5 Easy Steps to Trim Your Beard

Having a big and burly beard is the dream of many men, however, not all of us have the luxury of living free of the societal pressure to shave and “maintain” our appearance. Here at the California Beard Company we believe it’s possible to grow an epic beard while keeping it tight and looking sharp.

Trimming your beard should be quick and easy and will result in an overall polished beard and well-groomed look. So, how do you trim your beard, anyways?

Why should you trim your beard?

Before the how, let’s talk why. If you trim your beard you will go from looking like a slob to looking like a guy who gives a damn about his appearance. A trimmed beard signals that you take care of yourself, which is important for those bearded men that need to appear professional.

Also, hair grows at different speeds so a good trim will even out the hair. You may find that as your beard grows there are more split ends appearing. Trimming will help remove the split ends and keep your beard looking tight and clean.

One thing to keep in mind is that it is OK to make a mistake. The best thing about beards is that they keep coming back! People most likely won’t notice and in time it will return.

Pre-Trim Conditioning

We recommend you treat your beard with Beard Oil every day. This will ensure your beard has the softest whiskers possible which will make them easier to tame when you are trimming them. However, your beard should be dry when you trim.

Do not shower or apply beard oil before trimming your beard because the moisture will weigh your hair down and will look different wet than dry. You don’t want to trim a wet beard because when it dries it may not look as intended.

You should also shave your neckline about one inch under the jaw. This will help create jaw definition and also will signal to the world that your beard is intentional. This article will not cover shaving the neck but we do recommend keeping it shaved.

Looking for a great beard oil to use? Try the original or unscented beard oil from California Beard Company.

5 Easy Steps to Trim Your Beard:

Ok, enough rambling, let’s get to it.

1. Brush your beard so the hairs stand out at full length

Using a wooden beard comb or beard brush, fluff your beard out, going up against the grain. It’s really important that your comb is not plastic. Plastic causes static electricity which can mess up your beard pretty bad. California Beard Company beard combs are made of bamboo so you get those tangles out without creating more of a mess in the process.

Make sure your beard is dry for this step because it will lay differently due to the weight of the water/oil.

2. Use clippers if beard is short enough, shears for longer beards

If your beard is short enough we recommend getting a beard trimmer. The trimmer should provide a uniform length to your beard via the guard settings. Set the trimmer on a setting that is longer than your desired end length and do a first pass, trimming your entire beard to an even length. Evaluate the length, reset the clippers, and go again. You can always go shorter but you can never go back after you cut it so it’s best to play it safe.

What if your beard is on the longer end of the spectrum, but is still short enough to use a beard trimmer? Draw a horizontal line at the same place as your mouth. We suggest using a longer setting on the beard below the mouth, and using a much shorter setting on the area above the mouth like cheekbones and sideburns. See step 3 for more details.

If your beard is too long for a beard trimmer you are going to need to upgrade to some barber scissors. You want to even out the beard growing below the mouth so use a mirror and snip away until your beard is nice and evened out. Remember, mistakes are OK and your beard will grow back if you go a little shorter than planned. Eventually you will get the hang of it.

3. Fade the sideburns and cheeks

Here lies the secret of the long and tamed beard. Let your beard grow long below your mouth and fade the cheekbones and sideburns into your head hair. When you trim your cheekbones, your beard stops growing in all directions and only grows down.

This will give your beard that awesome shape and help you look sharp. Your beard will grow *out* from your cheekbones If they are not trimmed, which will give your beard and face a rounder look. We think a chiseled and defined beard looks way better.

4. Trim loose hairs

Focus on the fine tuning and trim any stray hairs. We recommend using barber scissors for this. You could use a beard trimmer with no guard but run the risk of taking out a big clump of beard.

I’ve personally lost a beard this way and had to buzz it all down to stubble. It was probably the saddest day of my life. At this point, you will also want to trim your mustache if you are not planning on growing it out to match your epic beard.

With barber scissors, simply trim the mustache hair where it crosses over the upper lip. This should create a nice defined edge for your mustache and will keep the hair out of your dinner.

Looking to buy the best barber scissors? Check out our recommendations

5. Trimming Complete! Apply beard oil and re-comb

Once you are finished trimming you should re-apply beard oil and comb the beard back into the preferred position. Any stubborn hair that missed trimming should be apparent at this stage and you should be able to clean them up easily.

There you have it, 5 easy steps to trim your beard.

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