Men's haircut and beard styles. How to Shave off your Beard in 6 Steps, The Idle Man

While we’re all aware that a lustrous beard has captured the men’s grooming zeitgeist of the past few years, we’ve recently seen a shift towards tidier styles with gents now opting for a clean-shaven look in favour of the previous Norse-god inspired vision of how a man should look. Time for a change? Wondering how to shave off a beard? Read on for more. How to shave beard.

How to Shave Off a Beard

#1: Plan

As they say, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. When it comes to getting rid of your beard, preparation is key. There are a number of pore-related pitfalls that you could fall prey to if you fail to adequately prepare yourself for a long-overdue clean shave. Best way to avoid trouble? Stock up on the necessary products beforehand.

Products You Might Need:

Tinted Moisturiser: If you’ve had that magnificent mane of facial hair for quite a while, the chances are that the skin underneath it will be a little lighter than that of the rest of your face.

After-Shave Moisturiser / Balm: Shaving off such a substantial amount of hair will almost certainly result in at least some irritation. A quality dedicated post-shave moisturiser or blam will help get things back to their best – fast.

Exfoliator: Your under-beard skin probably hasn’t seen a good scrub in quite some time – a good exfoliant can help with ingrown hairs, pimples and redness by removing any dead or tired skin.

#2: Trim Your Beard

Although you can dive straight in and shave your beard clean off, doing so will likely take tediously long and tear your skin apart in the process. So before you begin to shear those strands of hair off of your face, it’s best to trim your beard down as closely as possible.

Different goatee shapes

The easiest way to do this? Trim with a sideburn trimmer, electric razor, or a pair of scissors. No need to be particular in the way you go about this – simply remove as much as you can.

#3: Prepare Your Beard

There are a wide variety of grooming products that you can use to soften up your stubble for an easier shave such as a decent pre-shave oil or beard moisturiser. Essentially, pre-shave oil works by providing some much-needed moisture to your facial hair and skin, making the pores beneath your skin nice and supple and as such minimising any cuts or nicks.

Alternatively, you can steam your face with a warm towel for a more authentic experience used by pros when cut throat shaving. To do this simply place a hand towel into a clean bowl, fill and boil your kettle and pour the hot water over the towel (making sure that all of it is covered) and then let it stand for a few minutes.

Once the water has cooled down a little bit, wring out the towel and then just sit on the sofa or lie down for a few minutes to let the steam soften up your stubble and prepare your pores for the ordeal ahead.

#4: Apply Shaving Product

Now that your stubble is softened and your skin is ready to be revealed; you need to make sure that your skin is safeguarded against any irritation.

Beard styles full

Simply lather up some shaving cream (or shaving product of choice) with either your hands or a high-quality shaving brush, such as Murdoch’s Hemmingway Badger Brush; apply to your beard and neck and you’re ready to go!

#5: Shave

So, how do you shave? You’ve hacked your bushy beard down to a more manageable size you and given your skin adequate preparation, you can now actually shave off the remnants of your manly mane.

Depending on the length and thickness of your beard, you may have to shave a few times to get a truly close, clean shave. To start with, the best way to shave is going with the grain with a sharp razor blade, making sure to hold the skin that you’re shaving taught with your free hand to minimise irritation.

If you’re still looking a bit stubbly afterwards you can shave across the grain, or even against it in some areas. But remember to rinse your face with a little warm water and re-apply the necessary pre-shave products before you do.

#6: Moisturise

Easily the most important step in any shaving routine; shaving depletes the skin of a lot of moisture, which will almost certainly leave your skin feeling tight and itchy after you’ve shaved off your formerly burly bristles.

Types of goatees beards

After you’ve finished excising the remains of your masculine mane, make sure to rinse your face and neck with plenty of cold water to close up those now parched pores. Then gently pat your face dry with a towel before applying a little bit of aftershave balm or gel (or a high-quality moisturiser) to ensure that you don’t suffer from any itchy razor burn.

How to Shave off Your Beard

Before starting, be sure to prepare any products you may need before, during and after removing your beard. When you’re ready to begin, start by trimming your beard, then soften the hairs with products or a hot towel. You’re now ready to apply your choice of shaving product and get shaving! Once done, apply a post shave balm or moisturiser and you’re all set!

On That Note

Still not sure whether to go for the clean shaven or beard look? Looking at the Autumn/Winter 2017 menswear catwalks, it’s safe to say that the days of beards and man-buns are well and truly over. So whether it’s just been a phase or you’ve been repping a beard for years now – perhaps it’s time to go for a cleaner look?