Beards of the Seacoast: These guys have expert advice on their growing passion.

Whenever a clean-shaven man comes into Dover’s Bearded Man Barbershop expressing a desire for a thick beard, barber Steve Wasiewski’s advice always starts the same way: If you want to see it grow, you have to let it go.

Wasiewski, owner of a lengthy, light brown beard himself, has been a barber for two years, the last six months with the Central Avenue barber shop. Now 35 years old, his own facial hair odyssey began eight years ago as a way to honor his late stepfather, who kept a beard year-round. Before getting into the business of beards himself, Wasiewski had to overcome his own literal facial hair-growing rough patches, a trial of experimenting with different grooming techniques and products before landing on what worked for him.

“It’s something that everybody respects because everyone knows it's not the easiest thing to do,” he said of the beard-growing process.

Now, Wasiewski, his co-workers and Bearded Man apprentices relay beard growth advice to clients seven days a week. Wasiewski said he works with three or four clients each day, and 50 to 100 mustache and beard-craving guys come to the shop each week for a trim, a groom, a shampoo and advice.

“If you’re having a hard time, you’ve just got to stick it out,” he said. “Beards aren't pretty, but you’ve just got to stick it out. You have to have the patience. It just takes time.”

Beyond his own success, Wasiewski has a handful of clients that initially came in with clean cheeks and now don impressive beards and thick mustaches, a testament to the slow, methodical approach most need to take in their facial hair journey. Once the beard comes in, then it’s time to start seeking grooming and trimming advice, in addition to exploring oils, balms, shampoos, conditioners and other products to keep the hair hydrated.

“It’s wild what can happen in a short period of time,” Wasiewski said. “It’s like Miracle-Gro for your face.”

Looking to join the club of bearded or mustachioed men? Here are four Seacoast residents, of varying facial hair types, shapes, colors and sizes who can serve as models to follow:

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'It has opened up a conversation or two at the bar'

Bill MacDonald’s facial hair has come a long way since he sported a bushy brown mustache in the 1980s.

With the help of Reed Maerder, MacDonald’s barber at The Groomsmith in Portsmouth who founded and owns the business, MacDonald’s facial hair regimen involves a daily neck shave followed by a minute or so rubbing in beard balm as well as biweekly haircuts and trims.

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“It actually doesn't really take that long,” said the 63-year-old Dover resident of his beard maintenance. Each day, he said he spends less than 10 minutes taking care of his facial hair.

In late 2018, MacDonald approached Maerder about the best way to grow out his beard. Maerder’s advice was to let it go wild for four full weeks without any shaving or shaping whatsoever, then MacDonald should come to The Groomsmith and let Maerder find its ideal form.

“I was like, ‘OK, you’re the expert,'” MacDonald recalled.

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The result was a voluminous grey beard and “salt and pepper” mustache, which he now has trimmed every two weeks by Maerder, along with his hair. MacDonald knows his Groomsmith schedule for the remainder of 2022: Every second Tuesday, he’ll go in for a quick touch-up.

MacDonald’s style has drawn countless comparisons to a distinguished former Dos Equis commercial character: “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”

“It has opened up a conversation or two at the bar, both male and female,” he joked.

‘You have a beautiful beard'

Roughly seven inches long off his chin, Jon Hernandez’ beard has a lumberjack look, one which inspires a lot of people to ask him how he’s gotten it to that length.

“I tell them all the time it’s just basically laziness, because if I shave it I’ve got to keep it up,” he said.

The 46-year-old Berwick resident hasn’t shaved his beard for half a decade, and his first attempt at a beard came when he was a teenager. He remembered the standard itchiness that came with first growing a beard, but is long past that point.

“It probably has more split ends than most,” he said of his beard. “I’d describe it as rough or raw.”

Opting for the all-natural approach, Hernandez’ only maintenance of his beard is a regular shampoo and a trim around his upper lip. A friend of his has gifted him various beard oils over the last few years, though Hernandez hasn’t used any of them.

No matter if another person’s beard matches his own in length or volume, or if someone is rocking a beard in its infancy, Hernandez likes to give credit where credit is due.

“On a daily basis, I’ll point at somebody and say, ‘You have a beautiful beard,’” he said.

'It’s kind of like a magnet for some people'

Before labeling himself as “the biggest beard in real estate,” 48-year-old Kittery resident Justin Kelcourse first tried to garner attention for his facial hair in London.

Attending a beard competition in the English capital, Kelcourse lost in a category he hoped to win, sending him home across the pond inspired to place in a future competition.

Later, after obtaining his real estate license, Kelcourse shaved off every inch of his beard but kept a “crazy funny” mustache. He shaved it off after a few weeks, feeling as if he couldn't properly conduct business with outrageous facial hair.

His broker disagreed. “My broker was thinking, if you kept a mustache like that, there wouldn’t be a person around here who wouldn’t know who you are and what you do,” Kelcourse said.

Newly motivated, Kelcourse went all out, growing his beard to lengths unimaginable for most people. He let it grow down to his waist at one point, later traveling to Germany for another competition. Kelcourse has taken part in other beard competitions across the United States.

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Kelcourse has become famous for his beard, which he had to keep braided at one point when he was driving with the windows down because it tended to flap wildly in the wind. Formerly a door man at The Press Room, a staple bar and music venue in downtown Portsmouth, Kelcourse said sometimes people would approach him just to feel his facial hair.

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“It’s kind of like a magnet for some people,” he said.

These days, with his beard about three or four inches long off his chin, Kelcourse regularly washes, conditions and brushes out his facial mane, fluffing it up sometimes to get it extra scruffy.

“Lately, in the last couple years, because of masks and everything, I started keeping it much shorter,” he said. “I do enjoy getting a barber cut."

'I save on throwaway razors'

Growing for nearly a year, Berwick resident Kevin Gray’s beard is lengthier than some sandwiches. At eight inches long, his thick, white beard has landed him the role of Santa Claus at some family gatherings.

The last time he had shorter facial hair was three years ago, when a barber cleaned it up ahead of his daughter’s wedding. Gray’s wife has expressed on numerous occasions that she prefers his beard to look that way all the time.

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“I kind of like having it because other people like it. They treat me differently with the beard, almost as like I‘m this old sage,” he quipped. "They treat me differently, and when I don’t have the beard I’m ignored.”

On top of being a conversation starter, a beard of Gray’s magnitude has given him a level of confidence he wouldn’t have without it. For instance, he said he could pick out the biggest, beard-clad man in a room, approach him and say, “You call that a beard?”

“It’s a weed,” said the 67-year old. “It grows by itself.”

After shampooing it, Gray brushes out his beard while still wet but otherwise doesn’t use any specific grooming tactics. The trick to achieving a longer beard, he said, is to start with the sideburns. Once they grow out, it adds width to the beard’s shape.

Though his two sons and son-in-law each have facial hair, Gray noted he is the son of a man who kept his own face clean-shaven.

“I save on throwaway razors,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Beards: Expert advice from Seacoast NH facial hair professionals