Let's be honest here..we have ALL made a beard trimming mistake at one point or another, and boy does it SUCK!

Some mistakes are worse than others... You know, when you trim your beard so bad the thought of shaving it off completely and starting over seems like a good idea for a split second. Well even a split second is too long for thoughts like that!

The truth is, most beard trimming mistakes can be fixed without sacrificing your entire beard. There are more than 7 mistakes we can and probably have made with our beards, but I wanted to cover the most common in hopes of saving you guys from making them moving forward

7 Beard Trimming Mistakes Every Guy Makes

Style Your Beard Before Trimming

Before you do any beard trimming, you need to go through your daily beard routine and apply any beard products you use. Then comb or brush your beard into place and let it fully dry. Here's why...

When you apply your beard oil and butter, the products will soften the hairs and alter the way your beard looks, and ultimately where those hairs fall into place. For example, beard butter has a light/medium hold and will straighten your beard hairs slightly. So if you trim without these products in, when you do apply them your beard will lay slightly differently and ultimately leave you with an uneven beard trim.

Uneven Beard Trim

This one might be the most often beard trimming mistake I personally make. You're sitting in the bathroom staring at the mirror trying to make sure the left side is as closely matched to the right as possible. You can quickly drive yourself crazy playing the back and forth game and if you're not careful, you'll end up taking off much more length than you wanted trying to get it"perfect".

My advice, step away from the mirror and come back to it later that day (or the next). Don't sit there and take more and more off.

Another trick I've found helpful is to take a picture to see if it's really even or not. For whatever reason, (maybe it's just me) I think my beard is even and then I see a picture or shoot a video for you guys and I realize my eyes must be crooked or something cause it's WAY uneven. So if you're unsure, take a quick picture and see how it looks (yes, it's a selfie but it's worth the sacrifice to make sure your beard trim is even!!).

High Neck Line

Ok, this may be the most common mistake we see on newer beards, and arguable the worst of them all. When you are defining your beard by shaping the lines, the difference of an inch can be the difference between a beard that looks great, and a beard that looks more like a chin strap...

You want to trim your neck line in where your head connects to your neck, NOT on your jawline! This line is usually just above your adams apple. By trimming in this line lower, your beard will have a much better side profile, and the additional hairs from the neck will provide much fuller growth as your beard grows out. 

Low Cheek line

Now the mistake most guys make with their cheek line is opposite of the neck line. Too often we see guys who shave their cheek line too low. I personally believe you should keep your top line as high as naturally possible. The idea is to trim down any rogue hairs that are above the bulk of your beard, but keep the line as high.

Whether you go all natural and don't trim anything, or create a line, that is up to you. If you do create a line, connect your sideburn to the top of your stache and again only trim away hairs that are above that line. 

Wet Beard Trim

When your beard is wet, your beard hairs appear longer because of the weight of the water. As your beard dries, your beard hairs shorten and settle into place.

Now most guys know not to trim when your beard is soaking wet, but even if it's "mostly dry" you'll still trim hairs that will shorten a bit when fully dry. So we always recommend trimming well after your beard has FULLY dry.

Trim too early or often

Now there are some of us who wait way too long to trim, usually out of fear, and there are others that trim too soon and often. A beard trim is not a bad thing, and in fact if it's done properly, it can leave your beard looking fuller than before the trim. But if you're looking to add length and grow your beard out, you don't need to trim every week! I recommend letting it grow for 3 months before you trim, and then check in every month or so to trim any flyaways hairs and keep it shaped. During these checkins you're not really taking length off, but focussing on the wild hairs or taking bulk out of the width. 

Took too much length off

This is one that causes a lot of pain. I mean, growing a beard takes some serious commitment of time and patience! So when you make a mistake that costs you months of growth, it's easy to get frustrated.

If you took too much length off, my best advice is to step away from the clippers. The last thing you want to do is try to fix it in the moment. You're pissed off, and you're likely just going to make it worse. You are your own worst critic and I guarantee you nobody is looking at your beard as closely as you are. Come back to it a couple hours later and see how you can even it out. The beautiful thing about a beard is that it'll grow back!

Final Thoughts:

Making a beard trimming mistake is not a good feeling, and chances are you have made at least one of these (or if you're like me you've made them all) and you'll likely make a mistake again. That's just part of the process.

I hope these points help save you avoid mistakes moving forward! Not making a mistake is only only half the battle. There are some beard trimming tips you can follow to get the perfect beard trim from home. If you're looking to learn proper beard trimming techniques, check out Beard Trimming From Home.

We offer a LIFETIME warranty and money back guarantee on everything that we do. If you ever have any questions about beard trimming, beard products or anything at all, don't hesitate to contact us anytime!

Live Bearded, Brother!