Have you recently considered growing out your beard but you don’t know where to begin or even how to style it? There are many different types of beards, each of which can be flattering to a particular face shape. If you’re looking for a new beard style, then this guide will walk you through the different types, shapes, and style options available.
There are many different types of beards to choose from, including:
- Stubbly
- Scruffy
- Goatee
- Chinstrap
- Corporate
- Hollywood
- Full
- Short
- Van Dyke
And more. But choosing the right type of beard will be important, in order to achieve the look you’re going for. You should choose a beard style based on how well you can grow a beard. As an example, if you struggle with patchy beard growth, then a chinstrap style beard may be a better option. Of course, regardless of which type of beard you choose, learning how to groom it and maintain it will be the key to healthy beard growth and a well-groomed look.
Table of Contents
Finding Your Style
Here, you’ll find a list of the different styles of beards to choose from, what type of face shape each style will flatter, who should consider them, and how you can groom it yourself. From full and long to thin or short, there are a variety of beard styles to choose from. There are so many great and unique beards options available, that you may want switch up your style from time to time.
Stubbly Beard
A stubbly beard is very easy to grow. In fact, you can use the best stubble trimmer for men, such as the Conair Man i-Stubble Ultimate Flexhead Trimmer, and easily keep your beard looking well-groomed. This is a very short style that any guy can wear and grow because it’s basically a look that says you haven’t shaved for a few days. Regardless, this style is trimmed very close to the skin. Which is why you’ll need to use a dedicated stubble trimmer to maintain it.
The Scruff Look
If you want to achieve a scruffy looking beard, simply allow your facial hair to grow for a couple of weeks, then use a trimmer set to low in order to keep the facial hair at a one-inch length. For this type of beard, you can allow everything to grow including the hair on your cheeks and neck, or, you can choose to shape and trim the stubble in these areas for a well-manicured look.
Thicker 5 O’clock Shadow
While it’s not quite yet a full beard, this type of heavy stubble only takes around a week to grow. Currently, it’s one of the most popular beard styles for men. The beard should be no more than 4 millimeters long and it’s perfect for guys who are unable to grow full beards without patches.
This type of beard is very easy to maintain if you have a powerful trimmer. Just like with the heavy scruff look, you can allow the hair on your cheeks and neck to grow in or you can opt for a clean-shaven look.
Close-Shaved Corporate
If you’re one of those men who can grow a full beard successfully, then a close shaved corporate beard is a great option. This style gets its name from the well-trimmed looks that’s suitable for everyday wear at the office. It’s perfect for the professional who wants to have a thicker beard and someone who doesn’t mind carefully grooming and trimming their beard every few days. This is definitely a high-maintenance look.
If you’re starting from scratch, then you can expect this type of beard to take a couple of months to grow, in order to achieve the ideal look. During this time, you’ll need to carefully maintain it by trimming the neck, cheeks, and any long hair. Once the beard has grown to the right length, you’ll need to use beard care products to achieve a clean, fresh look. Proper shaving and crisp lines are required.
Standard Short Beard
A standard short beard basically encompasses a variety of different styles of beards, however, it’s typically described as one that’s closely trimmed to the face and no more than an inch to 1 and 1/2 inches long. The scruffy beard and a corporate beard or both types of trendy short beard styles. Any beard longer than 1 and 1/2 inches in length is considered a full beard.
The Long Beard
Typical long beard styles include the biker look, and the lumberjack, both of which involve growing hair at the bottom of your face for a few months until it reaches the Adam’s apple and beyond. There are many ways these days to style and grow a long beard. The trick to owning this look will involve keeping the beard healthy, soft, smooth, and clean. This will mean conditioning, shampooing, and washing the beard regularly, as well as using balms and oils to keep the hair hydrated and looking well-groomed. As it continues to grow longer and thicker, you’ll need to use a type of boar bristle brush to maintain this style and keep the beard looking healthy.
Full
A typical full beard style, such as the lumberjack, is the epitome of manliness. A full beard will grow all over the face, including the cheeks and neck and will come in both long and short lengths. This type of beard offers limitless shaping and styling options, making it one of the most versatile. In order to achieve a full and thick beard, you’ll have to stop shaving for at least six weeks. However, during this time, you can still groom and trim your beard to ensure that all parts of the beard grow in evenly.
Goatee
This style involves shaping facial hair from the chin up to the corners of the mouth. This type of beard is very versatile because it can be trimmed thin or thick, depending on how the wearer’s facial hair grows. If you’re who is prone to thin patchy facial hair, then a goatee can work well. Both long and short goatee styles look good, so you can choose to let it grow out, or keep it nice and tightly trimmed against your face.
Circle
This style of beard is a variation of the goatee, which doesn’t have a mustache. This type of beard involves connecting and trimming the goatee and mustache to form a circle around the mouth. This beard style is very versatile, allowing you to experiment with different styles, shapes, and lengths.
Van Dyke
This beard is very closely related to both the goatee and circle beard. It features hair on the chin that comes to a point and a mustache. Because the mustache is not connected to the beard, it can be shaped into a handlebar mustache. This is probably one of the oldest and coolest facial hair styles. You’ve probably seen many hipsters and movie stars rocking this look.
Hollywood Style
This style is very cool chic, and modern. It’s also worn by many celebrities these days. If you have very high cheekbones, then you’ll want to show them off with this style. This beard consists of only three months of facial hair growth and will require you to allow the beard to grow out all over, then completely shave The sideburns. This type of beard focuses on the facial hair along the jawline, mouth, and chin. However, it will not work well with all face shape types especially round or oval shapes.
Chinstrap
This type of beard consists of facial hair that connects the sideburns to the thin strip of facial hair at the chin. This type of beard style includes a soul patch or mustache. Basically, when this type of beard is trimmed and groomed properly it will look very similar to a strap that will go all the way around the jawline and down under the chin. The strip can be thin or thick, depending on how much hair you have. Basically, this style is a good look for men who have trouble growing a full beard.
Ducktail
Essentially, this is a perfect blend of rebellious meets classy. The style of beard begins on the cheeks coming down to a point approximately 3 inches below the chin. You can have this style with cheeks that are clean-shaven, or you can choose to grow your facial hair out along the cheeks, jaw, and neck, just as long as you keep it well-groomed and trimmed. This is a great style for a full to medium-length beard. It tends to work well for people who have round faces or rugged features.
Handlebar Mustache
In the past, this type of mustache was the butt of many jokes and was typically associated with old men. These days, many hipsters have adopted this facial hair style. You can wear this type of mustache with a full beard, Van Dyke, circle beard, or goatee. To achieve the style, all you have to do is allow your mustache to grow out long enough while keeping the lip area nice and trimmed. Then, you’ll use mustache wax to twist up the ends and hold it in place. The best thing about wax is that it allows you to re-sculpt your mustache and beard throughout the day.
Yeard
This type of beard is the result of allowing a beard to grow out for a full month without trimming or styling it. While you’ll definitely want to get rid of the flyaways and strays, the style requires uninterrupted growth, which means you should allow it to grow for a year or more to achieve the perfect length. Do beards grow faster when you shave? No. As you allow this to beard to grow, you can achieve impressive results by maintaining and properly caring for it. This means you’ll need to use a shampoo that is specially formulated for beards, in addition to a conditioner, which will keep the beard nice and hydrated. A good shampoo will work to remove built-up grime, dirt, and dead skin cells.
It will also help to kill bacteria, which can lead to skin infections and ingrown hairs. Moisturizing the beard will keep their hair soft and smooth and promotes growth. To style it, all you need is use is a comb and some beard oil. Combing out your beard with beard oil will also help to hydrate the skin underneath, get rid of dandruff, maximize growth, and prevent itchiness.
Grooming Products
Choosing the right grooming products will be the key to ensuring your beard looks well-maintained and groomed at all times. Of course, this will also depend on the type of look you’re going for. However, regardless of whether you have a long scruffy-looking beard, a short corporate beard, or chinstrap, you’ll need to use the right products to properly take care of it and promote ongoing growth and healthy skin. High-quality products will provide style, growth, manageability, and moisture.
Most of these products are also very affordable. Your options include shampoos, balms, conditioners, oils, and creams. Keep in mind that you also need to purchase a brush or comb in order to thoroughly work these products through your beard and moisturize your skin.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many different types of beards to choose from. The type that’s right for you should be based on how your beard grows in, whether or not it’s full, thick, or patchy, and what type of maintenance you’re willing to do. If you’re a low maintenance kind of guy, then go for a full scruffy look. Those who shave often will appreciate a beard that’s short, with clean lines and a well-manicured look. Ultimately, the choice is yours, however, the beard you choose should be one that flatters your face and can easily be styled.
