Everything You Need to Know About Grooming Your Beard

Congratulations on making the right choice about your facial hair. Growing a beard isn’t for everybody, but with the rise of the “hipster” look in the past year or so, having a beard is very definitely “in.”
That said, if you’re a first-time beard wearer, acquiring the skills to achieve the sort of look made famous by the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Gosling, and Idris Elba won’t happen overnight.
Whether it’s choosing the right beard style for your face, getting the right products – you’ll need them – or just some basic tips for beard care though, we’ve got you covered:

How to Trim Your Beard

Achieve successful beard trimming by following these 5 easy tips:

1. Wash and condition
   This step makes everything else easier. Especially if you’re attempting to go from wild man of the woods to suave and sophisticated socialite in a single sitting.
2. Brush that bad boy
   Use a comb or brush to brush against the grain of your beard (the way it grows). This’ll make it all stand on end, so it’ll be easier to judge an even final trim.



3. Trim with your clippers
   To avoid potentially horrifying beard errors, always start with a plastic guard length on your clippers that’s a bit longer than the beard length you really want. Then you can work down to the actual length you’re after.
4. Trim the ‘tash
   Your moustache will need a slightly shorter guard on your clippers than the rest of your beard. If you’re still limited in your ability to trim by your nose being in the way, use a standard pair of scissors to trim your ‘tash by hand. Or you can use a pair of special moustache scissors if you’re feeling less brave.
5. Goodbye neckbeard
   There was probably a time when neckbeards were in fashion. This isn’t it. Trimming away your neckbeard will also remove the itchiest part of your beard growth (potentially the only downside of having your own mighty mane).
   Pick a spot around an inch above your Adam’s apple. Then picture a curving shape linking that point under your chin to behind each of your ears. That’s your ideal line for the bottom of your beard. Anything less and you risk you double-chinning. Anything further down, and not only will it look scrappy, it’ll itch like Blackbeard’s original masterpiece.

Once you’ve picked out this U-shape, all the hair below it should be shaved away. Above the “U”, some guys prefer to fade up into the beard. To do this, simply halve your clipper guard length and trim around the bottom of the beard line perhaps an inch up into your face bear. For even finer fading, repeat the process in the first half of this inch-deep line from skin to full beard. Set your clippers to half the length again.
This will produce a skin to quarter beard to half beard to full beard graduation. If you don’t fancy that, it’s perfectly legitimate to go skin to full beard with no graduation. And it’s much easier.

The final step – Oil that beauty

Don’t be one of those guys that goes half-way with his facial hair. Get winning whiskers by oiling your beard and styling it after you’ve finished trimming. This will also highlight any stray hairs that you missed the first time around. As well as making you look and smell like an absolute bad-ass.

The Proper Beard Style For Your Face Shape

Matching your beard to your face shape is a critical part of strolling confidently into beard-dom. To begin with, you’ll want to let your beard grow out for at least a month. Resist the urge to trim heavily in this time. Some hairs take longer to come through than others.
Think about it like you’re an artist – this is the time you need to prepare your canvas.
Then, when it becomes time to trim, consult this handy guide to maximise your beard potential:



I have a square face

Good news! You are the movie star ideal. Probably. In any case, you’ll want your beard to be shorter on the sides and a little more full at the chin.

I have a round face

Similar to your square faced compadres, as a roundie you’ll also need to have your beard trimmed a little tighter at the sides with more length at the chin.

I have an oblong face

The opposite to those vile square and round face types, you’ll want a little more length in the sides while keeping things reined in beneath your chin.

I have an oval face

You’re pretty much onto a winner as far as beard styles go. Your face can become home to almost any style with an equal chance of being successful.

I have no face!

Consult your doctor immediately.

The Beard Care Products You’ll Need

Finally, all of this beard care and trimming is going to take some tools. Some big, strong, manly tools. And some shampoo. And a few other bits too…

1. Clippers – aha! A manly tool, and vital pre-beard growing purchase. Don’t skimp on getting a decent pair of clippers.
2. Beard brush – another essential beard grooming purchase. Your beard brush helps you keep everything nice and neat, and prepares the ground for trimming (see the “How to Trim Your Beard” section above).
3. Beard shampoo – we warned you this was coming up. It might not be growing out of the top of your head, but your facial hair still needs some shampooing. Don’t fall into the trap of having scratchy, unlovable whiskers.
4. Beard oil – this is another unmissable beard care product. Don’t skimp on getting some cool-smelling beard oil. Your face will feel a whole lot less itchy, and your facial hair will stay in place a little better too.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there, and get bearding.