At 18|8 Milwaukee, our mission is to help the men of Milwaukee, WI and the surrounding areas look, feel, and perform their best through our suite of world-class haircuts, undeniably classic straight shaves, and other men’s grooming services. We’ve seen firsthand just how big of an impact a beard can have on a man’s look, but while beards can certainly upgrade your appearance, that’s only true if they’re well-maintained. A strong beard grooming regimen is critical to effectively rocking facial hair, and if you’re not sure where to start, our expert barbers can help.
How to Take Proper Care of Your Beard
A beard poperly-styled can add an incredible level of class, elegance, or sex appeal to a man’s appearance – but the operating word here is ‘properly-styled.’ While some men are blessed with facial hair that grows in perfect without much trimming, most guys will need to be diligent with their upkeep to rock a bearded look. At 18|8 Milwaukee, our barbers regularly help our clients make the most of their beards for a great look, so here are our biggest need-to-know tips on beard grooming.
Get Your Kit Together
Trimming, shaping, and grooming a beard takes a specific and calibrated approach, and to do it well, you’ll need a few key grooming tools. At a minimum, we recommend getting a high-quality beard trimmer with multiple guard heads, a solid beard comb, and a pair of facial hair scissors. If your beard trimmer can effectively shave hair down to near-skin level, you’re fine with just one, but some men find it easier to get a metal foil shaver as well to clear neck hair.
Define the Neckline
Perhaps the most important and most poorly-understood skill in beard grooming is defining a proper neckline. Many men overshoot when trimming neck hair, shaving too far up and creating an awkward line that follows the chin and jaw, while others aren’t aggressive enough and leave too much hair on the neck for a sloppy-looking beard. To properly define your neckline, take your finger and trace a smooth, U-shaped line that follows the curvature of your ear down underneath the jaw joint, continuing to roughly follow the bend where the vertical skin of your neck curves to be flatter underneath the chin. Your beard should extend from your face all the way down to right before the skin straightens out vertically at the neck – this makes the beard feel full and well-proportioned without an unsightly neck beard.
Trim & Fine-Tune
With the neckline in place, it’s time to get your beard in gear. Start by using your beard trimmer to buzz your entire beard to your desired length. This will be different for everyone, but if you’re not sure, it’s always best to start with a higher guard number and work your way down. After trimming, use the beard comb to get all the hairs into place facing one way and use your scissors to trim any strays or any mustache hairs hanging over the lip. Finally, use your foil shaver, a razor, or the lowest setting on your beard trimmer to remove all the hair below your neckline.
Schedule a Haircut & Beard Trim at Your Milwaukee Barbershop
We hope these tips make it easier for you to get your beard into tip-top shape, but as always, we’re here to help if you have any questions. For an even better result, schedule a haircut and beard trim with one of our expert barbers. They’ll groom your haircut and beard into truly impeccable form, then provide personalized tips on how to keep your beard groomed and well-maintained at home. Ready to look and feel like a brand new man? Schedule an appointment online today!