While a luscious, flowing, full lumbersexual beard is frequently touted as the true mark of bristling manhood, don’t discount the short styles. After all, every long beard started out short.
Sometimes short beard styles suit certain bros. And if you know what you’re doing when shaping and maintaining, a short beard can look sharp and distinctive.
We’re equal opportunity bearders. We salute all beards and want all bros to blossom to their full potential. So here are some short beard styles you should give a try at least once. Who knows? It might grow on you – or not. 😀
Longer beards don’t always work for every face shape. But short beard styles pretty much always work.
A short beard is an absolute godsend for dudes who struggle to grow a thick, full one - especially if they have patchy beard issues. Hey, it’s not their fault. Genetics and biology determine what each man can grow.
Then there are guys who don’t want to grow a full-length beard.
Did we mention that short beards are also super easy to maintain, for the most part?
You have to care for your beard like it’s your baby so it always looks killer. That means proper:
When it comes to short beard styles, there are plenty of choices. Here are a few of our favorites...
Some people call this the 5 o’clock shadow, but it really goes way beyond that. That stubble you develop after 5 to 10 days can have serious rugged sex appeal. Think George Michael, Jason Statham, Drake, John Legend, Ryan Reynolds, David Beckham, Chris Pine, Ryan Gosling, and many more.
It’s up to you, but we think it looks damn rugged when stubble has been trimmed and shaped a bit. How far down the neck you shave is your choice. As for trimming, grab the electric clippers and make the hairs an even length all over.
A little longer than stubble, this style requires hardly any trimming of any kind. Just let it grow for a few weeks or a month or so, to the point that a little curl starts to show. It’s relaxed, natural, and carefree. A man with this short beard usually looks very comfortable in his own skin.
If you have patchy beard growth on your cheeks and jawlines, this look can work for you. Yeah, we know some bros are anxious and self-conscious about their patchy issues, but… if you have long hair on your head, the patchy look can be irresistible.
Let it grow a tad longer than the touch of fuzz, but still keep it short, like three-quarters of an inch. If you grow patchy hair on your jaw and cheeks, the shaggy look is forgiving and will override your self-consciousness. Even better, this style is very low maintenance.
Justin Timberlake rocks this look to the rafters. It’s just a full beard, except short – like half to three-quarters of an inch long.
It goes with any hairstyle, even bald.
Be sure to keep your mustache connected.
It works with every hairstyle and never goes out of fashion. This style is also perfect for dudes who grow patchy cheek whiskers.
It’s quite easy to maintain. Just trim the length occasionally and shave around the edges. Done!
However, getting your goatee to the right width can be a challenge. Too wide and your face can look wide and weird. Too narrow and your face can look long and angular. Start by letting all your whiskers grow, then start trimming to map out the goatee shape. But start wider and work from there.
This is the kind of beard you see in shaving commercials where you’re begging the guy not to shave it off because it looks badass. It’s a full face beard, but the goatee area is clearly longer and stands out more than the cheeks, jaws and sideburns.
To grow one of these bad boys, let your entire beard grow and then use different length trim settings – shorter for the cheeks and to blend into the sideburns, longer for the goatee. And shave below your jawline.
Take the goatee, create a disconnect below the mustache sides, let the soul patch grow, then shape around the soul patch and on the front of your chin as you see fit. Another excellent choice for bros self-conscious about patchy cheek and jaw growth.
The most famous Van Dyke beard might just be Johnny Depp’s, although as Captain Jack Sparrow he also had long braids hanging from his chin - legend!
Wanna look like Iron Man? Robert Downey Jr’s famous Marvel beard is a version of the Balbo.
Similar to the Van Dyke beard, except it grows farther along the jawline towards the ears but without meeting up with the sideburn area.
Trim your goatee right down to just a mustache and a chin strip. Ta-da! A Royal beard. Just aim to have both areas of facial hair be of similar length.
David Spade has rocked this look for years. Smooth and classy.
Smolder like Zac Efron! Or if you’ve got a kickass jawline chiseled from marble, the chin strap could be the short beard style for you.
Let the whiskers grow from your sideburns to create a “strap” that covers a little above your jawline and chin, as well as below them. Disconnect the beard from the mustache with plenty of clear space. And be sure to keep all the edges clean and sharp.
Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton has one of the dopest chin strap beards in the world.
We’re talking Jake Gyllenhaal. If you can grow a thick beard, this style will fill out your face and define your chin. It’s a really virile yet ferociously businesslike look to have such a thick thatch of hair without it being long, wild and woolly.
Got a round face? Try this short beard style to lengthen and define it. Grow your regular beard, then taper it so it gets thicker and longer down the jawline to the point of your chin. Keep tapering shorter up the cheeks and towards the sideburns. If you taper your haircut to be shorter at the bottom, you can even disconnect the beard from the sideburns
A pretty thick and coarse short beard, but with a twist where you let the underside of the chin and jaw grow a little thicker. It creates a cool texture, especially if you grow your mustache longer all the way to the corners.
Yeah, we know Thor’s beard was different in every movie. If you’re still in doubt, pick your favorite God of Thunder look and go for it, because Chris Hemsworth… Epic!
If your hair is darker than Hemsworth’s, your Thor beard will look more like the Ben Affleck. Batman is still mega-cool!
Those are some of our favorite short beard styles. What are yours? Let us know.
Short, long, or in-between, remember that the sexiness of your beard hinges on two things: (1) your attitude and (2) how well you care for it.
Now go forth and beard well!
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