The Best Beard Shaping Techniques
There are many ways to shape your beard but we’re going to cover the best beard shaping techniques to make your facial hair look awesome. The best way to tame your beard is to brush it, keep it healthy, and to trim it right. Let’s start with how to tame your beard with a brush. Styling your beard.
Getting your beard into the perfect shape by brushing
As your beard grows, you might find that it’s growing in different directions. It’s a very common problem, especially when your beard is pretty new. There’s actually no way to avoid this problem. Your beard will always grow in the same way. Typically, a beard will straighten itself out once it gets longer. In fact, it’s best to learn which ways your beard is growing so you can brush with the grain.
So what do we do in the meantime? What we can do is to brush the beard to get closer to that perfect shape. Both the brush/comb and beard balm/wax are the two styling tools we’ll use to keep our facial hair in line. Besides trimming, these two items are going to be the most useful part of your beard shaping techniques.
In order to tame that beard, we’ll have to start by brushing it. To get started, you’ll need the proper tools to take care of the job.
So what’s better, a beard brush or comb?
Choosing the right beard brush or comb
You’ll want a quality beard brush or beard comb to brush it correctly. A good comb should easily glide through a beard that’s taken care of. A comb of bad quality will snag and pull on the beard causing irritation. At least one of these tools is absolutely necessary for beard shaping techniques to keep your beard looking fresh.
An example of a bad beard comb is one of those cheap plastic black combs you find everywhere. The teeth of these combs are sharp and they can pull and snag on our beards which causes irritation. Since these types of combs are made from a mold, there are often inconsistencies that make it difficult to tame the beard. These types of combs create static as well. We’ll have a hard time implementing our beard shaping techniques with this type of brush. There are many better options.
When you start growing a beard I’d recommend a beard brush. A beard brush will work great even if you have a short beard. A beard comb just won’t cut it at the beginning because we don’t have the length we need yet to fully comb the beard.
Benefits of a beard brush
A beard brush will help us style our beard. Pretty simple right? But, it also has a few other benefits as well. When we brush the beard this type of brush will provide some gentle exfoliation to our skin. Pimples and ingrown hairs appear because of a build-up of dead skin cells and oil. Exfoliating with a beard brush will help clean our face and beard of debris like dead skin cells.
The most common type of brush used for beards is a boar bristle beard brush. That type of brush has significant benefits over others. It’s a natural brush. Made from real boars hair it is stronger and more durable. That’s especially necessary for a beard brush because facial hair is more coarse. Boar bristles are great for distributing the oil our faces produce too. Which also makes it fantastic for spreading beard oil or beard balm throughout the beard.
A beard brush is going to let you dry brush too. So before you even hop in the shower you can brush your beard. This is going to help you with cleaning the beard and reducing dandruff before you even step into the shower.
Brushing the beard will help you detangle it and in effect make it softer, smoother, and easier to manage when you’re trying to get those beard shaping techniques going.
Or should I use a beard comb?
A beard comb will be a little bit different than a beard brush. A beard comb is recommended if you have a long beard. You’ll actually have the length to properly brush it out. Main benefits of a beard comb are the portability and the precision.
The most popular type of beard combs are the combs made of wood. Since they are wooden they have anti-static attributes. A lot of them come scented as well. Sandalwood happens to be one of the more popular scents.
Another type is the plastic comb. Many are cautious of plastic combs because of the before mentioned cheap black combs that pull on the beard. However, there is one comb in particular that happens to be plastic and it’s a hand-cut comb. This means that there won’t be any inefficiencies in the molding process. The ends are also rounded off so they don’t tug on the beard. This comb is highly recommended.
Beard combs are fantastic for styling purposes. This is only because of how much more precision and control you’ll have with the comb. A beard comb is especially useful when trimming the beard. You can grab just the right amount of hair for trimming.
They also tend to be smaller and happen to be great for using on the go. You can’t really stuff a beard brush in your back pocket but, a beard comb is awesome for travel.
I’d recommend using both. A beard brush has a lot of benefits for your beard and a beard comb is great for its use in beard shaping techniques.
How do I brush my beard?
Often times men will use the beard brush before the shower. After the shower, you can use a beard comb or brush while the beard is still a little damp. Then you can work in the beard oil and beard balm. After, if you have a beard comb, you can take it with you while you’re out.
Interesting beard styles
With a beard brush or comb, you’ll want to start closest to your face with the roots and brush outward towards the end of your beard. Do this as often as needed to keep your beard looking spiffy. This will keep your beard soft and easier to take care of as well.
Make sure to brush it every day and your beard will have fewer issues. In addition to brushing it, you might want to use beard balm to have an easier time with styling.
Beard shaping techniques with beard balm
Beard balm can be a fantastic tool to help with styling the beard. Although the hold on balm is light, it can go a long way in taming that facial hair. Besides, beard balm has tons of benefits including softening the beard, making it easier to manage, keeping it clean, and moisturizing.
Keeping your beard soft will be majorly helpful for styling it. It’ll be easier to brush, get tangles out, and better to mold into the perfect shape. These benefits will make sure your beard is irritation free and styled perfectly.
What’s the difference between beard balm and beard wax?
Not too much difference between them. Beard wax is just a thicker version of beard balm. It uses more beeswax in its formula to give it more hold. If you have a crazy untamable beard you might want to step up from beard balm to a beard wax to implement your beard shaping techniques.
Mustache wax is stronger than beard wax.
Can I use beard oil to style my beard?
Beard oil is extremely useful when it comes to beard health. It won’t exactly help with styling your beard though. That said, it will help make your beard softer and healthier. Those two things in themselves can help when it comes to brushing your beard and keeping it well groomed.
You’ll want to use beard balm for its light hold. Beard oil and beard balm are actually very similar. They both use many of the same ingredients. Carrier oils and essential oils are used for most beard balms and beard oils.
But, beard balm gets its usefulness for styling from two specific ingredients that aren’t found in beard oil. One is beeswax. Beeswax is the reason beard balm has its hold. The second is butter. Shea and Cocoa butter are the two most commonly found in beard balm. They give beard balm its spreadability. The butter has its own moisturizing attributes as well.
Should I use both beard oil and beard balm?
You can use either or both. It’s up to you what you’d like to use. If you’re having a lot of problems with a dry or itchy beard I’d highly recommend you use both.
Use the beard oil first then the beard balm after.
Keep your beard healthy
Keeping your beard in tip-top shape is going to make it easier to manage and style.
Maintaining a healthy diet, working out, and getting plenty of sleep will aid in achieving a healthier beard. If you find that you can’t get the proper nutrients in your diet, you can always go for a beard supplement. This will make sure you’re getting everything you need to grow a fantastic beard. And of course, having an awesome beard will make it a snap for styling.
Not only do you have to take care of your body but, take care of the beard as well. Don’t use regular shampoo on the beard. You’ll want to use beard shampoo only twice a week to clean it. The rest of the time just rinse it out well with water. This will help to make sure your beard isn’t dried out by harsh chemicals. We need our beards to be smooth and luscious so that beard comb will just glide through.
With a healthy long beard, we can go ahead and choose a style to shoot for. And we can start to implement our beard shaping techniques.
Beard styling tools
Choose a style that’s the opposite of your face shape
Go for a beard style that does the opposite of what your face looks like. We want our beard to balance out our face. So if you have a square face, you can go for a more rounded beard to balance it out.
A longer face will benefit from a shorter beard at the bottom and more width on the sides. This will make sure the face looks less narrow and more full. A long beard will make your face appear even longer.
What is my face type?
Determining your face type has to do with measuring out your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline.
Diamond face type: Cheekbones are the widest part of the face. Jawline and forehead are the shortest in width. Usually, the chin is more pointed as well.
A diamond face type has wide cheekbones so to minimize that you can keep the sideburns very thin and the bottom of the beard more full. Less hair on the chin will work well too. This way we’re making the jawline seem wider and making the chin seem less pointy.
Triangular face type: Jawline is the wides part of the face, cheekbones are second largest, the forehead is smallest.
A triangular face will benefit most from a shorter beard. The diamond face wants thin sideburns since the cheeks are large. A triangular face wants a thin beard because the jawline is large.
Oval face type: A longer face length rounded at the top and bottom.
The oval face type can wear any beard type well and there isn’t necessarily a specific shape that will benefit it. Experiment and try out different styles to see what works best for you.
Oblong face type: a longer face type with equal widths on cheeks, jawline, and forehead.
The oblong face type works best with wider sideburns and a shorter beard on the bottom. It’ll make the face seem less long. We’re making your face seem more wide to balance out the length.
Square face type: The width of each section of the face is more or less equal with a flat jawline.
Square face types benefit from a longer more narrow beard on the bottom. A narrow beard at the bottom will add a little length to the face and give the jawline a less harsh angle.
Round face type: Similar to the oval face but the round face type isn’t as long.
Just like the square face type a round face will work well with a long beard. Keep the sideburns short too.
Do I have to choose a style based on my face type?
No, these recommendations are just that. You can pull off any style you’d like. The descriptions of those face types make them seem much more exaggerated. And while it’s true those face types will benefit from the beard styles I listed, it’s your beard and you should do what you want with it. Experimentation is key though. Pick a style you’d like to go for and jump into it.
Beard shaping techniques: Trimming the beard
It’s no secret that trimming is going to be a big deal when it comes to styling the beard. You’ll want to invest in a quality beard trimmer to get the job done right. Make sure that as you trim, you brush your beard back into place. We don’t want to make any mistakes.
There will always be a few rogue hairs that need to be taken out as well. For the mustache, some scissors will do wonders and a good pair of tweezers will be invaluable for those one-off hairs that stick out.
When should I trim or how often?
If you’ve just started to grow a beard you should wait as long as possible. It may be difficult to hit the 2-month mark but, a little over a month is okay too. It’s important to see how your beard is going to grow in before you think about trimming it up. Some places may appear patchy while you’re just starting so it’s important to give your beard time. Also, during this time you’ll need to resist the itchy beard.
Following this styling guide, you shouldn’t have too many problems with itchiness. Beard shampoo 1-2 times a week, beard oil and beard balm every day, keeping healthy, and brushing your beard. All of these things will help reduce itchiness.
After you’ve reached the length your happy with it just comes down to personal preference. You’ll often only need to touch up the neckline, the cheeks, and those rogue hairs sticking out. I would caution against trimming every day though. It can be easy to get carried away. Once every other week is great but, depending on your beard needs you might want to do it more often.
Handsome beard style
If you’re going for something like a beard fade, those take constant upkeep to maintain. It’s one of the more advanced beard shaping techniques.
How do I trim my beard?
The trimmer you have is actually going to be doing most of the work. Once you’ve gotten to the length of beard your happy with, you won’t need to take much off. You’ll want to use a longer guard on your trimmer. To start you should probably use the longest guard and then test each setting moving down until you’re happy with the length.
Make sure your beard is dry and Brush it out before you start trimming. This will make sure your beard is in place just how you want it. A wet beard appears longer and can really mess you up when you go to trim.
Take your trimmer and make sure your guard is flat against your face. If you trim it at an angle you can easily take off way more facial hair than you want. Keep it flat against the face and bring it from your cheek down to the jawline.
To the opposite effect with a large angle you can also trim less depending on how you do it. For an even trim, we’ll want to keep it flat. It will make sure the length is uniform.
Beard shaping techniques for the mustache
Once again make sure your mustache is dry and brushed into place. The rest is going to depend on what you’re doing with your mustache.
If you’re keeping it short, you’ll probably have an easy time just trimming with clippers right above the lips. You’ll just want to trim enough so it doesn’t go into your mouth when you’re eating.
For a longer mustache you won’t use a trimmer and instead, you’ll want to use mustache trimming scissors. Trim a very small amount at a time. For the part in the middle of your mustache, you’ll want to trim an upside down V shape just to make it a little more prominent. It’s very important that you only trim a small amount. This can destroy your mustache if you do it incorrectly.
The ends of the mustache should be tapered. We do not want to cut off chunks. We’re just reinforcing the shape that’s already there by taking off the hairs that stick out. Basically cut very minimally. Almost like one hair at a time.
If you have a dark beard and a dark mustache a little trick you can use is to put a white piece of paper between the mustache and beard to see it more clearly.
Beard shaping techniques for the neckline and cheekline
The easiest way to trim a neckline is to start trimming slightly above the Adam’s apple and bring it around to the back of the ears. One of the best beard shaping techniques you can use to figure out where to trim is to identify the spot where your neck becomes parallel to the floor rather than perpendicular.
Be careful not to trim right on the jawline. We want it to be slightly lower. It looks very strange when you trim it right on the jawline. Trust me, it’s not good.
If you’re having trouble with that neckline, there’s a special tool you can use to make it easier to trim.
For the cheek line just like with the mustache, we want to reinforce the natural cheek line we have. So we’ll only trim the hairs that don’t fall on that line.
Some beard will look great with a harsh cheek line that looks finely maintained but, for most full-grown beards I personally prefer to go with a natural look.
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