Complete the beard shape as shown placing the final anchor point directly over the first creating a closed shape. Using the Shape Tool, drag the line segments into curves.

Drag the short line segments towards the inside of the beard. The amounts of the curves should vary and not be too uniform.

At this point you can delete the guide ellipse.

Apply a 2-color Circular Fill to the beard using 10% black and white. Or if you want to add a speck of color to the beard, use RGB 235, 235, and 237. This will produce a gray outer color with a hint of blue.

Reposition the center of the fill as shown.