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    Become a musketeer: The musketeer beard in 5 steps

    Reading time: 6 mins

    A man with long curly hair and a musketeer beard looking into the camera.

    ‘One for all, and all for one!’ The musketeer beard style commands attention and will set you in solidarity alongside your fellow fancy facial hair wearers. No wonder why: the musketeer beard, like the Henriquatre and Walrus moustache, is of truly royal origin. It dates back to the end of the 16th Century and was revived in the 19th century by Napoleon III and the Italian King Victor Emmanuel in a truly distinctive moustache style.
     

    The striking shape of the musketeer facial hair is characterised by its two lengths: a full, twirled moustache in a traditional style along with a trimmed and narrow chin beard or goatee, with shaven side parts. The musketeer beard goes well with heart-shaped faces and needs to be thoughtfully cared for, trimmed, and held symmetrically to give it its full effect. But it is well worth the effort!

     

    This is one of the most grandiose beard and moustache styles, and here’s a guide for how to get yourself the musketeer moustache and beard in just five steps:

     

    1. Lay the foundations of the musketeer beard

    Whether you are starting your musketeer beard adventure alone or with friends, you can easily start the saga with a three-day beard for the short version or a full beard for the long version. If you have chosen to go from a full beard to a shorter more trimmed musketeer beard, check out our Shaving 101 for a little guidance.


    Your moustache should grow for at least one to two weeks. During this time, you should keep your facial hair at bay with a trimmer, such as the OneBlade Pro with an adjustable precision comb. The 14 different cutting lengths of the comb attachment mean you can trim every beard to an even length, even one as extravagant as the musketeer beard.


    The important thing is the symmetry of your goatee. At first let it grow a bit wider, so you do not take away too much while your moustache grows to its full glory. You can still trim the beard later if you wish.

    2. Trim the long musketeer beard

    En garde! Now is time to arm yourself and get trimming. For a long musketeer beard, which can be a little more time-consuming, use a trimmer like the OneBlade to style the chin or goatee’s centre and down. Then take off the comb attachment and contour the upper part of the beard with the double-sided blade from the lower lip to a narrow, vertical, and symmetrical strip. It’s almost like a ‘chin strap’ but instead of wrapping around your chin, runs down from your bottom lip to the end of your chin.


    The beard ends a bit longer than a usual goatee, just under the chin. You decide the length of the beard and moustache. If you do not want to go to wild with your musketeer beard and moustache, you can vary the style of your vertical ‘chin strap’ to a closer ‘soul patch’ or a wider style ‘chin beard’.

    Shirtless man trimming his dark beard using a beard trimmer.

    3. Trim, style and twirl the moustache like a musketeer

    To achieve the classic twirled moustache of the iconic musketeer, your moustache must be grown beyond the corners of your mouth so that it can flick up upon itself, sharply, later. Use the OneBlade beard styler to cut the upper and lower contours of the moustache with absolute precision, as well as the various length settings of the trimmer to trim the bushy moustache. Finally, twirl the ends of the ‘tache with the help of some beard wax.


    You can even go more roguish with a short beard long moustache style by trimming the beard much shorter, putting all the focus on your grand musketeer moustache trim style.

    A close-up of a man vertically shaving short beard, resulting in a clean-shaven strip on his cheek.

    4. Short musketeer beard instructions

    Like many things, the musketeer beard has been modernised to a version that forgoes the fancy twirled moustache and is simpler and less complex thanks to less beard hair. For a short musketeer beard, you start with a three-day beard and grow the moustache for a week or two. It should reach down to the ends of your mouth and be trimmed clean of your lips.


    Let the beard grow to the width of your mouth and to your desired length, then cut in as in the long version and trim it using the length adjustment of the OneBlade regularly to a short length. If you are looking to change up your ‘tache and choosing to focus solely on your beard, follow our advice on how shave and trim a moustache properly.

    See more below ↓

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    5. Finishing touches

    If you have contoured your musketeer beard’s sharp edges perfectly, you can complete it according to the art of the musketeer! To do this, you shave the cheeks and the neck area clean with the OneBlade or rotary shaver. Work your way from the sides, from the sideburns, slowly to the edge of the moustache and the top of your beard with gentle pressure and, when using a rotary shaver, in a circular motion. To keep the look as sharp and defined as a musketeer’s swords, you should shave your musketeer facial hair every other day at least.


    A tip at the end: If you use beard conditioner and beard wax, it’s easier to style your moustache.


    With your grand musketeer beard, you will be heroically rewarded – able to win every style duel, even without a coat, sword, and feather hat!

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