When thinking about a change in your appearance, beards may be your answer. It's cheaper than overhauling your wardrobe, for starters. Plus, safer than cutting and styling hair on yourself--especially if you're not skilled in the art! Now, the magic resides in how long will you let your trusty beard grow?
Entering the bearded journey can be daunting, but it's important to first learn how long your beard should be. Whether you have robust and abundant bristles or struggle with even just one strand of hair on your chinny-chin-chin, this is the length that will set you up for success.
So, for better understanding, we will break it up to 4 different sizes/styles that you can consider. You might have some experience with more than one of these, so hopefully you can compare the pros and cons. Nevertheless, we want to give you some things to think about and make you feel a little adventurous on trying styles that are unknown territory for you.
What size to wear? That is the question…
Stubble Look
Stubble is that in-between length of facial hair between bald and a full beard. It can be anything from days to weeks depending on how fast your hairs grow, but stubble differs from the longer short beard because it doesn't come away as much when you scratch yourself or put pressure on your face like with other types of facial hair.
This may be the best option if you have a larger, rounder face. You can give more angles to your features by sharpening up certain lines around your cheeks and making them stand out. Think of it as make-up for men! If not though, that is cool too.
Maintaining this look clean and healthy is fairly easy. U se a trimmer on anything from 1-3mm. Trimming twice per week will help maintain your beard without damaging it or giving yourself ingrown hairs that could lead to pimples or breakouts. Always exfoliate before shaving so hair does not stick as much when cutting with the razor blade, then afterwards moisturize - either during using an electric shaver or after manually trimming with scissors.
Short Beard
Don’t be fooled by this look. Although it seems not much is needed, know that this beard isn't for everyone. You'll have the most success if your facial hair comes in fully, but don't give up hope if it doesn’t right away; as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were any of these beard styles. If you want to grow this kind of beard, all it takes is about five days! This will work best for people with even beards. If you have patchy facial hair, this will only highlight the gaps in your face-hair growth and make an uneven beard appear that way too.
Trimming this beard is easy, you'll need a trimmer set at 3-5mm. If the growth on your face is thicker than an inch or so, go shorter with that area to keep it even looking. Go ahead and use any areas where hair hangs over the top lip as well for perfection!
Remember: Perfect upkeep of this facial feature takes care of exfoliation and moisturizing too!
Tailored Look
This is the full-facial coverage style, that is kept neat and well-trimmed. This look is for someone somewhat of an experienced Bearded man. It usually requires from two to four weeks of growth. A tailored beard is the perfect choice for people who work in a sophisticated environment. It's an elegant look that stays neat and even all over, which works great if you want to emphasize your cheekbones or strong jawline. Conversely, if you're looking to make your small chin appear fuller or a slim-down rounder face then this style would be ideal as well.
The key to keeping this beard polished is trimming every three or four days, but you will want to take the hair down slightly shorter on areas with fuller growth and rinse off any excess hairs in between cuts with water and smooth out all stray hairs using a small amount of styling paste or balm afterwards for that perfect look.
Unruly Mane
A long beard is one of those things that pretty much have a life of their own and the look becomes more 3D than anything else. It can be rough, time-consuming work to maintain that longer beard, but there are plenty who tangle with this commitment because they love the rugged feeling as well as being able to express themselves through facial hair even if just for a while.
A longer beard works well for those with good facial hair growth and like to experiment. You can take advantage of this look by using the longer hairs to create or retain a proportional face, like elongating your chin if it's too small; and filling out thin faces or hiding chubby cheeks by growing more on each side of them.
Additional Bearded Look Advice
Your beard will take on a life of its own as you groom and shape the luscious facial hair. Be sure to keep up with your routine by shampooing at least every few days or else, that dirty feeling might just be coming from inside! Condition those roots for smoother locks, so they grow healthy and shiny while keeping moisture in place. Help retain the natural shine with regular applications of specially formulated Beard Oil which is designed to condition the skin beneath.
For a sharp and clean look, take care of the strays with styling paste that will make sure your beard is in place. Folks who want to keep up their beard styled should go for regular visits to the barber, at least twice every month so they can maintain an attractive cheek line as well.