How to Choose a New Beard Style?

For a lot of men, choosing and maintaining one of the many possible beard designs and beard trim styles can be rather daunting. After all, it really means choosing how to “change your face” and how to make sure that during the transition period your face still looks good too. Sure, figuring out how to choose a new beard style doesn’t sound nearly as dramatic, but a lot of men, especially those who have never had a beard before or who have difficulties growing facial hair – for them, it feels quite drastic.

Looking at lists and galleries with different cool beard styles is very much like looking at a plastic surgeon’s catalog – you’re looking for your new outlook but, at the same time, you’re worried that it might not look as good on you as it does on the model.

Well, we’re here to tell you that you shouldn’t worry that much – after all, the best thing about the various men’s facial hair styles is that if it doesn’t work out you can always cut it and start anew!

Still, to make sure that your first attempt is as likely to be successful as possible, here’s a quick guide on how to choose a new beard style and how to match it to your face and hair.

Different types of faces and what they mean for your beard

There are many good beard styles but not all of them work with all types of faces. Many of the top beard styles can look outright ridiculous on a lot of people simply because they don’t fit their face at all. So, to save you some trial and error, here are some of the types of male face shapes and the basic tips you might want to follow at first:

1. Round faces. Whether your face is naturally round or you’re slightly overweight (no judgment here), the best types of beard for you will likely be one that’s slightly prolonged at the bottom. It could be a full beard with a longer lower end, a goatee, or a ducktail beard, but the key is that it should be shorter on the sides and longer below as to offset the roundness of your face. This is important not because there’s anything wrong with having a round face – there isn’t – but simply because other beard types simply won’t work well with it.
2. Square faces. Square faces usually benefit from having all over beards that are clipped closer to the face with the exception of a little extra volume at the chin. Such beards are not meant to “hide” the face but just to smooth its edges. The exact length of the beard under the chin can vary almost as much as you want but avoid scanty beard styles such as the goatee or the mustache as these can look a little silly on a square face.
3. Rectangular or oblong faces. This type of facial structure usually benefits from shorter but fuller beards. Giving a longer beard to a rectangular face risks making it look a little ridiculous on the sides. Instead, keeping the beard short but fuller on the sides is a great style that a lot of people love to wear, as well as to see around them.
4. Long and narrow faces. Whatever you do with such a face, don’t grow a long beard on it – it will only make your face even longer, often to a cartoonish degree. Unless, of course, that’s what you actually want. But, typically, the best beard style for a man with a longer face is one that’s shorter under the chin and has some volume on the sides. This tends to give the face a balanced look that benefits from the side volume as it also makes the face look less narrow.
5. Oval faces. This face shape is the middle ground between the others which is why it’s less talked about – most beard styles will work on an oval shape so you can even experiment more freely with little fear that you might look weird at any point of the process.

The basic beard styles you might want to consider first

Choosing a hair and beard style for man is usually best done by first examining the basics and moving on from there. So, let’s take a quick look at the three major bear types you might want to try out first:

• The stubble beard. A lot of people don’t even consider that a beard but it is a rather important and fashionable facial hair style. The stubble is more complicated than just not shaving for a couple of days – it needs to be carefully trimmed and it needs to fit your face – it’s not suitable for overweight people or for men with round faces. On the right face and properly trimmed, however, the stubble can do a lot of great work.
• The short beard. An upgrade from the stubble, this style is also often called “The Holiday beard”. It’s much classier than it sounds, however, especially when it’s properly trimmed and maintained. It’s a powerful and masculine look that’s easier to maintain than a full beard. The best part of it is that if it doesn’t suit your face you can just wait a little and grow it into a full beard.
• The full beard. Ah, the classic! The full beard is difficult to achieve and time-consuming to maintain in a good condition but it does look glorious. What’s more, the full beard has enough volume to easily be reshaped into any sub-style you want – elongated beard, ducktail beard, the Garibaldi, or any other even more bizarre beard design you might think of.