Many men have realized that rocking a beard is a great way to express their personality and unique style. However, choosing the style of beard that best suits you, in particular, might require a bit more effort. After all, you can’t expect the beard you see on someone else to look the same on you if the two of you have completely different face shapes. Just like with hairstyles and glasses, it’s important to take into account your own facial features when looking for the ideal way to shape your beard.
What’s Your Face Shape?
In order to find the ideal beard for your face shape, you need to know what your face shape is first. In general, the easiest way to learn this is to measure your jawline, cheekbones, forehead, and face length. That said, take a measuring tape and measure the following areas as stated:
- Forehead: measure the length between the arches of your eyebrows;
- Cheekbones: measure the length between the most prominent areas on your cheeks, just below the eyes;
- Jawline: measure the length between the widest points of your jaw;
- Face length: measure the length between the center of your hairline and the tip of your chin.
Now that you have your measurements written down, you can use these 4 numbers to determine your face shape.
- Oblong: the face length measurement is the largest while other measures are rather similar;
- Oval: your face length is longer than the cheekbones and the forehead is longer than the jawline, which is rounded;
- Square: the measurements for all 4 areas of the face are pretty similar and the jaw is quite sharp;
- Rectangular: the face length is the most prominent measure while the cheekbones and forehead have similar lengths with a stronger jaw;
- Diamond: the face length is the longest with gradually descending measurements from cheekbones to the forehead to the jawline, ending with a pointed chin;
- Triangular: regardless of the face length, the jawline is the largest in size, followed by cheekbones and then the forehead.
Match the Beard Style to Your Face Shape
Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash
To put it simply, your goal is to pair your jaw and beard so that they work as a team in creating a graduated oval look together.
- Oblong Face Shape
If you have an oblong face shape, your face is definitely a bit longer yet narrower. In that sense, you shouldn’t put the weight of your beard look on the bottom of your chin but move it to the sides. That said, the ideal beard look for an oblong face shape is something like Mutton Chops that draws attention to the sides of your face.
- Oval Face Shape
With a slightly wider forehead and chin, oval face shape seems to be the ideal shape for experimenting with different beard styles. In general, this is the middle ground of all the face shapes and people who have these features can typically get away with pretty much anything. However, if you’re interested in the best look possible, consider a goatee with a bit more hair at the bottom of the chin.
- Square Face Shape
Due to its angular features, the ideal beard style for square face shape is to focus on the beard growth at the chin while keeping the hair on the sides short or shaved completely. Matching the fuller beard at the chin with a mustache is also a good look, however, don’t grow out your beard too long.
- Rectangular Face Shape
Since the rectangular face shape is typically longer and less angular compared to the square one, you can get away with a full beard or a longer goatee with trimmed sides. It can be difficult to nail the best beard style between square and rectangular face shapes as the differences can be rather subtle. Seek advice from renowned and experienced AZ barber shop professionals, or the best shops in your immediate area. Barbers with years of experience and skill will be able to recognize the best beard style for you and your face shape quickly. They might also help you with the tips and tricks on taking care of and trimming your beard at home.
- Diamond Face Shape
Similarly to the oval face shape, men with the diamond face can rock pretty much whatever beard style they prefer. It will look good as long as you take proper care of it.
- Triangular Face Shape
Those with a triangular face shape have to create a balance between the beard style and their hairline. That said, the ideal choices include a simple goatee, a mustache, or even a chinstrap.
In the end, you should always do you and pick a beard style that makes you happy. But if you want to make sure that the beard truly complements your overall look, get the tape measure and note down your face sizes.
Taylor Parker is an American based writer and blogger. She is very passionate about family, fashion, health and lifestyle. Taylor writes mostly lifestyle articles, but also you’ll find her in home improvement and other niches.
