If you want the perfect beard for your look, it’s important to choose the right beard length when trimming. Although different trimmer guards have numbers that dictate different lengths, it can be hard envisioning how your facial hair will look afterwards. Furthermore, how you groom your beard will determine how you maintain and style your facial hair until it grows out! And while your genetics will affect how long and thick your beard can grow and therefore dictate the best length for you to keep, it’s essential for men to learn about beard trimmer lengths and their corresponding sizes and styles. Whether you want a stubble, short, medium-length or long beard, check out this complete guide to beard lengths. From how long it takes to grow to finding the best beard length for business professionals, we’ll help you figure out how short or long your facial hair should be.
Contents
Stubble
Stubble is easy to spot as a light beard style that naturally grows after a couple of days with no shaving. Previously, it was thought of as lazy and uncouth to sport stubble, whereas now, a stubble beard style is considered cool and trendy. Also known as a five o’clock shadow or the 3-day beard, the stubble beard look is masculine and ruggedly charming, and can make teen boys or young men look older and manly.
Short and trendy, it’s an easy style to pull off as long as you start from the beginning and use a facial scrub to remove dead skin and unclog pores. Stubble can be a range of beard lengths. If you have 0.5mm to 1mm, then you’ll have light stubble. Guys with 2mm to 3mm will have a full stubble beard, and a 4mm beard starts to be classified as heavy stubble.
Who Should Style A Stubble Beard?
A stubble beard is an excellent option for pretty much every man since it’s masculine, professional and casual all at the same time. However, it works remarkably well for guys with baby faces who struggle to make the transition from small growth to a full-on beard. Not only is it a fantastic middle ground, but it’s a perfect way to add ruggedness to soft features.
Well-groomed short stubble is also the perfect corporate beard for business professionals. Whereas long facial hair can look wild and unkempt, a small amount of facial hair growth can be appropriate and in-line with workplace standards regarding a man’s appearance.
How Long Does It Take To Grow A Stubble Beard?
While it depends on your genetics, most men can grow a stubble beard in 3 to 7 days. As a rule, it shouldn’t take longer than 10 days for the spiky whiskers to come through and make your clean-shaven style a lot edgier and daring. For the men who are super-hairy, you might start to see coverage within a day or two.
It’s unlikely that you’ll experience hair coming back after a few hours, but it has been known to happen in extreme cases. If you fall into this category, you should keep in mind that you’ll require extra maintenance to stop stubble from morphing into a short to medium-length beard.
How To Trim A Stubble Beard
The perfect length for a stubble beard is about 2.5mm. Some stubble trimmers come with built-in dials for different length settings, while other high-quality machines will require you to choose between a 2mm and 3mm guard. Most men prefer heavy stubble as it makes them feel sexy, so a 3mm to 4mm guard setting might be the ideal beard for you.
If this is your first time using different trimmer lengths, always start longer and you can always go shorter. After you are comfortable with the amount of hair the trimmer will take off, you should go all around the beard line until the length is uniform. It’s better to trim once or twice a week and let your facial hair grow out inbetween than to groom every day and put extra stress on your skin.
How To Maintain A Stubble Beard
Stubble beard maintenance is straightforward from a skincare perspective. Applying a scrub beforehand and moisturizer afterward should help your face deal with the friction of your trimmer. In terms of styling, you should focus on the neckline to incorporate a different look. For example, bringing the neck hair up to your Adam’s apple will strengthen the jaw while softening the aesthetic.
Alternatively, if the cheek sections are hairy, you can elongate your face by removing the guard and using your trimmer to cut and clean up the stray facial hair that stands out. This technique is called “beardtouring” or beard contouring.
Short Beard
A short beard is a trendy, neat facial hair style that is longer than stubble but still easy to get and maintain. Short beard styles are popular with men for many reasons, including the fact that short facial hair is versatile, relatively low-maintenance, and appears ruggedly handsome. Men who love to play around with their facial hair can do so by opting for a goatee.
Another reason why it’s a common feature with modern men is that it provides guys who suffer from inconsistent growth with an alternative. While a short beard works best thick and full, guys with patchy growth can let their facial hair grow out and use the longer length to cover up bald spots.
Who Should Style A Short Beard?
All men who can grow facial hair should experiment with a short beard. Stylish and classy, short beard styles are great for business, especially if you can grow a full beard. If you are unsure whether your growth will be thick enough, a good move is to head to your barber and ask for their help. Similarly, you may want to make changes to your lifestyle, including diet, exercise, and beard growth products.
From round to square to long, the good news is that short beards suit almost every face shape so you don’t have to fret about the natural contours of your face too much. You may need to trim or fade your beard at the sides a little to elongate your head or leave them longer to add width, but there is definitely a beard style for everyone.
How Long Does It Take To Grow A Short Beard?
Since facial hair grows at a rate of half an inch per month, it should take you 10 to 30 days to grow a short beard. Depending on how thick and full your beard comes in, a short facial hair style can be anywhere from 5mm to 15mm, with many guys trimming a 10mm or 1cm beard. For a longer beard, continue to be patient and let your beard grow out with time.
Also, growing your beard longer can be a great way to overcome a patchy beard. Longer facial hairs can give your beard a thicker and fuller look by covering up the thinner areas.
How To Trim A Short Beard
You’ll need a beard trimmer with multiple guards and lengths to trim the perfect short beard. Most guys find that 10mm is a good setting to maintain a shorter beard, but be aware that facial hair doesn’t grow evenly all over the face. As a result, it may be necessary to bump it up a notch to 15mm for your mustache and neckline so that everything is even.
For a short full beard, you may want to groom the hairs with a 15mm or 20mm length setting. The longer length will give you a 1 inch beard for a manly look women will love.
How To Maintain A Short Beard
Like with stubble, face scrub and moisturizer before and after trimming are vital. Men with healthy short beards will need to start regularly brushing while applying beard oil. Short facial hair is big and bushy, but surprisingly requires more upkeep and maintenance because strays and poor care are more obvious. However, a short groomed beard is naturally very pleasing to the eye, especially when your facial hair straight, soft, and healthy.
Medium Length Beard
The medium length beard is a stage of growth where your facial hair starts to take shape and it is important to trim and groom your beard regularly. Medium beards require proper care and maintenance, including washing, conditioning, brushing, and the use of high-quality beard products. It’s not the type of facial hair that you should take lightly.
While grooming needs increase, medium beard styles are sexy and attractive to women. Like a power suit, it’s all about keeping it neat and ensuring that it fits your style. But if you want to look like a virile alpha male, start growing a mid length beard now.
Who Should Style A Medium Length Beard?
Coverage is a big deal with a medium beard. If you are genetically able to grow a thick, full beard evenly across your face, then you’ll love medium length facial hair. However, a longer style is not recommended for guys who have thin or patchy areas. Unlike a short beard, you can’t get away without full facial coverage. Also, this type of facial hair puts a heavy emphasis on upkeep, so if you want an effortless grooming routine, you might not want to grow out a longer beard.
Thanks to the extra length, and the fact that it’s more tailored, a medium-sized beard will elongate your features and make your jawline even manlier.
How Long Does It Take To Grow A Medium Length Beard?
On average, men have to wait anywhere between 1 to 2 months before they hit the ideal length. Still, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to do anything for 30 days since trimming and cutting stray hairs and bringing up your neckline should help it take shape sooner.
How To Trim A Medium Length Beard
The key is to use your trimmer to shape and clean up your beard. After your beard reaches about 3cm, you’ll want to groom with the longest guard you have as well as start to use scissors to cut stray hairs. By doing this, you will keep your facial hair thick and even, and avoid the common mistake of cutting it too short and messing up your growth.
Avoid this pitfall by being disciplined and overly cautious with your trimmer and shears. As your beard grows to 2, 3, and 4 inches, you’ll stop using a trimmer and groom primarily with a comb and scissors.
How To Maintain A Medium Length Beard
A medium beard requires care and styling products. Any time your facial hair is longer than 1 inch, a good beard shampoo, conditioner, oil, and wax is necessary to maintain and style your facial hair. Apply shampoo or scrub when you’re in the shower and you’ll remove any dead skin that builds underneath.
When styling your beard, use wax or oil to add moisture so that your hairs don’t dry out and become flaky. Be sure to comb or brush through the liquid so that it reaches your beard’s follicles. With a bushier beard, using a trimmer to cut away hairs can be difficult, so you might want to switch to small scissors.
For guys with curly facial hair who want a straight beard, consider getting a quality beard straightener.
Long Beard
A long beard, also known as a full beard, is a type of facial hair style that stands out as impressive and epic. To progress from a medium length to long facial hair, your beard has to grow for at least 6 months. These long beard styles have been popular in recent years and require regular care, maintenance and grooming.
Who Should Style A Long Beard?
It goes without saying, but your growth has to be on another level to pull off a long beard. Shape-wise, it’s a lot easier to style a long beard if you have the right face shape. Even with the right look and facial features, most men won’t grow their beard this long because it isn’t the most professional look for business.
If you have the freedom to experiment with a long beard style, we highly recommend you try. When styling, you’ll want to straighten your beard with brushing to keep a nice shape.
Currently, there’s a trend of bald and balding guys swapping the hair on their heads for facial hair. If your hairstyle is thinning, a long beard is a powerful way to incorporate texture for a masculine style. Plus, it’s a focal point that turns attention away from your head.
How Long Does It Take To Grow A Long Beard?
On average, most men can start to grow a long beard in 6 months. Depending on how long you want your beard to be, it can take 12 to 24 months to achieve your desired length. Given a growth rate of half an inch per month, you will have a 3 inch beard in 6 months, a 6 inch beard in a year, and a 12 inch beard in 2 years. However, most guys tend to have stunted hair growth after the first year, so achieving an epic beard can take longer.
How To Trim A Long Beard
Your beard trimmer will only be used to clean up the neckline, around the cheeks, and maybe fade your sideburns into your facial hair. Otherwise, you’ll want to use scissors and a comb. How long your beard should be is ultimately determined by your desired style.
You can cut, taper and trim a longer beard length to fit your look. Still, long beards are generally at least 6 to 8cm before you can begin to call it a full beard.
How To Maintain A Long Beard
A long beard will get dirty, which is why you must apply shampoo to cleanse and conditioner to moisturize regularly. In addition to regularly washing and conditioning, your beard will need to be brushed and straightened. A well-kept longer beard is especially important for professional men.
While brushing, you will need to apply beard oil and comb it through so it penetrates deep and reaches your skin underneath. Oil gets rid of an itchy beard caused by dry skin. Finish off by styling with wax to create the shape you want for the perfect beard.
Beard Trimmer Lengths
Good beard trimmers come with guards that cut different lengths. Most trimmers have numbers on their attachments to help guys choose the right beard length. However, there are quality trimmers designed with built-in precision dials that provide 0.5mm increments up to 10mm (1cm) or 20mm (2cm) in length.
Here is a quick reference guide for different beard trimmer guard sizes.
- Setting 1 – 1mm
- Setting 2 – 2mm
- Setting 3 – 3mm
- Setting 4 – 5mm
- Setting 5 – 7mm
- Setting 6 – 9mm
- Setting 7 – 12mm
- Setting 8 – 15mm
- Setting 9 – 16mm
Best Beard Trimmer on the Market
Trimming a beard requires a quality trimmer. With so many brands and machines on the market, it can be a challenge finding the best beard trimmer to get. There are two main types of trimmers we recommend and which one is better for you depends on your beard length and style.
For starters, the Philips Norelco Multigroom Series 7000 is the ultimate beard trimmer for men. This model was engineered with self-sharpening steel blades for a smooth close cut and is powered by the company’s top-of-the-line motor that will help you cut through a thick long beard without snagging.
The machine comes equipped with a long-lasting rechargeable lithium-ion battery that delivers 5 hours of run time per charge and a cordless waterproof design for easy cleaning and maintenance.
Complete with a full set of guards and attachments, guys get 23 pieces to cover all your trimming needs. You can groom your beard with no guard for a near-clean-shaven face, use the shortest guard for a 1mm beard or attach one of the combs inbetween, up to a 16mm cut.
Well-made, versatile, and popular, the Philips Norelco Series 7000 is the best beard trimmer on the market and certainly our top pick.
- The all in 1 trimmer for your choice of beard,...
- The DualCut technology offers maximum precision...
- To deliver maximum torque and power, the all in 1...
Another high-quality machine to consider is the Panasonic ER-GB42-K. This beard trimmer comes with a precision dial with 19 adjustable length settings ranging from 0.5mm to 10mm. The super sharp, hypoallergenic blades cut through a thick facial hair with ease. The blades have been positioned at a 45 degree angle to help lift hairs for perfect cutting.
With a rechargeable NiMH battery that offers up to 50 minutes of runtime, a waterproof build that makes the machine completely washable and even usable in the shower, and an ergonomic grip for comfortable handling, this Panasonic trimmer is excellent for stubble, short and medium length beards.
If you want a trimmer with a number of built-in length settings, you’ll want to invest in this Panasonic grooming machine.
- Quick adjust electric trimmer dial provides 19...
- Sleek masculine design with a rubberized,...
- Trim smoothly and comfortably anytime, anywhere...
Best Beard Products
The best beard products can go a long way in caring, maintaining and styling your facial hair. From cleansers and conditioners to oils, balms, combs and brushes, you’ll want to invest in a grooming kit or pick up these products separately from top-rated brands.
If you’re serious about your facial hair, here are the best beard care products to help you grow and style the perfect beard. Our top picks represent the highest-quality products on the market, are made with all-natural ingredients and come with affordable prices to meet any budget.
