Barber Advice For A Better Beard Trim

Spencer Bryce | June 10, 2020

Finding a great barber is hard; finding a great barber who knows how to trim a beard can seem impossible!

We hear stories from you guys every day about how you went to a barbershop, sat in a chair and said, "Shape my beard just a little," only to walk out pissed due to the hack job and lost beard growth you just paid for.

We know many of you aren't comfortable trimming your own beard and prefer to go see a professional, but we don't want to keep hearing about these terrible barbershop beard trim experiences!

Because of this, we sat down with our trusted barber Parker from Sungold Tattoo & Barber, who is among the best in the barber game, to give you tips on how to get a better beard trim on your next barbershop visit.

How To Get A Better Beard Trim From A Barber

1. Do Your Homework

One of the best things about living in the time we do is that information is at the tip of your fingertips, but it's up to you to use it.

This is Parker's most important piece of advice.

"Do your homework. It's too easy to find a barber on Instagram using hashtags like #phoenixbarber or #phoenixbeardbarber (depending on where you live of course) instead of just going to a random shop as a walk-in."

Spending the few minutes, or hours if it has to be, could save you from a bad trim and losing months of beard growth.

"Never walk into a barber and just sit in a chair. Barbering is a skill and not all barbers are equally skilled, especially with beards. So doing your homework is an absolute must."

2. Find a Barber, Not a Barbershop

When you go down the rabbit hole of finding a beard barber in your area, you want to be intentional about what, or more importantly who you're looking for.

"Seek out an individual barber, not a shop. Just because the shop has a good reputation doesn't mean every barber there is good with beards."

There are a lot of great barbershops out there, but not every barber in those shops are at the skill level. They say practice makes perfect, and you don't want to just sit in the chair of someone who hasn't had any practice or you could end up being the learning lesson for what NOT to do.

The second layer to this is not just finding a great barber, but finding a barber who's great with beards.

They don't teach beard trimming in most barber schools, so a barber with a great reputation giving haircuts could have zero experience with beards. So you want to do your research to find the best barber for beards.

If they're good, they should be showing off their work by posting before/after shots of their beard work on social media. They should make it very clear that they specialize in beards, and have proof of their work to back it up.

3. Over-communicate

Once you've found a solid barber with experience trimming beards, it's time to put his or her skills to the test and sit in their chair. But the work isn't done, yet!

It's up to YOU to over-communicate what you want your beard to look like so the barber knows what look, style, length and shape you are going for.

"Never say, just clean it up. Everybody's opinion on what clean it up means is different."

You want to take time before any trimming begins to fully explain what you want. We've found that showing pictures of your desired look is helpful as well. Just keep in mind that the picture you're showing may not be fully possible with your beard length, fullness, etc. but at least your barber will have a better idea as to what you're wanting.

"Not everyone is going to take the time to ask all the necessary questions especially if the shop is busy and maybe the barber is in a hurry. But you need to be specific. Talk mustache, lining up under the neck and where you want weight/bulk removed."

Don't feel bad speaking up. It's in the best interest of both sides you get the trim you want. The barber gets a return customer, and you get a great beard trim.

Be specific and over-communicate! It's a win-win.

Final Thoughts

Finding a beard barber can be difficult, so if you have a good one, take care of them and send them referrals. If you don't have one yet, you can check out our list of beard barbers or follow these steps to find one in your area.

If you can't seem to find a reliable barber, we have put tons of videos together to help educate you on how to trim your beard from home. This too can seem daunting at first, but with a few tips and some practice, it becomes much easier over time.

Here's where to start: