Beard appreciation thread

[Nubbins McGee]

Trial and error.

Years ago, I started shaving exclusively with a Dovo straight razor. When I decided to grow an actual beard, it was easy to limit the shaving part to just my neck, and when I started to look shaggy I would use electric clippers with a guard to trim the hair. Ultimately I decided I didn't like the look so after lots of practice I got it down to comb and scissors. Except the neck, which is still straight razored.

[crash3400]

so, just out of curiosity… where or how did you learned how to trim/give shape to your beard?

my dad only wears a moustache (and the one time he shaved it like 3 years ago still haunts me), and I was not living with them when I allowed my facial hair to thrive… so I could not learn from him (say thankee for papa google, sai).

 

same boat here.  never had anyone around to teach.  so... like Nubbins McGee - trial and error.  i use a safety razor now, so a bit more control than disposables. scissors to shape and electric trimmer to get the shorter bits.  i know folks like Ajaxus do the barber thing, and i'd imagine a barber would be able to give you tips as well.

[EricMN]

I cannot believe I didn't know this thread existed. I need to branch out more often.

 

[SevenofSeven]

Just have to say my partner is home and beard is intact! His Mum did not win this round.

[Rurik Harrgath]

Excellent news, Seven.

 

I've been contemplating a minor length sheering as the fullness of my cheeks is getting somewhat out of hand.  I'm going to make an appointment with my barber for Friday after the gym maybe.  If I can walk at that point.

[SjardisDead]

A newer picture of my beard, probably a week after the cheeks got thinned out.

 

[Big_Show]

I shaved mine off before Christmas (wanted a quiet life when heading home for the holidays) but I've just decided to grow it back again.  I've got a busy couple of months and not having to bother remembering to shave will make life that little bit easier! (It's all about the 1 percents )

 

So my question is this - at what point should I start trimming/shaving round the neck and the top of my cheeks?  One week?  Two?

[erosan]

I shaved mine off before Christmas (wanted a quiet life when heading home for the holidays) but I've just decided to grow it back again.  I've got a busy couple of months and not having to bother remembering to shave will make life that little bit easier! (It's all about the 1 percents )

 

So my question is this - at what point should I start trimming/shaving round the neck and the top of my cheeks?  One week?  Two?

I followed the advice on AoM...

 

"For most beginning beard growers, it is preferable just to stop shaving altogether and let everything grow for the first four weeks or so." 

[Big_Show]

I followed the advice on AoM...

 

"For most beginning beard growers, it is preferable just to stop shaving altogether and let everything grow for the first four weeks or so." 

 

That's what I did last time, but I looked a bit homeless and thought it might get mentioned at work.  I'm only five days in so far; I'll see how it looks at two weeks.

[MissoulaSquatch]

I made the mistake starting out on this beard by trying to set the lines too much/shape it.  I ended up having to go through an awkward stage where I let the cheeks fill back in where I had shaved them.

I have found that a natural cheek line is best.  I do "shave" the top edge..but only enough to remove the random stragglers..those few hairs that simply are off in their own world..at the end of the day tho that line looks natural and it is 100000% better than what I had going before..where I had carved out my cheek line.

As for below, the neck line, I am VERY lucky in that my neck beard is minimal..I honestly almost don't have to shave the neck line in because I am again not removing too much.  But for those not in my shoes, I have found that 1.5-2" past the bottom of my chin is a good point to start shaving, then I just follow the natural curvature of my jaw up the sides.  It's the best I can explain, honestly you just have to experiment til you find what works..my only big recommendation is that less is more.  Trim very little now, you can always trim more later if you don't like it..but going through that awkward stage because you trimmed too much..definitely not fun.

As for trimming once it is grown..as noted before I have seen a barber, one advantage of living in or near a big city is your barber should know a few things about beard trimming.  Notice I keep saying barber, do not go into a Salon or Spa and ask them to work on your beard..that's just blasphemous.

I have myself begun to do my own trimming, while I love my barber I have found it is hard for me to describe what I want in words..and given that the tremor in my hands has greatly lessened over the past few weeks I figured it was worth attempting.  I am still in the learning stages, I do most of my work with a comb and scissors, always after a fresh cleaning/drying, and I use an electric trimmer just for the fade (this was the part the barber never seemed to get right..I'm getting there).

I can say since I took over my own trimming that I am more satisfied with the results, and I do find myself using beard wax less frequently since I can now get my beard into the proper shape and simply keep it there with a little work each morning.

Edit: And while I am on the subject of trimming your own beard..am I the only one that has issues inverting what is seen in the mirror? No matter how many times I tell myself to do the opposite of what I see..my hands just don't respond and I keep orienting the scissors wrong..it's making trimming more difficult because it takes forever for me to hold the scissors just right to cut the way I want to..lol (no worries, I don't cut anything until the scissors are properly oriented..)

[Anim07734]

Personally, I shave my neck about once a week, and have the entire time I've had a beard.  But then, my neck beard is just terrible looking.  When I was keeping my beard short (~1/2in), I'd shave up to my jawline for a nice, clean look.  I'm currently growing it out to see how long I can stand it/keep it presentable and have cut back to only shaving the neck for a more full look.  I've also had to start cleaning up my cheeks to keep it from getting scraggly (currently ~1.5in long).  Of course, YMMV; I have a bright ginger beard, so it doesn't even show up until I've let it go a week or more.

[Rurik Harrgath]

I've ran the whole gauntlet of beard styles, from chin beard, goatee, jawline beard, full on 12 inch Viking beard, and now I've settled on something between jawline trim and Viking.  I keep most of the natural shape of my beard, only trimming to keep some order along the bottom of my jaw where it meets neck and the uppermost of my cheeks so there is some uniformity.  Otherwise I spot trim with clippers to keep my cheeks from growing too unruly and let it grow as long or short as I feel like.

 

I call my style 'Urban Viking.'  My beard is far past the length that is appropriate for the office or most civilized folks but there is some neatness and uniformity to it so I won't be accused of looking homeless.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

That's what I did last time, but I looked a bit homeless and thought it might get mentioned at work.  I'm only five days in so far; I'll see how it looks at two weeks.

 

First 2 weeks is the "sexy scruffy look", then weeks 2-4 is "this guy is homeless or is working too much", weeks 5-6 are "This guy seriously thinks he can beard?", then after that it starts looking good. I shave a good bit in at the edges in weeks 0-4 to shape it and keep the scruff looking cleaner, then after that I let the lines slowly creep out such that now all I do is shave the outliing hairs on my cheeks every morning (it's literally like 8 hairs a side), and clean up the few pennisinulas on my neck line. I don't even need to use cream it's so little work, just wet the razor a little bit.

 

As for the guy that asked about trimmed and shaping yourself, it really is trial and error. I think I've got it semi figured out. Still working on it, but making progress. I have a trimmer set that goes all the way up to a #7 clipper attachment I think. I go over everything with the attachement the matches the longest I want my beard. Finidng what that is takes some experimenting as well. For me it's the #7. Then I pick the spot that needs the next shortest cut (everything about 1/2" outside goatee area) and hit that and EVRYTHING THAT ISN'T STAYING at #7, with the next lowest size. Step out again to where the #5 shortness is needed, and hit everything that isn't staying at a #6 or higher with that. My current process is something like:

 

#7: all the beard

#6: Everything 1/2" outside goatee area

#5: bottom half of neck, everything between the lines drawn vertically down from the outside of my eyes

#4: sideburns and down about 2"

#3: sideburns and down about 1"

#2: sideburns

#1: cleeaning up any more fading from the sideburns into my hairline

Repeat every 1-2 weeks

 

Where each of those increments starts is up to how you want the shape of your ebard to work. I'm actually getting mine longer right now, so I might step everything up a notch such that the #7 is where the #6 is, and everything currently cut with #7 only is just hit with scissors to trim outliers.

[Stronkey Kong]

The beard baron has a lot of good youtubez for how to trim and style your beard.

 

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

I wish I could stand my mustache getting like that. Looks great, but I hate getting the damn hair in my mouth and food.

[Nubbins McGee]

I wish I could stand my mustache getting like that. Looks great, but I hate getting the damn hair in my mouth and food.

Same! As soon as I get hair in my mouth the trimmer comes out

[Rurik Harrgath]

I wish I could stand my mustache getting like that. Looks great, but I hate getting the damn hair in my mouth and food.

 

No words more true have ever been spoken.  #worldwidebeardproblems

[SjardisDead]

I wish I could stand my mustache getting like that. Looks great, but I hate getting the damn hair in my mouth and food.

 

Maybe this dude can help you, you can jump right to 01:30 for the magic straw, 03:35 for the spoon and 06:07 for tips how to eat.

[redtomato501]

Edit: And while I am on the subject of trimming your own beard..am I the only one that has issues inverting what is seen in the mirror? No matter how many times I tell myself to do the opposite of what I see..my hands just don't respond and I keep orienting the scissors wrong..it's making trimming more difficult because it takes forever for me to hold the scissors just right to cut the way I want to..lol (no worries, I don't cut anything until the scissors are properly oriented..)

 

In case it helps: While I'm not trying to trim a beard, I found from makeup that when I'm getting confused by my mirror image it helps to close my eyes (or just stop looking) to position my hands. Having two conflicting sources of feedback in regards to where my hands on (the physcial versus the visual/mirror), it helps to remove one element. After a while of that, I got to a point where my hands were well enough trained that they moved into position despite the seemingly conflicting message of the mirror. 

 

If you don't have a great sense of space, of course, lead with your fingertips, not the tip of your scissors.

[MissoulaSquatch]

I call my style 'Urban Viking.'  My beard is far past the length that is appropriate for the office or most civilized folks but there is some neatness and uniformity to it so I won't be accused of looking homeless.

I'm doing something like this..long enough that I can show my amazing beard off (and make the hipsters super jelly)..but short, groomed, and shaped enough that I don't appear homeless.   Eventually when I get into a new line of work (and out of the food industry) I will go for a full viking beard to see how it looks.  I honestly saw my doppelganger posted on fb the other day by a beard page..except he had the full viking beard..and now I want the same.  It is also really weird when you spot your doppelganger..

 

I wish I could stand my mustache getting like that. Looks great, but I hate getting the damn hair in my mouth and food.

I'm presently battling this great beast..I love the look of the longer edges of the mustache layering over the top of my beard.  I may just have to keep experimenting with various waxes until I find one I like to keep the hair away from my mouth.

And now, it's that time of the day when the beard must be cleaned up and prepped for work.

[Castiel]

Le sigh. I wish I could grow kickass beards like you guys. All I get are the patchy growths of a adolescent Mexican. I'm 25 and my facial hair grows just enough to look terrible and need to be shaved.

[insanity]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogonophobia

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

I'm very disappointed that there is no article for "pogonophilia".

 

Uh oh, I've started going down the wikipedia whirlpool: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_facial_hairstyles

[Nubbins McGee]

I'm very disappointed that there is no article for "pogonophilia".

 

 

Write your own!  It's Wikipedia.  A college student will cite you in a paper someday.

[erosan]

Le sigh. I wish I could grow kickass beards like you guys. All I get are the patchy growths of a adolescent Mexican. I'm 25 and my facial hair grows just enough to look terrible and need to be shaved.

Dude, don't get discouraged and lose hope. Take it from an ex-adolescent Mexican. It can be done. I mean, that was me until I was like 28, and then I wore just a chin curtain for a couple of years because otherwise it was just too patchy... And even that took a long time to grow. but if you allow it to grow for enough time it might look good enough. Also remember that very few people will get as close to your face as you do to a mirror, so oftentimes you will feel like your beard is not "full" enough, but if you take a step back you'll notice it is better looking than what you think.

 

But better than that, consider the facial hair you have and choose something... the full beard is not for everyone. even a soul patch, a moustache or a goatee can look great, you'know? In fact I'm surprised that this thread does not contain more non-full beard photos..

 

Here is me back then... with my boy, when he was a lot younger than he is now: