Can Native Americans Grow Beards: Native Ways of Beard Care
Native Americans' facial hair can sometimes go unnoticed; some say native Americans don’t grow beards, yet some say they do. Their ability or inability to grow beards depends on their ancestry and genetics.
However, why are native Americans’ beards scarcely seen? Is there any special treatment for them to prevent it from growing?
Let’s go over this article and find out why native Americans' beards do not grow.
Can Native Americans Grow Beards?
Some Native Americans can grow a beard, but others can’t. In some cases, native Americans’ beard growth depends on their facial hair genetics. Some Native Americans grow beards faster and thicker, whereas some can grow slower and thinner. Whatever race they are: African, Native American, or any ethnic origin, they can grow beards.
Native American beards grow based on an individual’s hair genetics, and their family’s race also plays a role. If both the father and grandfather possess a thick, long beard, then there should be a high chance that an individual can produce the same. The growth of hair, especially facial hair, is a natural process in the male body because of their hormones. However, even women can grow facial hair.
Today, Native Americans don’t remove their facial hair and can grow thick beards. Some of them don’t grow beards because they pluck their hair immediately when it grows. Some choose to shave their beards, whereas, for others, the growth rate is slower.
Some people think that Native American Indians cannot grow beards, but the truth is that they choose to maintain the cleanliness of their faces. Their culture and beliefs are other reasons why they remove their beards through either shaving or plucking. They also have this thinking that they will become like bears or other animals if they don’t shave their facial hair.
What Are the Truths About the Native American Beard?
Native Americans beard is often characterized as gentle, thin, and sparse, as for their beards, are also soft and grow slowly. There are several factors why growing a Native American beard is difficult: different tribes, environments, and diet conditions.
Interestingly, some of their tribes do not grow beards with gray hair when they grow old; this means they show brown American facial hair instead. Native Americans also grow beards in different colors like ginger, black, blonde, and brown.
However, Native American beard has some similarities with the Asian beard. Native Americans grow beards showing similar patterns because of their common ancient ancestry. All of these similarities can be traced back to their genetic history. Many of them discovered their origins in East Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and China.
Some research indicates that thousands of years ago, Native Americans migrated to America. They relocated to America between 13,000 and 16,500 years ago through the Beringian land bridge.
What Are the Myths About the Native American Beard?
The most common misconception about the Native Americans is that a growing beard is impossible for them. Another misconception is the belief that Native Americans regularly remove their beards until they cannot grow hair anymore, but this is just a rumor, as Native Americans don’t pluck their facial hair for this reason.
The Navajo leaders were said to have mustaches during the Long Walk era, and bearded Native Americans were documented as well. An expedition by Dominguez-Escalante encountered a section of full-bearded Paiute Native American Indians from Utah. The sightings of the Paiute tribe made the members of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition think that they met Jesuit priests because of the bearded Native Americans.
Why Do Native Americans’ Beards Not Grow?
This is a wrong conception because Native Americans grow beards, but some of them prefer not to grow them. They choose to have clean faces, so they shave and pluck their facial hair. Like all other human beings, native Americans grow facial and body hair; it’s just very soft and thin and can be difficult to see sometimes. They even have hair on their legs and their armpits. Their difference from others is their hair is most likely not visible at all.
They were just stereotyped for not growing beards; this stereotyping was powered by the several novels written by a famous German teacher named Karl May.
How Do Native Americans Remove Their Beards?
For some Native Americans, the most common ways of removing facial hair are plucking and shaving.
Plucking is a useful and simple method of removing facial hair, but this method is painful and time-consuming. This should be done repeatedly and can cause pain and redness on the skin.
Whereas, shaving with a razor, is the easiest and most pain-free facial hair removal method. It’s great to practice because multiple hairs can be captured and shaved using a razor. However, this may also lead to some irritation of the skin and even some cuts.
Shaving was not to Native Americans’ liking until the late 1800s. The Native Americans were introduced to metal pinchers when Christopher Columbus came. Metal pinchers became a status to distinguish elites in the tribe.
Native Americans used obsidian flakes as knives to shave the hair on their scalp. Obsidian flakes become dull due to constant use, but they cannot be re-sharpened, so the Native Americans recycled them by making them small arrowheads.
What Are the Native American Techniques for Growing Beards?
Everyone can grow beards by following some extra tips: eat and sleep well, take food supplements and vitamins, as well as keep the face clean, washed, and moisturized.
A balanced and healthy diet that can help native American facial hair follicles to grow includes B vitamins, such as B12, which can be found in meat and fish. Biotin is also helpful; you can find it in dairy, whole grains, and nuts.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) gives some great tips on how to perfectly grow beards and mustaches. Anthony Rossi, MD, FAAD, a dermatologist and surgeon, advised that men should take care of their skin by moisturizing and cleansing with the use of beard and mustache oil. The beard oil will give all the nutrients that your beard needs in order to grow.
Men from all races have the chance to grow beards by following some great tips given by the experts. However, you have to remember that no amount of care products like oils, supplements, and balms can change your genetic features. If you are a pure-blooded Native American, you can grow a beard, but not in a quick or easy way because of your genes.
Things To Consider to Help Native American Beards Grow
You need to consider these three categories to grow beards: proper care, healthy living, and medical treatment.
For humans to have a beautiful face or for Native Americans to have nice and beautiful beards, they need to take care of their bodies. Proper hygiene allows hair follicles to open and enables blood to flow in areas where you want your beard to grow.
Remember to follow these reminders to help beards grow:
Wash your face twice a day.
Use beard oil and beard moisturizer
Massage your face evenly for 10 minutes twice a day.
Exfoliate your face (once a week will do).
A healthy lifestyle is one of the most important factors to consider in growing a beard.
You should eat healthy foods and lift weights to increase the levels of testosterone in your blood. Remember to eat healthy foods, such as eggs, chicken, beans, fish, vegetables, fruits, and milk.
A medical solution can be done if someone is desperate about growing a beard. However, as this is a type of surgery, success is not a 100 percent guarantee.
Hacks and Tricks to Help Native Americans Grow Beards
Native Americans practice beard care by using a mixture of almond oil, grape seed oil, and castor oil.
However, there is a universal hack for everyone who wants to increase their beard growth. Although there is no 100 percent assurance that these hacks will work, following these steps might make a difference.
Involve yourself in some activities like yoga, exercising, socializing, and other related activities.
Make sure that you have a proper and balanced diet.
Get complete sleep of 7 to 8 hours daily.
Do not smoke.
Always maintain good hygiene.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Do Native Americans Have Curly Hair?
Some Native Americans have curly hair, whereas some do not. Again, it’s all in their genes. Some Native Americans have naturally curly hair, whereas other Native Americans have straight black hair. There was once a test conducted where a pencil is placed on someone’s head; if the pencil falls off, then the person was not considered a Native American.
Do Native Americans Possess Body Hair?
Yes, Native Americans have body hair. It can be difficult to notice whether a Native American has body hair or not, and some might have no hair at all. Many Native Americans chose to not keep their body hair due to their traditions.
The amount of body hair that every Native American has depends on their genetics. However, Native Americans have beards and head hair, but they mostly plucked and shaved them. Nevertheless, in the modern-day, some of them started to keep their beards.
Why Are Native Americans Called American Indians?
Indigenous cultures of the Western Hemisphere were often referred to as American Indians. Christopher Columbus mistakenly believed that he reached South Asia’s shores, and that was why the word Indian was used. Columbus continued to use the term “Indios” when referring to peoples of the so-called New World.
The word “America” was first used to refer to Western Hemisphere’s continents in the early 1500s. “American” was related to Indians to distinguish them from the Indigenous peoples of regions in South Asia.
Many activists from the United States and Canada in the 1960s refused to accept the term American Indian as it sometimes carried racist undertones. The term “Native American” soon became the accepted term for American Indians. Many individuals, mostly from the Rio Grande, continued to call themselves Indians.
What Are the Aspects of Native Americans as American Indians from Other Nations?
Europeans referred to the people of the American Arctic as “Eskimo,” a term that means “eaters of raw flesh.” American Arctic peoples wanted to use their self-names in the 1960s because they found the term inappropriate.
Individuals from western Alaska were known as “Yupik,” whereas those from northern and eastern Alaska and Canada were known as “Inuit.” Alaska’s inhabiting peoples claimed a variety of lands in the 1960s. Different societies, such as Aleut, Gwich’in, Deg Xinag, and Tanaina, adopted the term Native Alaskan.
Native Americans from Canada started using the term First Nations as their self-name in the 1970s. Inuit and Metis did not prefer to be called First Nations. Inuit, Metis, and First Nations peoples from Canada preferred to use the term “aboriginal peoples/aboriginal nation.”
Native peoples all around the world encouraged others to use self-names when possible. This was recognized by the United Nations when the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was established in the 2000s.
In 2007, the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous peoples was passed. However, many individuals from the United States still referred to the aboriginal Americans as Indians.
What Is the Native Americans’ Culture Known For?
Native Americans lived in America’s lands before the ships of Christopher Columbus reached the island of the Bahamas. It is estimated that 50 million Americans were inhabiting America before the European voyagers arrived. The Europeans landed only in the 15th century AD.
It was said that there were several cultural areas from the Native American era, and these were: The Northeast, The Southeast, The Plains, Sub Arctic, California, The Northwest Coast, The Great Basin, and the Plateau.
The Arctic cultural area was described to be a cold, flat, and land with no trees. The people who lived in the arctic cultural area were the descendants of Eskimo-Aleut who spoke dialect. They had dome-shaped homes where mostly women and fishermen lived.
Subarctic Native Americans lived in swampy, water-logged tundra and pine-forest areas. They used easy-to-move tents. The Northeast cultural region was the first region that encountered European voyagers. They lived on the coast of Canada, the Mississippi region, and North Carolina. They were the first region to be colonized by Europeans.
South Eastern Native Americans inhabited the North of the Gulf of Mexico. They were the first Native Americans who produced stable crops, such as tobacco, corn, beans, and squash, because they lived in a humid and fertile region. People of the Plains inhabited the region of the prairie, they occupied areas between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.
People from the Southwest occupied the regions that are now known as New Mexico and Arizona. They also inhabited some parts of Colorado and Texas. People of the Great Basin inhabited the eastern Rocky Mountains. California Native Americans were composed of 1000 tribes that used 200 dialects.
Conclusion
Whether the Native Americans can grow beards or not, they are still part of the interesting history of America. Throughout this article, we have come to understand that the Native Americans can grow beards, but because of their beliefs and traditions, they tend to remove their beards.
Let’s recap to see if we covered everything we need to know:
A lot of native Americans have facial hair. Its growth depends on people’s genes. The Native Americans used to shave and plucked their facial hair because of traditional or personal reasons.
The truths and myths about Native American beards have been revealed.
When it comes to ancestry, Native Americans have some similarities with Asians.
Most Native Americans can grow beards, but they remove these beards immediately.
Lastly, some basic techniques, hacks, and tricks on how to grow beards have been shared in this article to help those who want to grow their beards thicker and quicker, whether they are native Americans or not.
At this time, the Native Americans are still recognized by the United States of America and enjoyed certain privileges, which is very important because they have numerous contributions to American history.
