lifestyle Factors 

Below are some environmental and lifestyle factors that can cause facial hair discoloration. 

Sun Exposure 

While exposure to the sun and thus UV radiations darken the color of the skin by increasing the release of melanin from the melanocytes, the opposite is true for the melanin in the hair.

UV radiation causes the breakdown of melanin molecules present in the hair. Consequently, hair turns blonde. 

Diet and Nutrition 

A healthy diet is essential for the health and color of the hair as well. This is because the deficiency of nutrients including minerals and vitamins in the diet results in decreased formation of hair pigment by the hair follicles. 

The vitamins and minerals involved in the maintenance of hair health include, 

• Vitamin E
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin B complex
• Zinc
• Copper 

Stress

Last but not least, physical or mental stress can also cause greying or lightening of the patches of hair in the beard. First of all, stress influences the level of hormones in the body which affect melanin productive.

Furthermore, stress increases the level of oxidants in the blood. These oxidants break down melanin and make beard hair blonde. 

4. Role of Melanin and Pigmentation 

You must have noticed that whatever the indirect factor is, it is melanin that directly affects the pigmentation of the hair. So, let us discuss its role here. 

There are 2 types of melanin the balance of which determines the color of the beard hair. These are eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin gives the beard a dark color which might be brown or black. 

On the other hand, pheomelanin lightens the beard hair color making it become light brown, ginger, or blonde. Now, the quality and production of both eumelanin and pheomelanin are under the influence of genetics, lifestyle, and hormones as discussed earlier. 

Part 2: Is Blonde Facial Hair Normal?

We hope that you got your answer to “Why do I have blonde hairs in my beard”, let us now find out if other people also have blonde beards or if you are the rare one. 

Normal Incidence and Variations

Although the most common facial hair color around the world is black or dark brown and several people also have red or ginger beards, blonde facial hair is not normally seen.

However, depending on ethnicity and genes, it is not too rare to have blonde facial hair. Furthermore, here are some variations of facial hair.

• Dark scalp hair with a blonde beard
• Patches of blonde and red hair in the beard 
• Light brown scalp hair with brown beard 
• Dark hair in childhood and blonde facial hair in adulthood 
• Blonde facial hair in childhood and dark in adulthood

When is it Not Normal 

If your ancestors have had blonde hair, you can have it as well. However, here are some cases where blonde hair signifies a health problem and might be the reason behind “Why is my mustache blonde”.

• Albinos have blonde facial hair due to lack of pigment 
• Stress, unhealthy lifestyle, and lack of nutrients in the diet can turn facial hair light 
• An imbalance of hormones also leads to blonde facial hair
• Frequent exposure of a patch of facial hair to the sun makes that patch lighter in color as compared to other facial hair 

Part 3: Managing Blonde Facial Hair

Now that you know the causes and incidence of blonde facial hair, you must be aware that factors other than lifestyle are not under your control. 

Therefore, here is how you can manage unwanted blonde facial hair by yourself. 

Embrace the Blonde Facial Hair

The first thing you can do to manage the blonde hair is do nothing at all for the discolored patches of a full beard of light hair. Rather, tell yourself that you are unique and so is your light-colored beard. 

When everyone in the crowd has that same typical brown or black beard, it is not bad to stand out with your blonde facial hair. You can be yourself and find pride in your natural facial hair color by embracing the beauty that lies in the blonde beard. 

Furthermore, accepting your unusual hair becomes easier when you have a full and thick beard no matter what color it has. For this, take good care of your beard with high-quality beard care products and style it in a way that looks appealing on your face. 

Dye the Blonde Facial Hair

While you can totally flaunt your natural blonde beard, there is nothing wrong with wondering how brown/black facial hair that matches the hair on your head will look on you. Therefore, if you also want to have that dark beard once in a while, you can simply dye your beard. 

While dyeing facial hair, here are some points you should keep in mind so that your hair dyeing experience does not end in a mess. 

• Use a dye made specifically for facial hair 
• Apply an even layer of dye on the facial hair 
• Follow pre and post-care routine 

Removal the Blonde Facial Hair 

Last but not least, if you cannot accept your blonde beard and would rather get a clean shave than have a beard with hair of different colors, you can get rid of the beard altogether. For this, you can shave your facial hair. But, the regrowth of the hair, especially blonde hair can distress you, right? 

Thus, we suggest you go for a semi-permanent facial hair removal with Ulike Air 10 IPL hair removal handset. In the past, IPL devices were ineffective for light hair colors like red, grey, and blonde hair. However, the modern technology of Ulike Air10 allows it to remove blonde facial hair flawlessly. 

Also, learn how to shape your beard with IPL here. 

Conclusion 

Blonde hair in the beard results from a combination of reversible and irreversible factors. The reversible factors include environmental and lifestyle changes while genes and hormones are not under control. 

Although having a few strands of light hair in your beard or even a whole blonde beard might impact your self-esteem adversely, let us tell you that it is pretty normal. You can totally rock light facial hair by styling it suitably.  

However, to look handsome with blonde facial hair, you have to embrace it fully. Furthermore, there is no restriction that you ought to have a blonde beard as you can always go for a beard dye and even a clean shave look.