Knowing where to trim a beard neckline is something many guys struggle with. When it comes to trimming a beard there are a lot of ways to do it wrong, and we hate seeing and hearing these stories of bad beard trims!

We've been getting asked by a lot of you where to trim a beard neckline, so we put together a super quick and easy explainer to help you guys avoid making a trimming mistake and ending up with a chin-strap-looking beard.

Where NOT To Trim Your Beard Neckline

Sometimes knowing what NOT to do is more helpful than knowing what to do. When it comes to trimming a beard neckline, this might very well be the case.

First things first: You do NOT want to trim this line in on your jawline. 

Let me repeat this... Do not trim your beard on your jawline itself. In order to have a full beard, you really need the hairs from under your jawline and some of your neck hairs to not only get a full beard profile, but to also have the fullness as your beard grows longer.

Trimming a beard on the jawline is a common mistake, especially for new growers, and it's one we've probably all made at least once. If you trim on your jawline, your beard will appear much too thin on your face and, ultimately, better resemble a chin strap than a full beard. 

Where To Trim Your Beard Neckline

Oh, the impact just a little bit can make! Trimming your beard neckline lower will make ALL the difference in how your beard looks in the early stages of growth (and later, too).

You want to trim your beard neckline where your head connects to your neck - which is usually just above your Adam's apple. An easy way to find this line when you're first growing your beard is to look down and see where your neck creases. This is a good general placement for your neckline.

When it comes to trimming the actual line, grab a pair of electric beard trimmers and start at the middle. Everyone has a personal preference but in general, you want a straight line across your neck while slightly curving up towards your ears as you round the neck. Again, this is all personal preference! 

When you get to the corner of your beard, you can either square the corners off if you are looking for a boxed beard style, or you can round them; it's entirely up to you.

Not sure what to do? Do some research and find some beard style inspiration and see what beard style or look you find most appealing. 

When you establish your line, you can then clean up any hairs growing under the line, and check back in every few days (or as often as you'd like) to clean it up again. Some guys opt to take a straight razor and really get them trimmed down; I personally just stick with the beard trimmers as they get the hairs down short enough for me.

Beard Neckline For Short Beards

Trimming in your beard neckline correctly is most important in the early stages of your beard growth. When your beard is just growing out, it can look very sloppy and unruly without defining the beard lines. So we believe trimming in your beard neckline is critical. Don't neglect the back line and top line, though! It's amazing what a little clean up can do for your look and the way people perceive you.

Beard Neckline For Long Beards

As your beard grows long, the neckline becomes less important since your beard length simply covers what you see. Therefore, we recommend you trim your beard neckline and keep it clean until you can't see it anymore - at which point, you can choose to clean it up or not. At that point, your beard is gloriously long and the extra neck hairs will only add to the thickness of your beard.

NOT Trimming A Beard Neckline

This may go against what I just said... BUT hear me out! If you know for a fact you are going for a wizard of a beard and have zero intentions of keeping it short, you may want to consider going all natural and not trim your neckline at all.

You can still clean up the cheeks a bit and the backline if you choose, but the additional neck hairs will give you more thickness to your beard so you may want to consider leaving them. Just be aware that this means your beard growth process will be a bit more unkept until you get to the longer length beard.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, we encourage all of you guys to grow and groom the beard YOU want to have. Find what style you prefer and rock it with confidence. 

If you have any questions about where you should trim your beard, shoot us an email and send a picture and we're happy to help give you specific advice. 

And as always, 

Live Bearded, Brother!