I started growing a beard in 2013. By 2014, it was down to my chest. That same year I started nursing school and had to trim it way back because the school wanted me to "look professional". Clearly, they have no appreciation for the amount of time and care invested in growing a nice, long beard. 

I haven't shaved for a couple days, but when I go home for the weekend the better half insists I shave.... some nonsense about chaffing her..............nevermind.

I'll not shave for the 10 days I'm at deer camp.

I have never been able to grow a beard; and on the few occasions I tried I just couldn't make it past day 4 or 5. Yeah, and I have all of 17 chest hairs...

My buddies grew beards right after college and 25 years later are men who have had beards for 25 years.   I always wanted to look more professional, but I grew one in 2012 and it is pretty great not shaving.  It takes a bit to figure out the right grooming regimen but is much easier after you figure it out.

For newbies, beards can get dry and itchy when your first start growing them.  Argon oil helps tremendously with this.  Though, after the first year I never needed it. 

I used to have a long beard but have since found that a full, yet short enough to only be just off the face, beard (like #2 in the picture above) is best. Be sure you are still shaving the upper cheeks / neck regularly with a razor and get a nice trimmer with a guard for adjusting length. Let it grow a bit and then start fading / tapering. Also, once the moustache gets some length, be sure to trim regularly so it maintains its lines above your lips.

Trim your mustache so you can eat normally without biting your mustache. Otherwise, if you are a married adult who is not pathetic, your beard requires no care other than soap or shampoo when you shower. If you are single or otherwise interested in new people being attracted to you, you might have to shape your beard, but that's very dependent on what kind of person you are trying to attract. (If you are trying to attract people who are attracted to men who are not pathetic, your beard requires no care other than soap or shampoo when you shower.)

Have beard. More like second guy picture on the first row than Lovies. 

Biggest thing is be patient - there's phases with beard growth for many people where you'll want to give up and shave it because it doesnt look like what you want or it's itchy or whatever. your beard will grow at different rates on different parts of your face. Best to just throw out your razors/clippers and just pretend you can't do anything for the first couple weeks/months. let it grow. 

Once you've grown it out, you can decide if you want to trim/maintain/shape it - there's tons of tools and devices for that stuff but a beard trimmer and pair of scissors is probably all you need.

There's a ton of youtube sources for all of this if you want to learn about people's techniques and experiences with beards in more detail than you'll get here.

I've had a beard for a few years now to the point that I'm afraid what I'll look like without one. Mine doesn't grow long like in the bottom row of pictures in your post.

It instead grows out, so I usually just have to trim it every couple weeks once it starts getting noticeably disheveled. As far as cleaning, you could use just normal shampoo, but there are also some great beard washes you can use just like a normal shampoo.

Overall the maintenance for a beard is minimal and once you get used to it, you won't want to lose it. Especially when you have a baby face without one like me.

I shave exactly one time a year.

I always have a big beard

Don't trim or style your beard, that shit should look gnarly as fuck.

Don't just do it for the novelty. Do it for a cause. This has basically become "guy cancer awareness month" so something to do with that. Do some sort of fundraiser thing. Maybe have a vote for what kind of beard you should grow and track your progress on your favorite social media outlet(s). 

I tried it once, but I'm a slightly-hairier-than-typical Asian guy and can't really grow a beard or a decent mustache. It was kinda sad-looking :(  although the comic relief did get more people to donate :)

I grew a mountain man beard last year and loved it, but my could not have hated it any more.

The compromise was to keep it trimmed down to a reasonable length(about a half inch) and I've been happy with that.  I tried a goatee after a shaving accident and hated it, glad to have the full beard back.

Mustache's without the beard are awful on me, never again.

Harry's razors ad is showing up for the first time on this blog as I read through this post.

Stop telling me my search history is dictating the ads on this site.

20 years in the Marine Corps I was not allowed to have a beard.  After retiring from the Corps if started with a goatee, then shaved that into a fu man chu (which my wife hated), had that for a couple years and then went full beard.  I have sense stuck with the full beard.  At one point I was able to braid the front (which my wife hated), but now I keep it neat.  She likes that.

Also for care, I just shampoo it every day in the shower.  Occasionally use some conditioner, whatever conditioner my wife has in the tub.

Had a beard for most of the year, shaved it off November 1 and only touching up the edges until December 1.

Been growing my beard for almost a year now.  The first month or so required some oil to keep it from itching too bad.  Mustache wax is a life saver!  Got tired of getting hair in my mouth when I ate...

I moved in August and since my wife has so much shit in boxes/storage bins, I needed  motivation to get the house move done. I did a “moving” beard. It was so much work and the house being a fixer-upper caused me to be so busy I just let the thing grow.

I hate the itchiness, though, after it gets to a certain length, so I trim it down with a guard clipper and shave my neck every day. Also, like others have said, the old lady hates the moustache part near upper lip so I trim that shit too. Too lazy to shave the whole fucker off as yet.

Been growing my beard out again for about a month now. Usually mine starts out of laziness, but the wife likes it once it starts getting thicker.

I’ve had a beard for over 20 years. For the first few years I would shave it off for a couple of months now & again, but it’s been 15 years or so since the last time I shaved it. 
 

I keep mine pretty tight, which usually means trimming it a few times per week. I have sensitive skin; growing a beard helped with that quite a bit. I’m also a low maintenance guy and don’t spend much time looking in the mirror, so I’m not interested in anything (long beard or long hair) that requires a lot of grooming, shaping &/or products. Dry skin/hair has never been a problem for me, I just wash my beard with a tiny dab of the same shampoo I use in my hair. 

Have a beard pretty much year round for the last decade or so. Have always enjoyed facial hair, but also have some dermatology issues so I am not supposed to use razors or get a close shave. So I just use clippers to clean as close as I can and try to keep my lines straight with that. 

Fiancé loves the facial hair, thinks I look like a child rapist without. She’s probably not wrong. Can’t grow much length due to work restrictions, but the intent is a nice full beard that stays close to the face or maybe comes off the face just a bit (not supposed to have facial hair coming off the face in the OR, can do it if you wear a beard net...they are infinitely worse than hair nets)

Preference would be more of a box cut style; something thick and hearty that accentuates the jaw line. Much like Gerard Butler had in 300. 
 

I should note that I’m a super hairy guy of middle eastern descent, so facial hair is almost a necessity. 

When my office did a Movember several years ago for charity, we could not shave any part of our face. I had a damn beard that went from my eye sockets down across my neck. By the end of November I had the most hair everywhere but some of the other guys had thicker beards. The wife did not like it, so I had to shave it all off on Decmember 1st.  If I remember not to shave next November, I may try it again.