Top 27 Different Types of Beards: Best Beard Styles & Ideas

Looking for the best beard styles and ideas and curious about the different types of beards you could grow? Whether you’ve had a beard all your adult life and want to style a new look or you’re just now wanting to grow a long, full beard but aren’t sure where to start, this is a collection of the most popular beard styles for men. The purpose of these examples is to inspire those guys who are thinking of growing out facial hair and want sexy beard design ideas.

Below, you will learn more about the best types of beards, their names, who should consider them, and how to shape them yourself. From short and neat to long and full, these beard ideas offer cool styles for all guys.

Popular Beard Styles For Men

Here are the most popular beard styles by name. With so many unique and great beards to choose from, you’ll want to grow, trim and style all of these awesome beard shapes and cuts.

Scruff

Also commonly known as a light stubble beard, the term scruff refers to just a couple days’ worth of growth. The stubble beard is a short style any guy can grow and wear because it’s almost as if you’ve forgotten to shave for a day or two. Nevertheless, scruff can be used to describe any full beard that is trimmed very close to the skin. Stubble beard trimmers were specifically designed to help guys get this masculine, gritty facial hair look.

To get scruffy beard styles at home, just let your hair grow for several days, then use a good trimmer at low setting to keep your facial hair one length. You can let everything grow – including your neck and cheeks – or you can trim and shape your stubble in these areas for a more clean-cut finish.

Heavy Stubble Beard

Heavy stubble can be defined as a thick 5 o’clock shadow but not yet a full beard. Heavy stubble beards are longer than scruff so they take about 10 days to grow, but women find them to be one of the hottest facial hair styles for men. Thick stubble that is three to four millimeters long is ideal, and this cut is best for guys who grow even beards all over without patches.

Stubble beards are easy to maintain with a high-quality trimmer, and like scruff, you get to decide whether to keep your neck and cheeks clean-shaven or just let them grow. As a badass look for most men, we highly recommend heavy stubble beard styles.

Corporate Beard

Men who can successfully grow a natural, full beard are perfect for the corporate beard. The corporate beard style gets its name from the well-coiffed and trimmed look that is suitable for daily wear at the office. It’s ideal for professional men who want to have a thick beard and don’t mind good beard care and grooming.

If you’re starting with a bare face, expect it to take you a few weeks (or perhaps months, if your beard grows more slowly) to reach this length. You will need to carefully maintain this short beard by trimming your cheeks, neck, and any longer hairs that may grow out from time to time. A fresh, clean presentation is of the utmost importance, and crisp lines and proper shaping is required. Invest in a top-rated beard trimmer for smooth, close cuts.

Short Beard

The short beard encompasses many different types of beards, but it’s typically described as one that is trimmed close to your face and no more than an inch to inch and a half long. The corporate beard and heavy stubble are two trendy short beard styles. However, men can grow and groom a number of different short beards.

Guys can grow their facial hair out, with the hair on your chin slightly longer than the hair on your cheeks. Furthermore, you can keep your neck and cheeks trimmed or let them grow naturally. From the short full beard to the Van Dyke to thick stubble with defined lines, the short beard is classy, understated, and stylish.

Long Beard

Long beard styles include the “lumberjack” and “wizard” looks, which involve growing hair at the bottom of your face for months (and in some cases even years) until they reach beyond your Adam’s apple and even down as far as your chest. There are many ways to grow and style the best long beards.

The trick to really rocking this look involves keeping your beard clean, smooth, soft and healthy. This means washing, shampooing, and conditioning your beard regularly as well as using beard oil and balm to keep your facial hair hydrated and conditioned all day.

Then, as it grows thicker and longer, you will need to use a natural boar bristle beard brush to straighten your beard and maintain the styling. Alternatively, some guys prefer beard straighteners for thick, coarse facial hair.

Full Beard

Full beard styles epitomize virility and manliness. Full beards grow all over your face, including your neck and checks, and come in both short and long lengths. The full beard offers limitless styling and shaping options for maximum versatility. You may even want to check out these cool haircuts for men with beards to complete your look.

To get a thick and full beard, you’ll need to stop shaving for at least a month. However, you can still trim and groom your beard in the meantime to ensure different parts of your facial hair grow evenly.

Goatee

A goatee is a beard style in which you shape your facial hair from the corners of your mouth down to your chin. The goatee beard is one of the most versatile partial beard options of them all because it can be trimmed thick or thin depending on how your facial hair grows. If you have patchy thin facial hair, goatee styles that outline around your mouth and chin can work well.

Moreover, there are short and long goatee styles that look good, so guys get the choice of letting their beard grow out or keeping hair fresh and trimmed. The goatee is the most popular of the chin beard styles, so experiment all you like until you find a look that works for you.

Circle Beard

The circle beard is a variation of the goatee in which you trim and connect your mustache and goatee to form a circle around your mouth. Contrary to popular belief, goatees don’t always have mustaches. Circle beard styles are adaptable, and guys can experiment with different lengths, shapes and styles.

Van Dyke

The Van Dyke beard is very closely related to the circle beard and the goatee. The Van Dyke features a mustache and facial hair on the chin that becomes pointy. The mustache isn’t connected to the beard and can be shaped into a handlebar.

The Van Dyke beard is among the coolest modern facial hair styles, and you are likely to find that many hipsters love the look. A great example is the fact that actor Johnny Depp has maintained a nice Van Dyke beard style for decades.

Handlebar Mustache

Though the handlebar mustache has been the source of many laughs and is often associated with older men, the truth is that hipsters have co-opted this facial hair style. Whether you wear your handlebars alone with no beard or accompanied by a full beard, handlebar mustaches offer an awesome way to enhance your look and stand out.

To get and style the handlebar, simply grow your mustache out long while keeping the area just above your lip trimmed. You can use mustache wax to twist the ends of the handlebars, turn them up or down, and style the idea any way you’d like.

Yeard

The yeard is the result of allowing your beard to grow for a full year without a single major cut. Though you should absolutely get rid of split ends and flyaways as you see them, the yeard requires uninterrupted growth and you should not actually trim the beard for at least 12 months or longer.

Just keep things clean, healthy, and conditioned. This means using a deep-cleansing beard shampoo and conditioner to remove dirt, grime and bacteria while moisturizing and conditioning your skin and hair. Afterwards, guys should apply beard oil with a comb that will reach their skin. This process will stop beard itch, get rid of dandruff, hydrate the skin underneath, and maximize growth.

Tweard

The tweard is a beard that results from two years of growth without any major trims. Like the yeard, be sure to keep it groomed, shaped, and styled for good beard care. You can even cut flyaways or split ends – just avoid trimming off any real length.

Hollywoodian

The Hollywoodian is a cool, chic beard style that’s been grown by a number of celebrities in the recent years. If you have prominent cheekbones that you want to show off, the Hollywoodian is a fantastic way to do it. It consists of two to three months of facial hair growth, and requires that you let your beard grow out all over and then completely shave the sideburns.

The Hollywoodian beard focuses your facial hair along your jawline, chin and mouth. The look may not work well with all face shapes, but it is worth experimenting to see.

Chin Strap

The chin strap beard is a thin strip of facial hair that connects the sideburns to your chin. Chin strap beard styles may include a mustache or soul patch; that choice is yours to make. Essentially, when the chin strap beard is groomed and trimmed properly, it looks much like a strap that goes all the way around your head and down under your chin.

The strip can be thick or thin depending on how much hair you have. Ultimately, the chin strap is a good look for men who struggle to grow a full beard.

Ducktail

The ducktail beard offers the perfect blend between classy and rebellious. Ducktail beards start on the cheeks and comes down to a rounded point two to four inches below the chin. You can have a ducktail with clean-shaven cheeks, or you can grow your facial hair out everywhere as long as you keep it trimmed and well-groomed. Ducktail beard styles are medium-length full beards that look good, especially if you have rugged features.

Mutton Chops

Mutton chops, also known as the wolverine beard, are among the most iconic beard types. To better understand how the mutton chops beard looks, imagine growing a full beard from ears to chin, then shaving the area where a goatee would normally grow – essentially like a reverse goatee. This means getting rid of the small patch of hair on your chin and above your lips where a mustache would be.

However, there is the option of getting a version of this classic look – the friendly mutton chops. The friendly mutton chops beard style keeps the mustache and shaves the middle of the chin area. While you can have a mustache with your mutton chops, most men prefer to keep this part of their face perfectly bare to emulate the wolverine beard style. Mutton chops can be thin and sparse or thick and full, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles until you find the one that best suits you. Needless to say, the wolverine beard is pretty badass and manly.

Best Beard Care Products For Men

Ultimately, taking care of your facial hair can be the difference between a tangled, dry mess and a healthy, thick beard. Beard oil and balm are vital parts of beard care and styling. Good quality beard products provide moisture, manageability, growth, and style. These affordable beard oils, balms, shampoos, and conditioners are perfect for any guy’s grooming routine, especially if you want a long, full beard that is soft and smooth.

Here are the best all-natural beard products for men.