The puppy plushness you saw at 6-8 weeks disappears quickly and by three months most Beardies look like kids who have outgrown their clothes. By 6 months, the first-year coat is coming in. Puppy coat is usually softer and thicker than adult coat, but it still must have a hint of harshness and be free of curl. It often flops into the eyes. It can happen in a couple of ways.
Some dogs just drop all that nice puppy hair and carry a short and very scruffy coat for months.
This can create a Beardie that looks like two different dogs sewn together in the middle. And then there's colour. Most Beardies pale to some degree. The amount they fade has no apparent relation to the colour they are, to how dark they are as puppies nor to how dark they will be as adults. You can see the paling start around the eyes or on the legs where the colour meets the white or on the tail as early as 7 weeks in some puppies.