Top Tips On Beard Grooming
Beard grooming can be considered an art form by some, a necessity by others, and maybe a nuisance to a few, although most who have beards have grown them because they like them. Of course, you have to grow a beard before you start to groom it. It's much easier to grow either a full beard, or at least allow facial hair to grow out somewhat before starting your beard grooming ritual, than it is to try to shape a beard the way you want it be while it's in the process of growing out for the first time.
Some men may look like they came up with their personal beard grooming scheme while under the influence of something, and others look like the beard they're sporting looks better on them than it would on almost anyone else. Beauty is still in the eye of the beholder, and when a man grows a beard he is comfortable with, he may never change.
Some men prefer to have a professional trim their beards, and if you work in an industry or an environment where image is all important, this may not be a bad idea. Others, however, would never dream of having scissors touch their facial hair except one held in their own hand. What they have learned about beard grooming, they have no doubt taught much of it to themselves, sometimes by trial and error, occasionally with results that made starting over from scratch the only reasonable choice.
Trimming And Shaping - There are usually two basic parts to beard grooming:
Trimming
Shaping
Usually is the operative word, as those who opt for a full beard sometimes are not particularly concerned about shaping, only trimming. There are, of course, a few to whom beard grooming is a completely foreign term, but almost everyone trims his beard, and most both trim and shape it.
Shaping a beard is usually done with a wet razor. After the first shaping, only a little facial hair is removed for fine-tuning, and after that, stubble growing at the boundary of the beard is shaved away, usually daily.
Trimming a beard is normally done with scissors. One piece of advice is to only trim the beard when it's dry. This has nothing to do with ease of technique, but rather takes into account the fact that hair appears longer when it is wet. If you trim a wet beard, it may end up shorter than you planned once it has dried.
Two Passes Often Better Than One - Another beard grooming tip is to trim off a little less than you think you need to, then make a second, or even a third pass to get things right. It's easier to make a correction when the hair is too long than when you suddenly find it's too short. A comb-and-scissors technique is best here. By cutting to the outside of the comb, you can easily control how much hair is being cut off and also be more certain of a uniform trim.
Cleanliness And Color - Good beard grooming also implies having a clean beard, especially important when sporting a full beard, but good practice for any beard style, even stubble.
The one other thing that many men consider at one time or another is coloring their beard. Often, this is done to hide encroaching shades of gray, but sometimes it's done just to make a statement. Two things to note here, especially if you're trying to hide some gray hairs:
Most beard coloring products will turn out darker than advertised. A shade of light brown may work better than a shade of dark brown, even though you have the darker color in mind. It's easier to use a second application or let it set longer to get the hair darker than to try to lighten it.
The other thing to note is that in most beards, all the facial hairs are not exactly the same color, which makes the beard look natural. If all the hairs are the same color, due to use of a coloring agent, a beard can look false or artificial.
If you do your own beard grooming, there may be times at first where after a grooming session you really don't want to leave the house, but you'll get better. As was stated at the beginning, beard grooming is an art form, and for most, an immensely satisfying one.