Does Sleeping On One Side of Your Face Affect Beard Growth?

There can be many factors that affect your beard growth ranging from genetics and hormones to age and ethnicity. A common factor that is usually overlooked, and perhaps not even known, is sleeping on one side.

Sleeping on one side of your face does have effects on beard growth ranging from skin wrinkling, skin ulcers, and high skin temperature to tearing and breakage of hair on one side only. Diminished blood flow is also another effect.

In this article, we will be going in-depth over how sleeping affects beard growth and ways you can avoid it from happening!

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Effect of Sleeping on one Side on Beard Growth

Since no verified investigations have been conducted on this subject, science still lacks evidence. However, we came to the following conclusions based on comments and observations made by bearded men:

Skin Wrinkling

We have little control over how our bodies move while we sleep. Without realizing it, we could accidentally squash our faces within pillows when we rest our faces against them.

Although it may not always be damaging, squeezing makes our skin layers fold in on themselves. This may prevent some hair follicles from moving freely and cause them to overlap, as well as prevent skin growth as you sleep and maybe impede beard growth.

But keep in mind that it won’t get to the point where your beard is uneven, though.

A 2011 study concluded that skin layers do fold over one another during sleeping. They created a pillow that equally distributes pressure over the face.

Skin Ulcers at High-Pressure Zones

A 2010 study demonstrates the significance of frequently turning in bed to avoid any negative side effects. The effects of lateral rotation on the skin-bed interface pressures in preventing bedsores were examined in this study.

The lower body, where there is substantially higher pressure between the skin and the bed, was the focus of this investigation. They discovered that the body’s orientation on the bed can considerably alter the amount of weight that is placed on a particular spot.

Given that the head is relatively heavy, there is a very slight danger that staying still all night could harm the skin beneath the beard and stunt the growth of your beard. Again, this article does not specifically address it, but we may assume a little to see what might happen to the skin beneath a beard given the pressure of the head’s weight.

Skin Temperature

Your choice of pillow will also affect the temperature of your face while you are sleeping. According to a 1996 study, using a specific cooling cushion significantly reduced forehead skin temperature compared to using a polyester pillow.

A solution to lessen the impact of your head’s weight on your beard is to use a pillow that equally distributes your weight while also offering some cooling. However, a pillow with cooling materials and one that induces deeper sleep may help ease some of the pressure on your beard by making you less likely to wake up throughout the night.

Tearing of Hair

You might unintentionally rip a few of your beard hairs while dozing off, particularly if it is thick and lengthy. You might catch part of your hair in your hands if you move around a lot when you’re sleeping.

The entangled hairs may then become torn as you move your head. The beard tearing can be more obvious on one side if you prefer to sleep on that side more often.

Furthermore, you might tug your beard vigorously even if you don’t rip your hair as you move your head. The skin layers surrounding the hair follicle will be damaged even if the pulling doesn’t tear them.

Breakage Only on One Side

The hair on one side of your face may appear to be falling off while you sleep, giving the appearance that your beard is not growing there.

Regularly rotating and twisting your face on the pillow can put a lot of torsional pressure on both the hair’s root and the entire hair fiber. There is a possibility of breaking the keratin structure and causing the hair to die or fall out if the hair twists excessively and then is pressured.

When your hair is damp, all of these impacts are heightened. Because it is so much thinner while wet, hair is more vulnerable to harm. Water seeps into the connections that hold hair together, making it much simpler for mechanical stress to break the protein structure.

Diminished Blood Flow

This is a highly controversial factor. Any portion of your body that is under pressure will experience some type of decreased blood flow.

The human body does this frequently. Every time we sit down, lean against anything or do something as basic as crossing our legs, we reduce part of the blood flow.

Our bodies can alert us while we are awake if a limb isn’t receiving enough blood. We refer to this as numbness. For instance, you instantly adjust your position to give your leg space to breathe if it starts to feel numb.

Numbness typically cannot cause us to awaken from sleep. Over time, your beard’s development may be slowed by the persistently restricted blood flow to particular areas of it.

You shouldn’t typically be concerned about decreased blood flow. But if you frequently experience facial numbness when you wake in the morning then that’s a different matter.

It typically indicates that there was a prolonged period of insufficient blood supply to the numb area. You might be sleeping in the same position for too long.

How To Keep Your Beard Safe While You Sleep

Now that you know that sleeping on one side does affect your beard growth, you must be wondering about ways you can protect your beard while sleeping. We have compiled a list for you to go through down below:

Avoid Sleeping with Wet Beard Hair

You shouldn’t go to bed with wet hair, whether it’s on your head or in your beard. It may surprise you to learn how strong hair is as up to 100 g of water can be carried by a single hair strand.

This water moves toward the roots of your hair while you sleep. It penetrates the epidermis before becoming ensnared in the keratin layer.

If there is any sort of pressure, then it speeds up this process, even more, when you sleep on one side. The nutrients that reach your hair follicles are disrupted by the stored water, which could delay growth.

Before going to bed, make sure your beard is dry. Towels alone are insufficient, especially for beards with longer hair so use beard oil before night if the skin on your beard is unusually dry.

Make sure your beard is sufficiently dry by using dry air and running your fingers through it. Avoid placing the air dryer too close to your skin to prevent heat burns.

Sleep On Your Back

Make a continuous effort to sleep on your back. Your beard will feel most comfortable in this position as it applies the least amount of pressure to the skin of your beard.

It also protects your beard from getting tangled up in your hands and becoming ripped. Moving while you’re asleep is challenging to control. Consequently, utilizing pillows is the simplest approach to teaching your body to sleep on its back.

To stop your body from rolling over while you sleep, place two firm pillows next to your shoulders. It could take some time, and it might disrupt your sleep for a few weeks, but it will be worthwhile in the end.

You can also benefit from utilizing a head pillow with raised borders on the sides. A pillow like that will stop your neck from slouching and entangling your beard.

Silk Pillow Cases

Some people are unable to change their sleeping posture. Using soft pillowcases is your next best option if that is the case with you. A good recommendation would be a silk pillowcase.

Silk pillowcases reduce the amount of friction between your beard and the pillow. This aids in easing the strain and minimizing hair loss.

Additionally, unlike regular pillows, soft pillowcases don’t rub off the oil and natural moisturizers from your beard. And not only are silk pillowcases good for beard hair but also for your scalp hair so why not kill two birds with one stone!

Beard Ties and Wraps

You fine gentlemen will need more protection than just soft pillowcases if you have exceptionally long beards. The best protection for your beard while you sleep is provided by beard wraps as it shields the skin of your beard from tearing, pressure, and friction.

A beard tie is a wonderful alternative if you can’t stand the bulk of a beard wrap. While holding the hair strands together, beard ties give your beard more mobility.

Additionally, to prevent hurting your beard if you like to sleep on one side, you can knot your beard so that it faces the opposite side.

Conclusion

So, to put it shortly, sleeping on one side does have an effect on your beard growth but only in really harsh circumstances such as blockage of blood flow, tearing of hair, etc. Luckily for you, there are ways to handle this so you do not need to fret. We hope that this guide provided you with answers on if sleeping on one side has any effect on beard growth and how you can put an end to it!