4 Steps To A Proper Beard Fade
Despite what you may see out in the wild, beards are, in fact, a privilege, not a right, and keeping that face rug in check and looking sharp is part of the gig. The key to neat, non-Wildling-looking beard is dialing in the right fade. In addition to lightening up the load, it’s going to give your face a flattering shape and enhance your jawline, especially important for those of us with rounder faces. So let’s get equipped and tame that animal on your face.
Start With The Right Tools
Before we begin it’s important to have the right type of trimmer. They’re not too expensive and can be readily found at your local drug store or on Amazon. The key is to make sure you have one with an adjustable guard that has a variety of trim lengths. We also recommend the smaller trimmers as opposed to a full-sized hair trimmer because they’re just easier to manage and control. The Wahl Groomsman and The Philips Norelco 3500 are two great, affordable options.
Let's Get Faded
As we mentioned, a proper beard fade not only gives your beard a neat and clean appearance, but it’s also going to elongate your face and sharpen your jawline. The gist is, you trim your beard shorter up at your sideburns and fade it down to a longer length by your chin. The crazy pointy beard thing is definitely a trend and we’ll leave that choice up to you, but generally, we recommend just a slight fade from top to bottom, almost unnoticeable. Here’s how to do it right:
1. Start by cleaning up your neckline and cheekbones, either with your newly-purchased trimmer or a standard razor. Just make sure you keep it minimal, you don’t want that chin-strap-style beard.
2. You can play around with different lengths on the trimmer guard but we recommend starting with a 2 or 3 guard and tripping the top of your face from your sideburns down.
3. Move the guard up to one setting longer (a 3 or a 4, depending on where you started) and trim the next third down to around your goatee area.
4. Move the guard up a final time (4 or 5) and trim your chin and mustache areas. From there, you can adjust the length settings to dial in your favorite lengths.
From there, you can adjust the length settings to dial in your favorite lengths. Now that your beard is freshly trimmed, take the chance to give your skin a good scrub, with our without exfoliator, and throw a few drops of beard oil in and moisturize your skin and beard.