Stylise your beard

A beard is the new hairstyle for men. The shape of a man’s beard can either camouflage or detract from certain features on their face. More importantly, it can highlight a man’s facial features, so getting the right beard style is all important.

It’s essential to first study the shape of your face before deciding on the shape of your beard.

Choose the right beard according to your face shape

Round Face
To shape your beard for a round face, opt for a slightly longer length at the chin as this adds length and make the face appear less round. Avoid bushy sideburns and keep the sides of the beard cropped short. Avoid the full beard and instead flaunt a goatee.

Long Face
The long face requires a beard that is fuller at the sides and shorter near the chin. This particular beard style adds width to the sides, making one’s face appear less long. Avoid abrupt changes in the length so the shaping is too apparent.

Square Face
The beard style for a square face should be shorter at the sides and longer at the chin to add length to the face. The goatee is a safe bet for men with square faces.

Large Face
If your face is large, any small facial hair or beard might make it appear out of proportion and thus even bigger. Go for a fuller beard and a larger mustache.

Small Face
Small faces require small facial hair. Larger, fuller styles will make the face appear out of proportion.

Oval Face
It’s the ideal shape and requires no special shaping to balance facial features. You can experiment with diverse styles.

TOP BEARD STYLES:
1. The Full Beard: The full beard style usually covers three basic areas of the face — upper lip, chin and the sides. It’s usually groomed minimally at the neck area, at the lip-line and along the cheeks. The full beard is a great option if you have a soft jaw line. The latest trends in full-beards are closely-trimmed and often groomed with hard angles or patterns to accentuate the shape of the face. The full beard symbolizes an air of masculinity and a grown-up feeling.
Maintaining a full beard: If you are growing a full beard, keep it neatly trimmed by using clippers or an electric razor. There’s nothing worse than an untended full beard. Experiment with a full beard by donning a thin beard with a goatee and a thin moustache, by shaving off the upper portion of the beard, leaving only the bottom part.

2. Stubble/Scruff: The stubble looks sexy, especially if the man has strong facial contours. The stubble also works wonders if you have a “baby face” with rounded cheeks. It lends your jaw a more angular look, and minimizes a soft jaw or double chin. The 5 o’clock shadow is usually a great choice for men who don a buzz cut or shaved head. If you want to make your stubble more edgy, try pairing your stubble with messy bangs or a layered haircut.
Maintaining a stubble: But it’s a high maintenance beard that needs to be cropped close with a beard trimmer (on the last setting). This style lends the effect of giving a man’s face a tanned silhouette. To maintain this style, shave every couple of days, depending on how quickly your facial hair grows. The idea is to have some stubble, not actual hair.

3. The Chin Strap/Curtain: This style adds definition to a soft jaw line. It is characterized by facial hair grown only
along the lower portion of the face near the chin and following the jaw line.
Maintaining a chin strap: This type of beard can be carefully maintained with a quality trimmer. Have the beard stylist create the shape first so you will have a guide to go by.

4. The Goatee: One of the most attractive beard styles, the goatee combines the moustache and the beard, circling the mouth. It’s usually worn close-trimmed and carefully shaped. It’s a strong and classy beard statement. If you are unsure if you want to don facial hair, keeping a goatee is a good start of determining if a beard suits you. A goatee adds length to a round face by drawing the eye downward and thereby creating the illusion of length.
Maintaining a goatee: A goatee needs to be maintained. Make sure that the goatee remains neat and trimmed. You can experiment with the goatee by wearing it close-trimmed, or grow it long and full, sometimes combed and clipped into geometric shapes.

5. Goatee with Moustache : By adding a moustache to the goatee, you create a lot of variety in the regular goatee style. This too has been seen in long and close-trimmed variants, and shaped to be more square or rounder, depending on the shape of the wearer’s face.

6. Soul Patch (or small beard): The Soul Patch is very arty and was popularized by the jazz artists and beatniks of the 50s and 60s. The soul patch is grown just below the lower lip. This style accentuates fuller lips and compliments an angular chin. It has also been called an “imperial,” “small beard” and a “mouche,” which is French for “fly.” A derogatory nickname for the soul patch is “face fungus.” One can trim it short, or grow it long and groom into varied shapes. The soul patch beard is extremely versatile. You can choose to grow a mustache with it, or just leave it plain. You can grow it out for a while, and then trim it back down. You may want to try it with sideburns for a trendy look. To add a touch of experimentation, trim it short and narrow.
Maintaining a soul patch: The soul patch is a low maintenance style. Grow it as long as you like, or trim it down to nearly nothing. Once you have found a length that suits you, trim it with scissors or a beard trimmer every few days or so to keep it where you want it. 

Beard Basics
Invest in a beard trimmer and learn how to use it.
Usually you should shampoo your beard with the same shampoo you already use for your head.
Pat your beard gently dry with a towel. Blow drying is not usually necessary and is not recommended. If you choose to get rid of your new beard, use a trimmer or hair clippers. Use the trimmer or clippers to trim away as much hair as possible. Follow that with a regular shave. Be extra careful.

How to trim your beard?
Pre Trimming Regime:
Before trimming your beard, follow a proper grooming regimen. Prior to trimming, shampoo and rinse your beard. Your beard must be dry before you shape it. Trimming a wet beard may result in a shrinking effect when your beard dries, because it may seem longer when wet.

Apparatus:
Scissors
Scissors help you get an accurate beard trim. To trim using a comb and scissors, first comb through your beard so that your hair faces the same direction and is at its maximum height. When your hair is straight, begin trimming your hair on the outside of the comb. To begin with, chop a small amount of your hair.
Beard Trimmer
If you don’t like scissors, you can trim your beard using a comb and your beard trimmer. Simply hold your beard hairs in place, and use your beard trimmer to move along the length of the comb.
Use the trimmer settings to control your beard’s length. For first-time users, set your trimmer on a longer beard length setting.

Trimming Logic
Balancing your beard is a tough job. To maintain balance, trim one side of your beard down from the ear, and repeat on the other side afterwards. For a sexy stubble, use a beard trimmer at a close setting like 1 (1.5 mm) or 2 (2.5 mm), and do not trim too much hair, as that may give you an uneven, scruffy look.

Once you have trimmed your beard, upkeep is vital. Always maintain the shape of your beard. Seek help from your favorite professional to keep your beard stylish.