Tips for Shaping a Beard
You've decided to grow a beard and, impressed with how much hair you can grow on your face, you've let it grow like a front yard while you're on a family vacation. Now, the only reason you're not confused with the crazy guy living under a bridge by your work is because you wear collared shirts a certain amount of the time and possess your own wallet.
This means you should probably consider shaping your beard, allowing you to retain your facial hair while at the same time ensuring people don't think you are crazy. Shaping your beard is just another part of the grooming process, like combing your hair or brushing your teeth. There are a number of different tools you can use to shape your beard, depending on its length, coarseness and the speed at which it grows.
Beard Trimmer
If you're going to have a beard for an extended period of time or wear it as a more permanent style, having a beard trimmer is a must. As it will be a constantly used tool in your grooming arsenal, you should try to splurge a little bit and spend some money on it, so that it lasts for a little while and does a dependable job/ Get a cordless, rechargeable beard trimmer and clean and oil the blades regularly. Most of these tools have adjustable guards on them that allow you to trim your beard to different heights so that all the hairs are even, like a freshly cut lawn. Depending on how quickly your hair grows or the general length you want your beard to be, the beard trimmer will be used either every day or a few times a week.
Wide-Toothed Comb
If you're going to have a longer beard, rather than a beard with just a football field's amount of stubble, you'll probably also need a wide-toothed comb to comb out tangles and straighten the beard to look a certain way. The exception to this it to have a fine-toothed comb on-hand for the longer mustache portion of the beard.
Trimming Pattern
Again, like mowing a yard, starting at one end and working your way towards the other is a good method for shaping your beard. Star with the sideburn area of the beard beneath one ear and with a stroke up and then a stroke down, trim each section of your beard the width of the trimmer. Do this from one ear the other and then go back over it to cover any spots you may have missed. Comb out the beard after this first pass and see if any longer hairs resurface. Then go over it again with the trimmer set to the same height.
A Good Mirror
Almost as important as the beard trimmer itself is a good mirror. This will help to ensure you can see your beard and what you are cutting clearly.
Cheeks and Neck
Beards will also tend to spread out of control so you will have to use a regular razor on the level of your beard on your cheeks and on your neck. This level is basically whatever looks good on you, or even not at all. But it's good to have a regular razor on-hand in case you want to do this. Or even shave the whole darn thing off.
