The Ultimate Guide To Styling Your Beard

Many are saying 2017 will bring the end to the ongoing beard resurgence, there continues to be an abundance of men who have no intention of removing their face fuzz anytime soon. If you’re included in that set of gents who prefer to have a bit of facial hair, you’d better be willing to keep it in pristine condition from here on out. With this in mind, check out our complete guide to styling your beard.

First things first, while you could oversimplify things and simply let your beard grow uncontrollably – we’d always suggest you look around to find the best style of beard suited to your face. There’s a lot of variety out there, but the guiding principle is that your beard and your jaw should work together to achieve a nice, evenly-graduated oval shape.

What Style of Beard will Suit Me?

Oblong / Rectangular:

You’ll want a bit more length on the sides and less below the chin or else just an all round stubble. This will give the illusion of a fuller face, preventing your face from looking excessively long.

Square:

Avoid thicker, fuller styles and opt to grow your beard downwards on the bottom to give your face a longer silhouette.

Round:

As with a square face shape, you should grow your beard longer on the bottom to elongate the face. A fuller beard is only going to accentuate the width of your face. At the very least, you should trim the sides and emphasise your beard’s length, but you could also consider a goatee.

Triangle:

If your jaw is thicker than your brows, it’s best not to go too mad with the facial hair as it’ll only accentuate the difference further. Keep things neat and clean with minimal growth.

How to Style Your Beard

Like we covered in the previous section, you’ll want to trim certain sections to emphasise different features depending on how your face shaped. Whatever length you shave, take it down a notch or two when you reach below the jawline, then take it down a notch further again when you reach your Adam’s apple to create a fade.

You’ll want to keep your edging/shapinggame on point, too. Use a typical wet-shave razor to remove any stray hairs from the tops of your cheeks and around & below your neck, making sure to follow the natural lines of your beard. If you want a smoother shave then feel free to use an oil, gel, or creme – but choose one that doesn’t lather so you can see what you’re doing.

I’d suggest visiting a barber when you’re beard is growing in, and then again to touch things up every now and then. If you do it this way you’ll find it much easier to maintain a well-groomed look, as you’ll only have to follow the lines and shades that your barber puts in. Takes the guesswork right out!

Beard Care Tips

You’ve grown a beard, chosen your style – are we done yet? Not quite, if you want to keep your beard looking healthy, tidy, and stylish, there are few more things you’ll want to bear in mind:

• Shave: You’ll want to run a trimmer over the body of your beard every so often to remove split ends and stray hairs. Use a razor to tidy up the edges around your neck and the top of your cheeks, too.
• Wash: Just like your head hair, you shouldn’t be leaving it unwashed. Shampoo/condition your beard twice-weekly.
• Other products: Look at using a beard oil or other leave-in conditioner for an added shine. Towel-dry your beard after a shower and get to work with your product of choice.
• Skin: Remember to take care of the skin beneath your beard. The hair of your beard will actually ‘wick’ moisture away from your face, which can seriously dry out your skin. Massage a moisturiser into your beard to avoid dandruff and dry skin.

What Tools to Use on Your Beard

If you’re reading this, it’s a safe bet that you want to do this beard thing right, so that means getting the right tool for the job. How do you choose? Well, we can help with that with some of the best beard products out there.

Best Beard Trimmers

Remington MB320C Barba Beard Trimmeris a solid, entry-level shaver, suitable for clipping your beard, shaving your head, or trimming designer stubble. It has nine length settings (1.5mm – 18mm), and the blades are ceramic-coated for extra resilience – dare we say, it’s likely one of the best trimmers for men at the moment.

Another great option is the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler 3-in-1. A neat little tool that can be used as a razor, beard trimmer, or an edging blade, and can be picked up at a very affordable £15 on Amazon.

Best Beard Styling Products

If you’re planning to keep your beard looking full, lustrous and healthy a beard oilis a great investment. Murdock’s iteration of the common grooming essential is easily among the best beard oils out there. The lightweight combination of argan, jojoba and apricot kernel oils will not only have your facial hair looking the part – but will speed up growth too!

This handy beard moisturiser from will not only give your beard a tamer appearance, but the nutrient rich cream will also absorb into your skin – saving you the job of having to work on that yourself.

Last, but not least, Murdock’s post shave balm can easily double up as a beard treatment with chamomile and calendula tocalm irritation among a plethora of other moisture rich ingredients to keep you looking your finest. Pop some into your beard for 30 mins, then wash out for a healthy, happy beard!

How to Grow A Beard

Before you can even think about styling a beard suited to your face, you’ll need something to work with. While it’s pretty self-explanatory, we’ve included some tips below that should help get things growing.

• Start with a blank canvas – Exfoliate your face first as this helps remove grease and dead cells from your skin. Lather up and get your razor in there – remembering to shave with the grain to avoid painful ingrown hairs.
• Diet – Hair follicles are technically dead cells. They don’t grow, so much as your body is pushing them out of your skin. The key to speeding up the process is eating the right, protein rich foods such as meat, peas, broccoli, chickpeas, and spinach. Supplements like biotin, fish oil, and a multivitamin are also good options to consider.
• Wash – Washing your beard on a regular basis is going to keep things fresh looking (and smelling), as well as simultaneously stimulating beard hair growth.
• Leave it Alone – Don’t stroke, comb, or otherwise bother your beard too much, either, as this can lead to patches and split ends.

How to Fix a Patchy Beard

While growing a beard is one thing, fixing a patchy one is a different ball game altogether. There’s a multitude of reasons that your sparse beard could be shedding, or not growing at all, ranging from more serious cases to simply not having the genetic makeup. Regardless, here’s a few tips on how to grow a thicker beard.

• Bald patches in beards caused by a lack of beard-growing hormones can be rectified by taking hair loss supplements such as minoxidil or high-quality multivitamins.
• A patchy stubble could simply signify a lack of blood flow to the higher cheek areas. Eating a healthy, protein rich dietabundant in essential amino acids can stimulate growth in these situations.
• There’s a proven correlation betweenmicro needling and growth stimulation of beard bald spots. While you can do this from home, it’s worth speaking to a professional to avoid unwanted damage.
• While they may be rampant at the moment, not all men have begun incorporating beard oils into their grooming regime. While not technically designed to accelerate beard growth, those wondering how to grow a full beard would benefit from integrating them into their routine.

Styling your Beard

Be sure to take your face shape into account when deciding on your style – it can really make all the difference. While getting this right initially can be a little tricky, the real beard and moustache care comes in the form of regular trimming, quality products and giving it a wash a couple of times a week.

On That Note

And there you have it! I mean, we’ve not even touched on the difference between a Verdi and a Garibaldi (hint: they’re not biscuits), and let’s not pretend like a £70 trimmer is gonna be a drop in the ocean if you’re serious about your beard, but… hey, it’s a start. People have literally written books on this stuff, after all.

The important thing is, having read our Ultimate Guide to Styling Your Beard, you now know everything you need to know about growing a beard and looking after it. Yo