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beard care and grooming

Add some new zing to your look and your beard for spring

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It’s time for spring — north of the equator, that is — and it brings longer days, warmer weather, and maybe a new beard style! One of the great things about having a beard is the ability to change it up whenever you like. Maybe you’ve kept your face nice and toasty with a big beard all winter but are now ready to trim it down or switch to a different style for a lighter look. Below, we’ve come up with a list of ways in which you can do a little spring cleaning to freshen up your facial hair style as well as other aspects of your grooming program.

Consider new beard ideas for spring

If you’re the kind of man who likes to keep his beard the same all year long, that’s great!  We salute you.  However, springtime represents a time for renewal and fresh starts.  Changing up your beard can transform you with a fresh new look. So if you’re game for a beard change, there’s no time like the present.

While we always strongly advocate for the full beard for those who are capable of growing the full beard, you can still change up your full beard while keeping your full beard.  If your full beard is still wild and woolly from the winter growth season, lightening it up with a trim down to a shorter length can give you a sharp new look for spring.

beard for spring image 2
Trimming your full beard short can give you a lighter feeling and a sharp new look for spring.

If you feel like making an even bigger change to your beard, consider switching to another style such as a goatee and mustache combo. Or go for the similar yet bolder extended goatee.   Maybe now would be a good time to have fun with a temporary switch to the chin curtain.  Check out our beard style guide and select a style that you’d like to try.  Or be creative and design your own unique beard style.

Develop a skincare routine

A great beard needs a solid foundation. And a healthy beard comes from healthy skin. Harsh winter weather may have left your skin feeling dry and flaky, which does not provide the greatest grounds for growing and maintaining facial hair. The good news is that this can be quickly corrected with the proper skincare routine. The first step is determining your skin type. The American Academy of Dermatology lists skin types as follows:

  1. Sensitive skin may sting or burn after product use
  2. Normal skin is clear and not sensitive
  3. Dry skin is flaky, itchy or rough
  4. Oily skin is shiny and greasy
  5. Combination skin is dry in some areas and oily in others

Knowing your skin type will give you a better idea of which products you should use. Always use skin care products that are gentle on your skin that will maintain your face and scalp as clean and healthy places for hair to grow.  If you are in doubt about your skin type and which products would be best for you, it’s a good idea to check with a medical professional.

Maintain your mane

In addition to a facial hair change-up, many men welcome the warmer weather with a new hairstyle. Whether you opt for a shorter cut or a new hairstyle altogether, there are plenty of products out there to assist you in maintaining the hair on your head. Like skin, hair types vary depending on the individual and this determines factors such as how often you should wash your hair and which products you should use. For some men, growing hair on the face comes much easier than growing hair on the top of the head. If you’re in this boat, there’s no need to worry! Something as simple as switching up your hairstyle is a quick fix and will give you the confidence you need to look and feel your best. Following a diet full of foods that are rich in nutrients and vitamins is a great way to support healthy hair growth as well.

Invest in the proper tools

You can do everything right when it comes to the beard-growing process, but if you don’t have the proper tools to maintain your beard, you won’t look your best. Investing in a quality beard trimmer is key to keeping your facial hair looking its best at all times. While there are plenty of beard trimmers on the market from which to choose, when selecting a beard trimmer you should shop around and make your purchase based on the features that will best suit you and your facial hair.

The same goes for choosing a proper razor. If your new beard style is one that means you’ll be doing a lot of shaving, like with the goatee or chin curtain, you’ll need a quality razor. If you don’t want to bother with getting razors at the store, you might consider getting razors via subscription. Many companies now offer a basic plan in which you can tailor products and tools to fit your needs. This allows you to try out their products and then decide what’s best based on your shaving needs.

Overall, it’s pretty easy to create your new look for spring. Shedding your cold-weather style for a fresh look will leave you looking and feeling great just in time for the new season.

beards, growing a beard

don’t fear the beard when it is your own

27 Comments

Steven, bearded adventurer

Many of the beard-growing mistakes that I see again and again may often be blamed on some extent to fear, anxiety, and a lack of confidence.  Don’t fear the full beard when it’s yours.  If you’re going to grow a full beard, go all in.  Otherwise, why bother?  You’re growing a full beard, for crying out loud.  Show the world that you aren’t afraid to do it right.

For so many men, growing a beard is such a huge stretch out of their comfort zones that they are afraid to embrace the experience fully.  They timidly grow out a full beard — and deserve commendation for that — but then stunt its growth or mutilate its shape out of some sort of fear that they’re going too far.  For some, letting the beard grow in fully will surely make them look just like ZZ Top or Rip Van Winkle.  We surely can’t have that now, can we?  Except, of course, letting a beard grow out a little beyond the stubble stage is hardly the equivalent of a ZZ Top beard.

Some of the most common beard-growing mistakes for a full beard are:

These errors do not plague new beard growers exclusively.  Plenty of veteran beard growers commit these mistakes all the time, too.  Let’s take a look at each one.

Cheek line

What’s the fear?  “If I don’t keep this cheek line down way low, I’ll look just like a wolf man.”

What’s the result? All too often, the result is a butchered beard that looks stifled and unnatural.

What to do?  Look at it this way.  Give your natural cheek line a fair chance.  And don’t be afraid to do so.  Some fear that their natural cheek line reaches all the way up to their eyes.  Usually, this is an exaggerated perception.  If your natural cheek line really is too high and you really do look exactly like a wolf man, then go ahead and lower the cheek line.  But don’t go too far.  If your natural cheek line is not truly that of a wolf man, but is a bit ragged and you’d prefer a neater line, go ahead and define a straighter cheek line.  Just take off what’s needed to define a neater line.  Don’t go too far!

Neck line

What’s the fear? “I’d better define the neck line way up high, otherwise this beard would be too big.  Besides, I’ve seen plenty of other guys with neck lines up high and they must know what they are doing.”

What’s the result?  A neck line that’s too high makes a full beard look truncated, unnatural, unflattering, and even “clown-like”.

What to do?  Think about this.  The idea of growing a full beard is to grow the full beard.  Why should the underside of the chin be clean shaven?  Some even have defined the neck line to be above the jaw.  That’s not a full beard.  It’s a full beard with the bottom part missing.  Don’t do this!  Instead, follow the guidelines for designing a neck line for your full beard.

Not permitted to fully grow

What’s the fear? “My beard is already an eighth of an inch (3.175 mm) long.  People will think that I’m ZZ Top!  This has gone too far.  I’d better trim it down.”

What’s the result?  Fear of letting your beard fully grow out results in essentially a stubble beard, or  maybe just slightly beyond the stubble stage.  That is pretty much just an extended unshaven look.  To see what your beard really looks like, let it keep growing.  If you look with an objective eye, rather than having a knee-jerk reaction based on lack of confidence, you can tell when it’s approaching the length limit for what you consider to be acceptable for your situation.  Even then, you might be safe in going longer.  The point is that too many are growing about an eighth of an inch (3.175 mm) and thinking that they’ve grown a real beard.  Well, keep growing and you’ll eventually see what a real beard can be.

What if I really want a low cheek line, high neck line, stubble beard?

If that’s what you really want, go for it.  Just make sure that it is what you really want and it’s not your fears calling the shots.

I am afraid that a fully-grown real beard with proper cheek and neck lines is too extreme and would not look professional.

A properly cultivated and well-groomed beard can always give a professional look. It can even enhance one’s professional appearance.  Just do it right.  Be prepared for uninformed comments.  That is, be prepared to brush them aside.  People feel compelled to comment and usually just say something without thinking.  Don’t worry about that.  Keep growing.  Grow a proper full beard.  Don’t give into your fears and grow a butchered, stunted beard.  Which one looks better and more professional?  You decide.

Steven, bearded adventurer
Steven, bearded adventurer
Steven, bearded adventurer
Steven, bearded adventurer
Steven, bearded adventurer

growing a beard

you have to WANT the beard

2 Comments

Christopher

All too often I hear of guys who start growing a beard, get well on their way, and then suddenly get cold feet and shave it off in a moment of insecurity.  Many report that they’ve gone through this routine multiple times.  Why?

To avoid this unfortunate fate for the budding new beard, simply commit to sticking with the beard-growing process.  Set a target date that gives your new beard growth a decent chance to grow in and for you to become accustomed to it.  And make a commitment not to shave it under any circumstance (barring some extreme unexpected situation) before that date.

You have to WANT the beard.  You have to want it enough to commit to growing it properly.  Otherwise, you may be vulnerable to a temporary loss of confidence, then chicken out and shave it off.  Don’t let it happen again!