Men's Fashion

Archeron

Archdruid Archeron

the Site Surgeon
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Noodleface said:
Didn't see a beard thread in my cursory search

I've always been clean cut. I shave a few times a week every week, since I was about 12. So at 34 my wife said I should grow a beard - on my birthday quite literally.

So now I'm about 2 months in and I've decided to keep it. Maintaining a neck line is so much easier than my shaving ritual was - I used safety razors, did the whole soap in a mug thing, multi passes, etc.

Any tips for beards in a corporate environment? I'm past the shitty homeless look now. I trimmed it to 1 inch length just to kill off any scragglyness but I'm not sure how long to keep it. It's a lighter color beard and aside from my goatee area it's not super thick so the length goes to my advantage.
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I have had a beard for the last three years.

My advice is enjoy it. Let it grow, trim it to suit your facial hair and face. It is difficult to replicate anyone elses beard, so you have to learn what works for you.

Here are my notes on what I learned works for me:

  1. I shave my cheeks to an inch above my jawline as it doesn't grow in thick: this makes it look tidier.
  2. I wear my hair short so I have the barber trim all the way to the corner of my jaw at grade three. Again tidiness.
  3. I keep a straight line above my lip and taper it back slightly to make my mouth visible.
  4. The hair under my lip grows in all the way across. I shave at the corner of my lips so that I can feel things around my mouth more. Girlfriends seem to prefer it (3-0 on anyone I dated long enough that I wanted their opinion) as it makes my mouth visible and is nicer to kiss.
  5. I let the rest grow long and cut it an inch or so below my jawline. The bit higher up near my mouth ends up longer. This makes my beard fuller in appearance.
  6. I tend to trim the underside of my jaw quite short 1/2" (maybe?) but only just above the shave line, which I keep at the point where my jaw turns the corner to my neck.
  7. Mine is black (darker than my hair by a fair bit!), with hints of lighter colours (both dash red and blonde), and possibly some grey (cough). I darken the lot to make it all match.
  8. Mine is very low maintenance, and far less effort than shaving used to take.

Keep it clean, smelling nice, and soft.

Hope you enjoy it, and hope the wife does too! ;)
 
Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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Sounds like I grow my beard slightly longer so I keep the hair-skin line maybe 2" past the edge of my chin and then have that beard-skin line merge with the joint. I keep the sideburns short so it merges with my hair which is also short. I also sharply taper off the edges of my beard as it meets my skin so it blends into my neck much better. I've had a beard so long I have many friends and co-workers that have no idea what my unbearded face looks like. I've had a beard for about 10 years now.
 
alavaz

alavaz

Trakanon Raider
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I haven't shaved in 10+ years. Mine grows thicker on the right side and more "out" where as the left side hugs my face a lot nicer. So I have to try and thin the right side a little so it matches the left. Sometimes I fuck it up and have to trim the whole thing with like a #3 guard on the razor. I usually try to leave it around a 1 to 1.5 inches long. I keep the mustache off of my lip too, I see those guys with the big mustaches that cover their lip and don't know how they do it. I can't stand the feeling of mustache hairs getting in my mouth.
 
Khane

Khane

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I have had a beard for the last 10+ years as well. Outside of 2 instances where I was clean shaven due to shaving mishaps.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

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Is there a good guide to tapering sideburns and the neck line?

I shave my head bald so hard stopping on the sideburns looks dumb as shit.
 
K

k^M

Blackwing Lair Raider
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To that point, is there a simple way to keep a goatee even/trimmed if you shave in the shower without a mirror? It's a never ending cycle of trim, overdo, trim otherside, shave it all off, start again
 
Khane

Khane

Got something right about marriage
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Why are you trying to trim wet facial hair? Do it before you go in the shower, much easier to keep it even that way.
 
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Archeron

Archdruid Archeron

the Site Surgeon
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I just shaved. I look like I am about five. Yesterday, I did 164 push-ups in my morning workout while today was 134; clearly, a beard is a source of a man's power. How did I forget?

I am so sad for my loss. :(
 
T

Tenks

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I usually just let my beard grow out for about a month and then trim it way down. Once it starts to get uncomfortable to sleep on its got to go. Doing a whole bunch of beard maintenance just seems like too much work for me.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

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Dumb question. I cut my moustache above my mouth obviously but the part of the moustache on the outer limits seems to grow very weird. I could actually make handlebars right now (if I were a fag). Am I supposed to trim that too or let it grow beard length
 
Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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Tenks said:
I usually just let my beard grow out for about a month and then trim it way down. Once it starts to get uncomfortable to sleep on its got to go. Doing a whole bunch of beard maintenance just seems like too much work for me.
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I guess if you're just trimming. Beard maintenance is so much easier than shaving.
 
T

Tenks

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I just do it with an electric trimmer everywhere except the neck/high cheeks which gets a normal razor. Takes about 5-10 minutes.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

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I just use this stuff and it seems to help for most of the day

614-bG8TpYL._SX355_.jpg
 
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Dalven

Dalven

Saor Alba
<Donor>
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Having a beard is infinitely preferable to shaving every day. I grew it 7 years ago as my job at the time required me either to be clean shaven or be appropriately bearded so after 6 months of razoring every day I got sick of it, took 2 weeks off, grew a beard and never looked back.

It's pretty thick so I trim it close with a grade 3 every week with an electric trimmer, shave off the scraggly bits above the main cheek growth and trim a reasonable wee line at the bottom on my neck. I keep my hair short so the length of the beard pretty much always matches my hair after a fresh cut.

I've never bother with oils or balms as I thought they were for hipsters. Should I be?
 
T

Tenks

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I do find it funny that Noodle is always so vehemently anti-hipster yet here he is using beard oil
 
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Pemulis

Pemulis

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please call it what it is - an all natural and organic balm
 
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Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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Tenks said:
I do find it funny that Noodle is always so vehemently anti-hipster yet here he is using beard oil
Click to expand...

I thought the exact same thing. And I'm the accused hipster over here and I don't even use that shit.
 
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