I'm just going to come right out and say it...Having the right beard style can make you look better, a whole lot better. But a beard gone wrong can leave you looking like you've been lost in the woods for a while and trust me, it's not always a good look! That's why you need to properly groom your beard and find a beard style that fits your face and the overall look you're going for. 

If you don't already know enough reasons why you should grow a maintain a glorious beard, I'm going to give you one more by explaining how a beard can actually make your face look thinner (I'm talking from personal experience).

Underneath my beard, I have a round face and even though I stay in pretty decent shape, my cheeks are more on the round/chunky side. What's great about having a beard, is you can choose the right style to give you the proportions you want and elongate your face to be better balanced. And when I say balanced, I'm referring to your the overall shape your beard, face and hair make collectively.

So because I have a round face and chubby cheeks, my beard allows me to mask that a bit and elongate the overall shape of my face. You can do the same.

There are 2 ways to make your face look thinner from your beard style

Trimming Your Beard

When it comes to trimming a beard style to make your face look thinner, you really want to focus on the sides to eliminate any bulk making your face look wider. You can use a good pair of beard scissors or beard trimmers to get the job done, it really comes down to whichever you're more comfortable with. I personally have found better results from a good beard trimmer and taking my time. 

I would first start by keeping your sideburns really clean, and either fade your sideburns into your beard or at the very least keep your sideburns at a shorter length using your beard trimmer and a guard. If you aren't familiar with how to fade your beard and sideburns, you can learn how to by clicking HERE, or you can watch this video where I'll show you exactly how!

Once you have the sideburns trimmed down a bit, it's time to trim the rest of the beard down a bit. The idea is to treat your beard like a hedge and work from the outside to bring the "bulk" down. You want to trim any beard hairs that stick out past the width of about your sideburns.

By trimming your beard down it will instantly make your beard appear longer because you haven't taken any length off the chin. This will immediately give your face a thinner proportion overall.

Now to be clear here, I'm not saying trim your cheek hair so short that you only have hair on your chin! That would be a goatee, and although we support any version of a beard you feel best with, I don't recommend you take it that far. Use your best judgment when you trim it down to find a balanced look that gives you a thinner beard style. 

If you're hesitant to do this yourself, seek a professional and REALLY explain what you're looking to do. Show pictures and make sure you're specific! If you'd prefer to attempt it yourself and have additional questions, contact us anytime with a photo and we can give you detailed advice to help.

Beard Products

The second way to give your face a thinner proportion is to use the right beard products to tame your beard. The idea here is pretty simple and doesn't take any trimming at all. 

Without proper beard grooming by using beard products, your beard hairs are coarse and unruly. This is why beard products exist! They will dramatically improve the way your beard looks, feels, smells and grows.

So if you aren't already, make sure to keep your beard clean with a natural beard wash, apply your beard oil to moisturize the skin and relax the hairs, and most importantly you need some beard butter to control and tame the hairs to lay down much closer to your face.

After you apply your products, you can then work your beard into place with your beard comb. If your hairs are really wild and stick out a lot, there are a couple of options.

First, use a boar hair brush to really move the hairs and get them to settle down a bit. The boar hair brush has thousands of bristles that serve as a workhorse to really shape and style your beard.

IF you still are having some hairs puff out a bit you can take it one step further and go for the blow dryer. Now there is a bit of a discussion on whether or not a blow dryer is harmful on your beard, and although I don't have a lot of experience personally, I've talked to tons of guys and I truly don't think it causes damage...as long as you are using your beard oil and beard butter to get the moisturization back into your beard as the heat will cause your beard to dry out which can lead to damage.

Final Thoughts

I truly hope you found these tips helpful to style your beard in a way that compliments your face and the overall look you are going for. Here at Live Bearded, we believe you should rock whatever look you feel best with. 

If you have any questions about this article, these tips, beard products or really anything at all, contact us anytime. Our mission is to help Beardsmen look, feel and be their best, so let us know how we can support you.

Live Bearded, Brother!