FINDING THE BEST FACIAL HAIR STYLES FOR YOUR FACE: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE
Owning pet monkeys; cutting your own hair; texting your boss after a night out—these are all things that fall under the category of just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Want another? Growing facial hair without considering the way it complements your face. We encourage you to embrace your whiskers if you so choose but, as your friend, advise that you do it strategically.
Follow this beginner’s guide to help you find the best facial hair styles for your face:
Round face
That cheek-pinching punim of yours doesn’t garner the same attention it used to as a child, does it? Use your facial hair to slim out your face by keeping it short or shaven on the sides and cheeks. Then grow it out a little longer under the jaw to help elongate, while trimming your neckline short. Try a faded beard, goatee or circle beard with hard lines, and nix the bushy sideburn look.
Long face
There’s no reason to get down on yourself because of your long face. Wearing a full beard will help make your face look rounder and shorter. If you take this route, be sure to keep it neatly groomed, as a full beard can become disheveled in a hurry. Another option is neatly trimmed stubble, focusing on keeping the chin hairs cropped shorter than the sides. And if you’re a real risk taker, you can give muttonchops the old college try.
Square face
A square, rugged jawline is classically masculine, but for some guys those sharp lines will cut down on style points. Soften up the jaw line with an all over beard that is clipped close to the face to add a rounded touch. Also, when shaping your beard make sure to create round edges as opposed to even more sharp lines.
Triangular face
For guys with wide hairlines, broad jawlines and narrow chins, there’s a style equation that is simpler than Pythagorean’s theorem: Beard + fuller look below the cheekbones + trimmed mustache = less attention on that pointy chin of yours. Problem solved.
Oval face
People who know faces say that the oval shaped variety is most conducive to all styles of facial hair. Aren’t you blessed. If you’re also over six feet tall with broad shoulders and an impeccable hairline, well, now you’re just showing off.
Regardless of the shape of your face, the best advice is to work with what you got. And if what you got doesn’t complement your face, you can always go clean-shaven. There’s nothing wrong with a look that assures people you are skilled with sharp instruments.