Y’all sing along now…
Okay, that set the tone for us to have some fun in this blog. Come to think of it, when don’t we have fun discussing beards? Beards are the best!
And one of our favorite rugged styles of all time is the lumberjack beard.
Although the old Monty Python song is silly, the lumberjack beard is anything but. It is epic and fun, as well as rugged and badass. Perfect for the legend who truly does work all day and then plays all night.
The best part is …you don’t need to wield an axe to branch out and sprout this wild face foliage.
So, now that you’ve logged on, let’s leaf Monty Python alone and go out on a limb. If you truly pine for some outstanding face “fir”, get ready to spruce yourself up to lumber through work and parties with massive swagger.
Simple. It’s a big, thick, full beard that was originally sported by the legendary loggers of the Pacific Northwest to keep them warm in tough conditions. It includes a full mustache with some length to it so it can be shaped (or even waxed) into a handlebar.
Accompanied by a plaid flannel, an axe, a toque and a healthy sheen of sweat, this burly lumberjack look has always been enough to make women weak at the knees and make other men feel conspicuously inadequate.
Ever heard the term “lumbersexual”? It’s directed at guys, especially hipsters, who display lumberjack beards without doing rugged work. While labels aren't necessarily helpful for anyone, we see it as proof that the lumberjack beard is iconic and widely admired. It also demonstrates that it’s a versatile beard that can be wild and woolly for an outdoorsman or also sleek and businesslike for a sophisticated urbanite.
So if you’ve never hefted an axe in your life but love the lumberjack look, we say go for it and embrace all the attention that comes your way! And believe us, there will be plenty - because you’ll look like a lumberSTUD! If you got it, flaunt it!
That’s right. It might have one name - lumberjack beard - but there are several shapes and styles. You can have a wild and wooly broad bush, or a smoothly rounded end, or even a tapered look. It can be super-long or it can be medium length.
But there is one thing all the lumberjack styles have in common: beefy volume.
Let’s check out a few lumber-varieties…
For the bro with a truly thick thatch, the classic lumberjack beard is all masculinity. It’s bushy and glorious, but not scraggly and messy. Grooming it well is as essential as keeping your axe sharp – because there’s a difference between cutting an imposing lumberjack figure and looking like a wild mountain man who never showers.
A beard so long that you have to take care not to get it caught in your buzzsaw. It’s going to take time to let this mighty redwood of beards reach full maturity, but it's worth it. With such length, you’ll probably benefit from some regular visits to your barber to keep its shape and to clean out any flyaways or split ends.
With a little pruning, your full lumberjack beard can look tidier, even softer, without losing any ruggedness. Round it at the ends and it can easily blend into the business world as easily as it blends into the forest.
We recommend a handlebar mustache to go with this bad boy, plus some tapering up to the sideburns.
Who says a lumberjack beard has to be brown or red? Got a white beard? Great! The lumberjack looks awesome in white. In fact, we think this style works better for an older dude than almost any other style, especially with an upcurled handlebar stache. Santa, eat your heart out!
We mentioned fading your beard up towards the sideburns. So consider the faded lumberjack to add some extra sharpness and sophistication that accentuates and lengthens jawlines. Shave your cheek lines straight and then use the clippers to fade the beard from longer to shorter as you go up your face. Then disconnect between the sideburns and the start of your head hair which also fades evenly.
As much as you tend meticulously to your lumberjack beard, that’s got to include your stache. We recommend cultivating a handlebar of some type, so grow out the side hairs especially.
You might be more inclined to go with a slight upcurl of thick hairs, called an Imperial mustache, than the thin and tight circular twirl of the English-style handlebar. For that, you’ll need a combo of some beard balm and a dab of mustache wax.
If you’re going to grow and sculpt a lumberjack beard, you should ensure your hairstyle complements it. Discuss it with your barber who is experienced in this field. Plus, be sure to have some pomade handy to keep your hair exactly the way you like it.
The decision to have a lumberjack beard includes a commitment to caring for it. It’s not the kind of forest that you can just let grow wild. It requires some management and cultivation.
The biggest commitment is patience. It’s gonna take months to achieve the length you want, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Leave the trimmers alone for a long time.
Grab the beard wash and cleanse those whiskers two to three times a week. That will keep them clean and healthy, along with the skin and follicles beneath. Strong roots make great forests.
Apply a few drops of beard oil every day to ensure it stays hydrated, conditioned and tamed. Then be sure to brush with a wild boar hair beard brush to train the hairs to grow the way you want. The boar hair is softer than you might imagine and has strong resemblance to human hair, but it is just the right strength to glide through the toughest beard.
The longer your beard gets, the more help it needs being held in place. Beard balm will be your new bestie at this point.
If you want a wilder looking lumberjack beard, you can trim less frequently.
For your cheek lines, you can either leave them alone or neatly define them. If you’re going for the neater look, we recommend fading them a bit, so your cheeks won’t look so puffy and the focus will go more to the beard below your chin. The faded cheeks and even sideburns also help integrate the beard in with your hairstyle. Just don’t overtrim your cheeks, otherwise they look bare next to the main beef of your beard.
For the mustache, it’s your choice. But if you don’t like hairs in your mouth, trim neatly along the lip line. To go with a handlebar style, brush your stache from the center to the sides, eventually curling them up at the edges. Like we said, you’ll need beard balm and mustache wax, which will help train and hold hairs in place.
As for your neckline, you’re going to need to trim regularly - even for a wilder kind of lumberjack beard. No trimming on the neckline reduces the obvious shape of the beard by adding too much bulk beneath it. Start around your Adam’s apple or just above and trim/shave a curve up to your jaw corners. Shave all the areas below that curvature and let the long chin/jaw hairs grow long. Here’s a guide on trimming your neckline.
And that’s how to rock the ultra-manly lumberjack beard. There’s some work involved, but real lumberjacks never shirk honest work. So get rugged and swarthy, my man! With a burly lumberjack look, you’ll turn heads and you’ll strut with confidence… and the ladies will faint with lust.
TIM-BER!
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