Keeping that beard of yours looking great is something we all love to do. Seeing the results of your grooming routine is amazing. The biggest thing in your mind should of course be your beard style.
There’s no point in haphazardly chopping away at different areas every time. You need to keep your beard style at the front of your mind every time you break out the clippers.
A few simple things to keep in mind will transform your routine and leave you with instantly recognizable results. If you need to learn more or want to see where your grooming regime is lacking, we have you covered. We will go through the most straight-forward way to keep all bases covered.
When’s the best time to trim?
Undoubtedly the best time is right after your shower and grooming. The hot water and steam open up your pores and softens the hair – making shaving easier.
Your beard can collect a lot of dust, grime and other bits throughout the day. Before you get to cutting, first shampoo and condition your beard. Then get combing that hair.
Comb against the grain to get the whiskers to stand up, this makes it easier to trim with scissors. Carefully work your way up the sides of your beard while paying close attention to the symmetry of your beard.
Doing this not only helps keep your mane dirt-free, but also makes the cutting and trimming easier.
A warm damp towel and a thorough comb through can work in a pinch if you need a top-up.
Use the Right tools
A baseball You wouldn’t try to hammer in a screw, and you shouldn’t hack away at your beard with the kitchen scissors or that old razor at the back of the medicine cabinet.
Ideally you want to have a set of scissors, trimmers and a manual razor all for your luscious beard.
In addition to being hygienic, it’s great to have trimmers and clippers that are designed for beards. You can easily cut to different lengths and create a nice fade to keep your beard exactly how you want it.
Trim your neckline
That’s the bit under your chin, the part so many of us let evolve into a neck-beard and overtake the more important parts of our beard. Unless you are going for a full face beard style, it’s better to keep a neat, tidy neckline that enhances your beard.
The first step is to decide the line. All beard styles are different but in general you can use the Two Fingers Method. This is a handy trick that men have been using for decades.
Just slip your middle and index fingers above your Adams apple. Get the point around the top of your fingers, this is your neckline and it’s the basis to use if you prefer a slightly lower or higher neckline.
Get some guidance
Cutting your own hair is an accomplishment you can be proud of. It’s not something you know automatically so you should read up on how to trim and style your beard.
Our video on Youtube gives you a look into how to trim your beard at home and is the perfect jumping off point if this is new to you.
Once you have the technique down, start to test out some tweaks in how you cut and really get the beard you want.
Learn how to fade
Your head and body shape curves, slops and retracts, so having a perfectly straight beard detracts from your face.
A fade is more noticeable with shorter beards generally, as a longer beard hides more of the face underneath.
A fade uses gradual change in the thickness of your hair to give your beard a more natural shape in contrast to your head. Experiment with your clippers settings to get exactly the beard you have in your mind.
Sideburns are a great way to fade if your beard style includes them. For most of us, sideburns grow in fast, for some of us really fast. This ends up with big sideburns running into a short beard. Use your trimmer to slowly fade your sideburns from the hair on your head down to matching the length of your beard hair.
The Finishing Touches
Trimmers don’t get everything, we have all experienced that straggly hair seemingly impervious to electric tools. Always go over your lines with scissors and a manual razor to tidy up and give your edges some definition.
Apply some beard oil to keep that beard healthy, and try to use some beard butter to style your beard and keep it holding the shape you want.
We hope you have gleamed some helpful tips or covered up some areas you may have been lacking in. If you want to get more tips or updates about JC Grooming, join the family over on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter channels.
- To take a hold over your beard, you can’t go wrong with JC Grooming beard butters. 100% organic, natural and smelling great. They protect your mane and lock in your style. See the different kinds available on our Beard Butter page.
- TO get some ideas on what style of beard you are going for, see our handy guide on planning your beard style.
- For a more visual guide on how to define the lines on your beard, see our instructional video on the JC Grooming YouTube Page.
