Top men's beard styles. What does your beard say about you?

I t used to be that a man’s first style choice of the day came when he stood in front of his wardrobe. Then stubble happened and suddenly that first sartorial decision was in front of the mirror. Types of mens facial hair.

Fast forward to peak beard and a time when full facial hair is finally accepted as a way to add to personal style and you have a complete timeline that has left the modern man in a unique position.

For the first time he has a choice of contemporary facial-hair looks with whatever style he chooses current and cared for. And nowhere were these looks in evidence more than on the streets outside London Fashion Week Men’s (LFWM) when the autumn/winter 2017 styles were being shown.

With off-duty models from the key shows crowding the streets outside, male grooming brand Braun was on hand, with fashion photographer GarçonJon, to capture the statement facial-hair trends that are as much about character and personality as personal style.

One man who knows this is grooming expert Parsa Rad, who decodes what the beard and facial-hair trends reveal about the men who wear them and how to re-create those statement styles for the everyday.

The clean shave

First up, the clean shave. “Don’t forget, opting to maintain a clean shave is as much a statement as any other facial-hair look and suggests men want to appear in control and on top of things, both personally and professionally,” says Rad. If this is your look of choice, the new Braun Multi Grooming Kit is your go-to. It includes a Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor to ensure a faultless clean shave.

“If you’re prone to irritation or ingrown hairs, use it with the shortest guard to trim hair down to an almost invisible length, while preventing irritation to the skin underneath,” adds Rad.

Cool mens facial hair styles

Stubble

Stubble may have had some wilderness years after the Eighties but these days it’s back in favour on the runway and was very much in evidence both inside and outside LFWM. Rad says: “The shadow that stubble creates casts dimension and depth to the face and shows a more creative attitude than the clean-shaven look. It also suggests that you are too busy to worry about things as trivial as maintaining a perfect clean shave.”

And the kit’s nine detachable trimming heads give you the option of trimming facial hair to one of up to 39 lengths, after which you can switch to the precision attachment to tidy up the edges.

“I suggest no more than two or three fingers’ width of hair underneath the jawline and a completely clean neck from the Adam’s apple down,” adds Rad.

“And if your beard connects to the hair behind your ears, you should separate the two or you risk looking a little too ‘effortless’.” Read: caveman.

The beard

Of course, if it’s versatility you want, the beard is a great go-to grooming look and rumours of its demise have been greatly exaggerated if the facial stylings outside LFWM were anything to go by.

But even if you are follicularly blessed and capable of full beard, the decision to sport anything from a grizzly goatee to hipster whiskers is not to be taken lightly. A serious beard takes serious maintenance.

Best looking beards 2016

“So many of the beards you see on today’s men are actually a lot more deliberate than they’d like you to think,” says Rad.

But whatever your reason for growing a beard there is one hard and fast upkeep rule. “Your beard shouldn’t be the same length all over. The sides should be shorter than the chin,” advises Rad.

“This is why, for me, the Braun Multi Grooming Kit is an indispensable new product, as you can use the long beard and hair clipper attachments to shape your beard so that it flatters your face.

“Adding this kit to your bathroom armoury means any style is easily within reach.”

Male power grooming

Braun sent fashion photographer GarçonJon to London Men’s Fashion Week to see what the future of facial hair looked like. In this series of Telegraph features, grooming expert Parsa Rad explains how to get these cutting-edge beard styles – and how to be perfectly groomed in general.

Braun has kept men looking sharp since the 1950s and its range of hi-tech products now includes the Multi Grooming Kit, with eight attachments for total precision, whether you’re clipping your hair, tidying your ear and nose areas, trimming your beard or grooming your body.

Shaping a long beard

Find out more about Braun grooming tools at uk.braun.com