Are sideburns still hot? Sideburn styles and how to trim them

Reading time: 5 mins

Man with sideburns wearing a beanie hat and sunglasses laughs and sits outside on a bench.

Elvis Presley is not only known for his music, his swinging hips, and his calorie-packed diet – he is also famously known for his chops. Sorry, sideburns, of course! These are the whiskers that run like a strip from your hairline in front of your ears nearly as far as the chin.

Since the King of Rock and Roll made them socially acceptable again in the 50s, the sideburn beard has been trending every few years. So, if you are donning a sideburn style, you’re in luck: it’s very much in style again! Discover where the sideburn beard comes from originally and how you can wear it in the 21st century without your partner doing a runner.

Man in t-shirt printed with a photo of Ambrose Burnside and his unusual sideburn-to-moustache beard.

The history of sideburn styles

Sideburns are named after the American weapons manufacturer and civil war general Ambrose Burnside. He didn’t win fame due to his war-faring abilities (or rather his inabilities), but due to his impressive facial hair.

In Victorian England, they were called ‘side whiskers’, and every man who thought he was the cat’s whiskers let his sideburn hair grow long and bushy. Particularly eager gents even reached for a hair iron to groom their elegant facial hair.

The term ‘chops’ (sideburns) is in fact derived from the delicious BBQ meat. Similar to a chop, the early lambchop sideburns were rather narrow at the top and got wider and wider at the bottom. As protection against the cold for delicate cheeks during winter? Who knows!

A man is closely shaving a patch of his beard, resulting in shaped sideburns connected to his beard.

The colourful world of the sideburn beard today

How to grow sideburns? As with all beards, anything that suits you is allowed. Contemporary sideburn styles mostly follow your facial shape and haircut. If you really love your whiskers, you may even want to choose your haircut according to your sideburns.

So, what are the different types of sideburn cuts and which one suits you?

Long: A long sideburn beard elongates the face, so is ideal for round or square faces. It frames the face and reaches just below your ears.
Short: They are elegant and suit you especially if you refrain from any additional facial hair or keep it short and neat. If you want to experiment a little, you can shave the ends of your sideburns so that they finish at an angle or become wider at the bottom. Short sideburns stay above the earlobe at all times.
Tapered: Wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. At the same time, the sideburn hair shortens gradually from top to bottom. This requires regularly trimmed sideburns and therefore isn’t always ideal. On the other hand, this sideburn style can conceal uneven beard growth.
Thin: Sophisticated, chic and goes well with a short haircut or hair that is combed back. They even look good if they grow into a beard at the bottom. If you wear them long, they elongate your face and draw your eyes downwards. Looks better than it sounds, promise!
Mutton Chops: These 70s sideburns are a classic. They accentuate pronounced cheekbones and an interesting chin, and consist of long, bushy whiskers that veer towards the corners of the mouth and become wider at the bottom. It is the ideal style for first timers. It needs a little trim to shape it and a cleanly shaven chin. If you like it softer, you don’t need to shave the hair on your neck.

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Tips for shaving sideburns

Shaving sideburns can be the trickiest part of styling them. The key to happy sideburns is a flexible shaver that conforms to your contours, such as the Philips OneBlade. This way the chin and sideburn edges become smooth and clean. The four trimmer attachments of the OneBlade also enable you to trim your sideburns to any desired length.

How to trim sideburns using the OneBlade:

For trimmed sideburns, choose a suitable trimmer head for your sideburn length and trim it from the bottom to the top up to the top point of your ear.
According to your haircut you can shorten the hair at your temples and behind your ears so that the sideburns blend gradually into your hair.
Then use a shorter trimmer head if you want the lower half of your sideburns to be shorter and trim them at the bottom.
Use the shaver to cleanly shave the edges and the chin.
Comb your sideburns. Look straight into the mirror without tilting your head and put your index fingers where your sideburns end to ensure they are an even length.

The evolution of sideburns gives you a variety of sideburn styles to choose from. With the help of this detailed guide, don’t be afraid to play around with different sideburn cuts and find the one that suits your face and personality the best!

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Are sideburns still hot? Sideburn styles and how to trim them

The history of sideburn styles

The colourful world of the sideburn beard today

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Tips for shaving sideburns

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