Beards are the new black, but sporting that sexy stubble comes with a price. According to a study published in the New York Times (and about a hundred other studies), women found men with facial hair to be more attractive than clean-shaven men. However, there is a catch. The women in the study found full, grizzly beards to be less attractive than shorter, groomed facial hair.
This brings us to the most crucial point of all – if you’ve got any sort of facial hair: a beard line up, a cheek line, original beard hair, a goatee, or a well-defined stubble – you’ve got to learn to maintain it (start trimming regularly, use a comb, beard oils, and even products for styling). That rugged piece of art isn’t going to sculpt itself, now is it?
Follow these four steps on how to line up your beard hair so you don’t end up being the brunt of a scientific study about male attractiveness.
Step 1: Know Your Face Shape.
@filippomelloni
Hear us out for a minute. When women contour their faces, they darken and highlight certain features of their facial structure to create more definition. Sculpting a beard is a lot like that, and just like women have to accommodate their faces when they contour, men have to tailor their beard to their individual face shapes.
If you have a round face, you want to create the allusion of having a stronger bone structure. Well-sculpted beards with original length are ideal for covering up loose skin and for making your head and appear longer, and the shape is close to an angular face.
If you have an oblong face shape, you want your face to look fuller. You definitely should avoid length at your chin to keep from making your face look drawn out. However, beard styles like the chin strap or mustache work will because they fill in the lower half of your face and create volume horizontally.
If you have a square, sculpted face shape – don’t cover it up! This is one of the most desirable facial structures, so it’s best to keep your stubble short so people can admire that jawline.
Symmetrical faces are a rare case but if it’s yours, you can set the beard trimmer to any settings lower or higher – any beard takes your face to a top beauty level.
Step 2: Know Your Guidelines.
@frankfurdr
Feel around your jaw. Right behind the bone is where you should trim a beard, all the way to the back of your jaw by your ears. However, if you have a round face shape or loose skin around your chin and neckline, your jaw/neck guideline should be two fingers above Adam’s apple directly to the back of your jaw. As for your curved cheek lines, you can draw an imaginary line from the corners of your mouth to the top of your ears. Get rid of all hair above that guideline.
Your mustache is a tricky area, but you can start off by combing through it with a fine-toothed comb to make it easier to trim. Then, trim with scissors around the outside of your lips, just enough to keep the hair from overlapping your lips.
You can work your way up with the scissors, but if you are comfortable, you can use clippers to trim the rest of the mustache to the desired length. Don’t forget about snipping those nose hairs! Minor mistakes won’t be noticeable.
Step 3: Use The Right Products.
@_krlla_
Shaving Balm
Unless you’ve got tough skin, you will probably need to use some sort of shaving cream or gel. Luckily, there are translucent gels that work just as well as that fluffy white stuff and it allows you to see exactly where you’re trimming. We love recommending Pacinos Shave Gel but you can stick to your personal preference if any.
Clippers
Whether you are trimming your beard or doing away with the long, lumberjack look, you’ll need a solid set of clippers. We love the Wahl Cordless Magic.
Scissors
For trimming minimal length off the beard and mustache, scissors will do the trick and allow you a bit more control than clippers do. Try these professional facial hair scissors.
Step 4: Stay On A Schedule.
@i.am.stacks
The ultimate key to a great and consistent beard lineup is staying on a schedule. So essentially, you do not have to “re-lineup” your beard after you do it once – you just have to trim the hair that grows in outside of your guidelines.
If you are working on growing out a beard, you won’t want to trim it more than once every two weeks until you get to the desired length. Once you reach the length you want, you can up trim to once a week to maintain it. However, to keep the lineup looking good, you may have to groom it every couple of days around the jawline and cheeks. This is solely dependent on how fast your facial hair grows, of course.
Bonus Tip: Look For Inspiration.
If you can't think up a beard style on your own, don't sweat it. Google exists for a reason. Look up trending ways to trim your beard and pair it with a hairstyle that works. Here are some of our favorite ways to line up your beard
We’ve tried to collect various types, styles, shapes, and lengths of beards in the gallery so that each of you finds their inspiration:
@Atbouchard
@Bryan_paige_
@andre_doernen
@Codymcline
@filippomelloni
How To Trim Your Cheek Lines
Having talked with our barbers and watched numerous YouTube tutorials on how to trim your chick lines, and how low your cheek lines run so that the beard balances the upper half of the head, we’ve managed to collect the most helpful tips for you:
- Decide whether you’re up for natural beard lines or sharp and defined cheek lines. The first option will highlight the natural and unbridled bearded look; the second one will emphasize the edge and masculinity of a well-groomed beard.
- Decide on your desired beard shape (square or round) and identify the top and bottom beard’s neckline. Mind your facial features and the shape of your face.
- Start the process with freshly cleaned hands, face, and sterile tools.
- Trim a beard neckline, outlining it with electric edgers first.
- Use shears or a freehand technique with trimmers/clippers when trimming the hair underneath the jawline and mustache area.
And, of course, be mindful of the products you put on for your beard care afterward and beforehand.
How to Fade a Beard
When it comes to shaping the beard, more men prefer professional’s assistance over the DIY beard line trim. Especially, when they wanna add a fade aka blend to their bearded style. Thus, we’d strongly recommend you not to start shaving the beard fade by yourself even if you’re rather confident with the trimmer in your arms.
Just like the neckline or temples fade, the beard line fade features this issue: you either get a win-win result or a lose-lose one. The ideal fade makes the whole look clean, sharp, neat, and sophisticated, while an amateur fade is highly likely to look messy in an unattractive way.
However, if you’re still insisting, check out this and these tutorials before giving yourself a beard fade.
Remember another important aspect: any fade requires keeping it fresh. And since beards grow even faster than the rest of your hair, you’ll have to tame its natural growth a couple times a week.
Conclusion
Well, probably, after finishing this article, you’re officially bearded – no wonder!
However, remember that if you want your beard and mustache to look stylish rather than greasy and scruffy, you should be ready for keeping it neat by shaving every couple of days, buying a trimmer, a razor, a comb, and even a styling product, constantly moisturizing and nourishing the beard with oils and serums.
Once you've got your beard under control, it's time to put your skills to the test. If the bearded solutions from this guide are not enough to meet your bearded request, try out one of these 20 Beard Styles.
