6 Different Beard Styles: Which One Is Best For You?
Beards have always held a certain magnetic power for their wearers and their admirers. There's just something about them. Different beard styles say a lot about the person they’re on: his taste, his values and what kind of person he is. So it's not surprising that we're curious about the numerous beard styles that exist, and probably always will be. If you’re growing a beard but not sure where to start when it comes to how to style your beard, you’ve come to the right place! The best beard styles are the ones that work for you and make your feel confident. To help you find the best beard style for you, we’ve put together a list of some great styles you can try and how to achieve them.
1. The full beard
The father of all beard styles, the full beard brings full sideburns, a moustache, and a beard together. If you know how to shape a beard at its fullest, you can take this style from wild and untamed to a proud, well-kept facial fuzz. Suits: As it is based on natural hair growth, the full beard style can look great on any face shape. Find out how to grow a full beard here.
We recommend shaving your upper cheeks and neck and trimming the rest, so you can define the shape and keep the whole thing tidy. With the right amount of care and maintenance, this is a beard you can wear every day and is one of the most iconic beard styles.
The full beard is a classic men's beard style and, properly trimmed, one of the best all-round beards. It exudes understated class and is therefore the ideal beard style for everyday work - whether for office workers, craftsmen or kindergarten teachers. It doesn't turn you into a Neanderthal, but still has something timelessly wild.
2. The scruffy beard or 3-day beard
The scruffy beard sits somewhere between the full beard and light stubble and gives you a confident, cool look. It looks natural and casual and requires comparatively little time in front of the mirror to maintain. All you need to do is trim the beard every few days, making it one of the easiest beard styles to maintain. Suits: The scruffy beard is reasonably kind to anyone who can get consistent all-over beard growth. However, its mid-length makes it hard to conceal patchiness. If you need some stubble-beard styling tips to take if from a lazy scruffy beard to sophisticated stubble, check out our guide to stubble.
All you need to do is take a few minutes to trim your beard as soon as it’s getting longer than the desired length. A little regular attention will keep your cool facial scruff from starting to look neglected and dishevelled.
3. The Balbo
Refined and elegant, this cultivated beard requires commitment. Bringing together a handlebar moustache, a soul patch, and a chin strap. The important thing to remember about the Balbo beard is that the moustache should never touch the beard. Otherwise, you have a circle beard on your hands.
The Philips OneBlade is great for the precise contouring that this style of beard requires, as you can trim as well as style and shave very precisely with the double-sided blade.
Suits: The Balbo beard can be used to strengthen a weak jaw and tends to suit those with narrow faces.
See more below ↓
Recommended products
- £120.00*
Philips Beardtrimmer 9000 Prestige Precision beard trimmer with built-in metal comb
BT9810
- SteelPrecision Technology
- PowerAdapt Sensor
- 3 level battery indicator
-
OneBlade Pro Face and Body
QP6650/30
- Rechargeable Li-Ion battery
- 14-length precision comb
- Wet and Dry use
- LED digital display
- £79.99*
Philips Multigroom Series 7000 Showerproof face, body & hair trimmer with 14 tools
MG7720/13
- 14 tools
- DualCut technology
- Up to 120-min run time
- Showerproof
-
Philips Multigroom Series 9000 Showerproof face, body & hair trimmer with 12 tools
MG9710/93
- 12 tools
- Self-sharpening metal blades
- Up to 120-min run time
- Showerproof
4. The stiletto beard
Rounded at the sides and perfectly pointed at the end, the stiletto beard looks great when combined with short hair. It isn't the most common of beards, but then, with an estimated two months of growth required to achieve it, that might not be too big a surprise. Suits: The stiletto beard is a good counterbalance to rounder face shapes, and goes excellently with a pronounced chin. If you have an oval or long face, this style can make your facer look longer – you might want to go for a different beard style that adds more width to your jaw.
The stiletto beard can be recognized by the central point at which the wearer's chin hair ends, but it's easy to underestimate the work that goes into creating this style – such as the two deep 'U' shapes that you will also need to trim under your mouth.
5. The chin strap or Brett beard
These two beard styles are closely related. The chin beard wraps around the chin area like a strap, while the Brett beard also has a soul patch that connects the beard to the lower lip. Both require precision and a certain amount of dedication: they are demanding beards. The chin beard was as famous as the Backstreet Boys in the 90s, but is still worn today by those who wants to perfect their chin area. With the Philips OneBlade trimmer attachments you can trim your beard between 1 to 5 mm and - without the attachment - style your beard very precisely.
Fits: Square and diamond-shaped faces with clear chin definition: chin and Brett beards follow the natural jawline, rather than helping you define one.
6. The Van Dyke beard
Named for the 17th Century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, this beard has adorned kings and emperors for centuries. Since then, it has lost none of its historical-drama charm, as evidenced by the Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired look that inspires followers away from the silver screen.
The Van Dyck beard is the older, more refined big brother of the Balbo and combines a tapered goatee with a natural moustache that hangs very slightly below the lips. You'll also have longer beard hairs done in no time thanks to the Philips OneBlade's powerful clipper blades, which cut a full 200 times per second.
Suits: Kind to those with patchy beard growth, the Van Dyke also adds definition to a round face. If this appeals to you, we can help you master similar styles to the Van Dyke beard here.
Whatever style you choose, get the best out of your beard with these general beard styling tips: If you are concerned about your hair growth or are suffering from hair loss, contact a doctor to find out the cause.
Knowing how to style your beard will take it from being an afterthought to pride and centre on your face, and we hope our beard grooming guides will help you achieve that!
Face first
Explore our full range of tools to shave, groom and style
Sources: 1 NHS Sheffield; https://publicdocuments.sth.nhs.uk/pil1150.pdf 2 Patel DP, Swink SM, Castelo-Soccio L. A Review of the Use of Biotin for Hair Loss. Skin Appendage Disord. 2017 Aug;3(3):166-169. doi: 10.1159/000462981. Epub 2017 Apr 27. PMID: 28879195; PMCID: PMC5582478.
