Top 3 Tips for Short Beard Styles

When it comes to shorter beard styles, there are a couple rules you should follow in order to optimize your look and appear your best at all times. Short beards can be a versatile, low maintenance option for those of us who don’t love grooming or work in a more professional industry, but there are a few things you can pay attention to on an ongoing basis in order to keep things sharp. Eric's no stranger to a short beard, so he's got some expert tips on making sure your short beard is always at its best.

Check Your Neck Line

The most common mistake that men make with shorter beards is trimming the neckline too high. They take the beard up to their chin, but what they should be doing is trimming it to about a finger's width above the Adam’s Apple.

Shaving up to the chin draws attention to the underside of your neck. Everyone has extra fat there to protect your throat, but some have more than others and some men are more comfortable with it than the rest of us. If the underside of your neck is an area of your face you don't want to showcase, stick to the "Finger Width Above the Adam's Apple" rule. 

Additionally, make sure it's symmetrical! If you're having trouble keeping your neckline symmetrical, don't be afraid to head to your barber and have them get you started. Once you have a symmetrical neckline, it's a lot easier to shave and trim right up to the line and leave it be. If you ever go too far or need help getting it symmetrical again, just make another visit. 

Better Beard Care

You can maintain your beard at only a couple weeks growth with good maintenance practices and products. You don’t need to shave it every couple weeks to keep it short - you can use your trimmers or invest more time with your barber to keep this look alive!

Having a short beard doesn’t mean that you don’t have to take care of it, though. You should still keep your skin and hair happy with products designed for your beard and skin. Beardbrand’s Beard Oil and Utility Balm are specifically designed with both your beard and skin in mind, making them awesome for everyday use.

You probably only need a couple drops of oil or a finger of utility balm every day to keep your beard and face happy - check out our article on What is Beard Oil and How is it Applied to learn more, and this article on the different benefits of Beard Oil vs. Utility Balm.

These products help soften the hairs to keep them less itchy. Whenever a hair is cut, it’s left as a “spear” shape, or pointed shape, that causes itchiness when it gets caught in the folds and texture of your skin. Using oil and balm helps soften those hairs and keeps your skin hydrated as you groom.

Remember - not all products are created equal! Many of the products you see on the market are out to make a quick buck on you. We helped create an industry that never existed before, so trust us when we say that some of these other products do not have your skin and beard’s best interest in mind (or function).

Beardbrand's products are made with as many naturally derived ingredients as possible without the use of silicone, parabens, or sulfates like some other outfits out there. If you ever have any questions about that, reach out to us at support@beardbrand.com.

A Note about Biotin

Biotin is a supplement that helps promote healthy hair growth. Biotin-containing supplements will help your beard grow a bit faster when paired with regular exercise, a solid diet, and regular grooming practices. This will help some beardsmen boost their regular growth a bit to fill in your short beard more quickly. Check out our How Long Does it Take to Grow a Beard? blog for further discussion on Biotin.

The Details

The details are super important with a short beard. This means keeping the edges in check, clipping away stray hairs, and tending to the rest of your grooming on a regular basis. In the case of a large beard, a lot of the attention is drawn to the length and central growth of the beard. When you have a short beard, eyes may wander around your face and start to notice things - like unsymmetrical beard lines, for example.

Take care of the stray hairs around your face - eyebrows, sideburn edges, ears - having a short beard will draw more concerted attention to these areas. Here are some other areas of your face that grow hair:

• Middle of your eyebrows
• Ears (entrance to the canal, lobes, and outer ear)
• Nostrils
• Sides of your neck

If you're self-conscious of these hairs growing in, it just takes an extra moment with an unguarded trimmer to shave these down. That being said - if you like your look with these areas of growth, go for it! Just know that a shorter beard renders these areas more noticeable. 

You also have tons of options with the STYLE of your short beard! You can vary the length and shape of the mustache, the shape of your sideburns, and the shape of the beard itself. Eric is currently rocking the Beardstache look, which features a thick impressive mustache and a short beard around the rest of the face. There are a couple other options to explore, too:

The illustration in the shot above is called the "Scruffy Goat". A prominent goatee (and often mustache) are showcased by taking the rest of your beard and sideburns down to a very short length (think a "3" or "4" on the clipper guard). 

There are lots of variations of the Scruffy Goat - try having a walrus 'stache with a medium length goatee and short scruff!

The "Scruffburns" indicated above are a classic look that rose in popularity in the 60s and 70s. They're often associated with blue-collar backgrounds and old school facial hair - they're also rare enough that they'll garner some awesome attention when worn with confidence. 

Play with the length, too! With your trimmers, try giving your chin area a 3 or 4 guard trim, a 2 up the sideburns, and a 1 where the sideburns finish. Take a look:

If your mustache is denser than the rest of your beard, you may want to trim it shorter than the rest of your beard if you’re going for a uniform look.

MYTH - Bigger Beards Are Better

Lots of dudes think that the bigger the beard, the more masculine you are. The truth? The second a single hair exits a follicle on your face, you’ve got facial hair. The length and density of your beard do not dictate your manhood. Don’t let keyboard warriors get you down - they’re full of crap! Rock the facial hair you want and own it with confidence.

Oftentimes men with longer, denser beards are discouraged from changing and trying new styles like a shorter beard. Don’t let other beardsmen tell you what to do with your beard! If you want to try a new look, just try a new look. Only you spend 100% of your time with yourself. The guy that’s looking back at you in the mirror every morning has to be a guy that likes his look. There are always going to be haters, but ultimately, you just have to do what you want to do.

Further Reading

Five Realities of Patchy Beards

Be proud of your beard and work with what you have! Learn to love your beard, patches and all.

The Ultimate Guide to Mustache Styles

The much-maligned mustache has found itself relevant again thanks in part to Movember and the cyclical nature of facial hair trends. Look, we love beards at Beardbrand, but the mustache is damn cool. There’s always been a spirit of rebellion behind it.

Goatee Styles You Can Get Away With Wearing

Style magazines might tell you that the goatee is a bad look, but we think there are still ways to make it look awesome. So, we pulled together some tips on how to wear a goatee in the 2020s—and get away with it.