How to Trim a Beard for Your Face Shape – Our Simple Guide

Science has shown that beards make men look more attractive and that women are drawn to them. They also signify dominance and define maturity. Basically, beards make men look generally, well… hotter.

But if you decide to grow a beard, you will need to learn how to trim your beard for your face shape.  Sculpting your shaggy beard doesn’t take more than a few strokes from a trusty trimmer. However, like your hairstyle, you also need to keep it in check with the type of face that you have.

In this article, we provide you with a simple guide on how to trim a beard for your face shape.

How to Trim a Beard According to Facial Shape

Take measurements

Men’s faces fall into seven different facial profiles. Knowing your face shape will make it easier for you to learn how to trim a beard that is more appropriate and fitting. To determine your facial profile, you will need a tape measure and a way to record your measurements.

Once you have these items, then stand in front of a mirror and take the following measurements:

• Forehead: Measure the distance from the top peak arch of your left eyebrow to the top peak arch of your right eyebrow.
• Cheekbones: Locate the pointiest part of your left and right cheekbones and record the distance between them.
• Jawline: Your jawline is the point from the tip of your chin straight to the point just under your earlobe. You can measure one side of your jaw and multiply it by two.
• Facial Length: Your facial length is the measurement from the tip of your chin and straight upward the hairline.  If your hair has receded, pick a point just a bit behind where your hairline used to be.

Evaluate Your Face Shape

Now that you have your measurements, rank them in order from largest to smallest.  This will help as you go through the various types of faces we list below.

There are generally two groups of facial shapes: rounded and angular. Read the descriptions below to determine yours.

• Heart Face: If you have a pointy chin and your forehead measurements are greater than your cheekbones and jawline.
• Round Face: A round face has similar face length and cheekbone measurements. You also have similar forehead and jawline measurements, which are slightly smaller than the previous two.
• Oval Face: You have an oval face if you have a soft and rounded jawline, and your face length is greater than your cheekbones. Your forehead also has a larger measurement than the jawline.
• Oblong Face: If your face length is longer than your forehead and cheekbone, but your jawline has similar measurements to your forehead and cheekbones, you have an oblong face.
• Triangular Face: You have a triangular face if your jawline is wider than your cheekbones, and the cheekbones are wider than the forehead.
• Diamond face: You have a diamond face if you have a pointy chin, and the rest of our measurements are in the following order from the largest to smallest feature: facial length, cheekbone, forehead, and jawline.
• Square Face: If all of the measurements wind up similar, and you have a defined jawline, then you have a square face.

Once you have evaluated your face shape, you will have a better idea of how to trim your beard.

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How to Pick the Right Beard for Your Face Shape

At this point, you will want to review the various beard types below for different shaped faces.

Once you have chosen your preferred beard type, if you’re daring, you may want to just get right to work and start trimming your beard.

But we recommend that you go to a barber for your first couple of trimmings. If you know your face shape, and you read our guide below, you will have a better idea of how to communicate what it is that you want.  Instead of the barber being in charge, you will have more information with which to consider and discuss their recommendations.

And once you’re ready to trim your beard on your own, you’ll want to check out our guide to the best beard trimmers for some beard trimming tips and recommendations.

How to Trim a Beard for Diamond Face

For a diamond-shaped face, you should aim to keep the focus off your pointy chin and cheekbones. You can grow a full beard to cover the points up; however, you shouldn’t grow it so that the beard is long and pointy. Doing so will only emphasize your chin.

An inverted T-beard, also called Balbo or a boxed beard, is the best type of beard for this face shape. You may also opt for a chin beard or full beard if you want. You can balance your face by going wide on the chin and the edge of your jaw bone.

Here’s how to trim a beard Balbo Style for diamond face:

1.  Trim your beard out using your beard trimmer’s comb attachment. You can choose the 2mm, 4mm, or 6mm attachment for this, but don’t clip too much facial hair. You want to keep its volume as you go.
2. Remove your trimmer attachment. Start clipping from your ears, with inward motion, down to your chin. This process will define your beard. However, you need to leave the beard that runs from the center of your lip down to your chin.
3. Do this on the other side, symmetrically.
4. Trim about ¼ inch to create a gap between the goatee and the mustache.
5.   Now, you can shave off the parts of your face that you want to keep bare, including the neckline. Shave off your beard neckline appropriately to polish that tamed look. Check out our article How to Trim a Beard Neckline: Perfect Shape in 11 Steps for more details.

How to Trim a Beard for a Heart-Shaped Face

For a heart-shaped face (sometimes referred to as V-face), you will want to balance the proportions of your face. Growing a full-length beard on your chin can add depth to your jawline. However, some men prefer growing just stubble, which adds more texture and layers to a weak chin. The balbo beard, the circle beard, and the boxed beard are great options for heart-shaped face men.

There are also two types of chin beards, including the Brett and the Chin Strap. The Brett is composed of a beard running down the sideburns and meeting together at the chin. This type includes a soul patch. The soul patch is the facial hair just below the center of the lower lip. The Chin Strap is similar to the Brett, except for the absence of the soul-patch.

1. Start by trimming down the beard using a 3mm-5mm beard trimmer
2. Outline a strip on your jawline with about a 1-inch measurement from ear to ear. Leave your soul patch untouched if you want the Brett beard. If you want the Chin Strap, you can go ahead and clean it as well.
3. Shave your neck clean and outline the edges of the strap
4. Move up your cheek and do the same, shaving cleanly the cheek while outlining the upper edges of the strap

How to Trim a Beard for a Round Face

A full-length beard gives a round face a harder structure and creates a more sculpted look. So, your goal here is to elongate your face or create the illusion of a chiseled jawline. You need to make sure that you keep the sides of your beard shorter for this purpose.

The best thing about a round face is its versatility for various beard styles. The chin beard, circle beard, and pointed beard are great options, but you can also choose to have a full-length, Balbo, or boxed beard for your round face.

How to trim the pointed beard ducktail type for a round face:

1. Using a trimmer guard #1 or #2, begin by trimming from the top of your cheeks down. But don’t go for more than 5 cm higher than your jawline
2. Taper and shape the beard so that the longest portion is in the very center of your chin
3. When doing the pointed beard, remember not to take off too much hair. Also, you need to maintain symmetry as you go over each side
4. Clean your cheek and neckline
5. You can style your beard by curling it at the end or leaving it pointed as it is

How to Trim a Beard for an Oval Face

This face is the most versatile and balanced among all the face shapes. Almost all types of beards will look good with an oval-shaped face. It does not have any structural weaknesses, so if you are blessed with this feature, congratulations!

There’s no reason you should not try sporting different beard styles if time permits. Therefore, it will be handy if you learn how to trim a beard from all of the different beard families.  You have the face for it.  Once you know the different types, you can transition to any look that you like, as often as you’d like. You can try the Balbo, boxed, chin, circle, pointed, or sideburn beard styles. You can also shift from stubble to a full-length beard, your choice.

A goatee is also a great choice for an oval-shaped face. Try a goatee if you are just starting to grow a beard, or if you don’t want to have a bushy beard.

If you have trouble growing a full beard, then a goatee is also the best style for you.

1. Trim your goatee to your desired length. You can use 1-10mm of comb trimmer for this, or you can go as low as 0.5mm
2. Remove the comb trimmer so that you can detail and define your goatee
3. Start clipping from your neck up to your chin. Trim the edges from your cheek and upper lip too
4. Once you are satisfied with the length and shape, you can choose to style it in many ways. Check out our list of different goatee styles that you can rock

How to Trim a Beard for Triangular Face

If you have a triangular face, you have wide cheekbones and a narrower chin that is likely pointy.  A beard stache (a combination of a beard and mustache) will help to keep your chin in proportion to your upper face. You’ll need to keep the bottom beard short and let the mustache create the illusion.

For a triangular face, stubble, sideburns, and a boxed beard will also look great.

The Imperial beard is also a good type of beard for a triangular face.  The Imperial beard is not as ancient as it sounds. It has survived centuries since the days of Napoleon. However, it does exude modern-day elegance, especially for people with triangle faces. It may be a bit tricky, but here is how you cut one:

1. Using a razor, trim down your cheek and leave the sideburns wider
2. Define the edges of the sideburns
3. Shave the hair on your chin, including the soul patch. Create a gap as wide as your razor. Define the edges of the beard as well
4. Shave off any stray hairs and clean your beard neckline
5. Trim your mustache and style it neatly to match the imperial beard finish

How to Trim a Beard for an Oblong Face

Like the oval face shape, many beard types will work well on an oblong face. The one beard type to be careful about is the long beard as a long beard risks further elongating your face.

If you have an oblong face, try to keep the length of your beard shorter and grow your facial hair on the sides. This will make your face appear wider and fuller.

You can square off your jawline using the Balbo beard, boxed beard, circle beard, or an imperial beard. Sideburns and stubble will also look good.

You can try the boxed beard style if you don’t want a voluminous beard yet want more than just stubble. You can grow it for two to four months before trimming it down.

Here are the instructions when it’s time to trim your boxed beard.

1. Trim down your cheek line, but leave the sideburns wider. Shave away any whiskers to highlight your cheekbone
2. Define the contours by trimming a sloping border from the sideburns to your cheek line
3. Repeat this on the other side of your cheek
4. Shave your beard neckline

How to Trim a Beard for a Square Face

Square faces have almost equal proportions of measurement. Men with square faces generally have quite defined features and a strong jaw.  The look of Hollywood A-Listers Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise are examples of men with this strong-jawed face shape.

Men with a square face shape often do well with a beard type that softens the edges a bit.  A full-length beard is especially good, as the volume helps even out the stiff angles of your jawline.  Try styling it into a more rounded shape as it grows fuller; this will help elongate your face and soften your jawline.  Also, keeping the hair above your upper lip will help enhance your features and create a more subtle look.

The inverted T-beard, like the Balbo and anchor, fits this face shape best. The chin strap, Imperial beard, and boxed beards are also welcoming.

There is an interesting goatee style called the Van Dyke that you can try if you have a square face:

1. For your face shape, you want the beard to be longer with wider edges
2. Give your beard a nice trim to reduce the facial hair volume. For this part, you can use a 3mm-5mm comb attachment
3. Remove the comb and trim a semi-circle from the side of the mustache down to your lower jaw
4. You can choose a connected Van Dyke by leaving the facial hair between the soul patch and the chin. Or you can remove it for floating Van Dyke style
5. Clean the area below the mustache and the beard hair about half to a full inch wide in a semi-circle
6. Trim down the sides of the beard on the chin according to your desired length
7. Don’t forget to shave your beard neckline as well.

General Tips for Trimming and Maintaining a Beard

As we mentioned above, it is best to go to a barber when you are first shaping your beard.  But once the shape has been established, it will be easy to trim and maintain your beard yourself. You will save both money and time.

The way you craft your beard says something about your personality. You can go from a subtle trim into a more sophisticated and striking style, but you can’t just let a beard grow and leave it as is.

You will need to put some time and effort into your beard and let it play its part in enhancing your features. When styled accordingly, it can either accentuate your facial features or create the illusion of a brand new look.

 

Now that you know how to trim a beard for your face shape, here are other pointers to remember:

Keep Your Beard Clean

Regular washing and moisturizing are an important part of growing healthy facial hair. As your beard grows, you may experience itchiness due to ingrown hair. Beard balms and beard conditioners will go a long way toward relieving this itchiness.

Our Beard Cleaner and Conditioner Recommendations

Viking Revolution’s Ultimate Beard Conditioner Kit contains a complete set of products, including beard wash, balm AND conditioner, for maintaining a soft, smooth, and itch-free beard for all hair types.  We highly recommend it.

Brush and Oil

Keep your beard healthy by brushing it and applying beard oil daily. How often should you oil your beard? Applying beard oil twice a day will keep it supple and soft. Apply it both in the morning and before you go to bed.  However, remember not to add too much to prevent clogging of the pores.

Our Beard Brush and Oil Recommendations

If you don’t like the idea of sleeping with scented oil, you can buy a fragrance-free leave-on oil and conditioner.  We recommend Ranger Grooming Co.’s Fragrance-Free Beard Oil.

Trim Regularly

The question of how often to trim your beard is subjective. If you plan to let it grow longer, then you may want to ditch the trimmer for a while. But you do need to cut away any stray hairs to prevent your beard from looking unkempt.

If you aim for maintenance, you should trim your beard once every three to four weeks. However, since hair growth is different for every man, the trimming schedule is entirely up to you. If you find it growing bushier, then maybe it’s time to tone it down. For this, you need to arm yourself with a handy beard trimmer.

Our Beard Trimmer Recommendations

Philips Norelco MG7750/49 Multigroom Series 7000 is the best all-around choice due to its versatility. With 23 pieces it gives you many choices for blending and styling different lengths of hair and stubble.

However, you may find other beard trimmers to be better choices for you depending on your beard style and the thickness of your beard hair.

You can see all of our beard trimming tips and product recommendations in our Ultimate Beard Trimmer Guide.

Keep It Healthy from Within

Like the hair on your head, your diet has some say when it comes to your beard’s health. Testosterone levels dictate the beard’s growth. Nutritionists recommend an ample amount of zinc and iron. You can also load up on B vitamins and other vitamins like A, C, D, and E.

Our Vitamin Recommendations

Alpha Beard Growth Vitamins For Beard and Hair is an excellent supplement that stimulates your follicles and promotes healthy skin.  It contains a number of nutrients that are known to be healthy for your beard and hair, including collagen, MCT oil, aloe vera, ginseng, MSM, B-Complex, Vitamin E, and 10,000 mcg Biotin for hair growth and health.

Wrapping It Up

Once you have established your face shape, a whole world of style options will open up for you.  Take a look at Google Images for other beard ideas, and be sure to talk to your stylist to come up with the best options.

A new beard can be life-changing, and the more information you have, the more likely you will be to pick the right look for you!

For more beard care tips, check out our article How to Care for a Beard: 8 Ways to Maintain Your Beard.

For some more beard care product ideas, head on over to Best Beard Care Products — How to Get the Best Beard of Your Life.