Beard Trimming 101

Many men embark on the process of growing their beard never dreaming of cutting it. God forbid you cut one stray hair off that luscious mane that has taken you months to grow just one inch off your face. The tough truth is that, even if you’re planning to grow a beard that rivals Santa’s, a simple trim is necessary to maintain a healthy, good looking beard and promote future growth.

In the beginning, all you really need is a pair of grooming scissors (also called shears if you’re feeling fancy) in order to simply trim away the split ends. This process should only remove a minuscule amount of facial hair from your hard earned beard, minimizing emotional pain. The grooming scissors will also come in handy when it’s time to trim mustache hairs away from your upper lip to avoid any dining mishaps.

You know it’s time to graduate from scissors to a trimmer when you have reached your beard growth goals and beyond. At this point, you may decide to trim your sideburns to a shorter length in order to add more structure to your beard. You’ll also want to continue trimming any split ends or stray hairs from your beard as well. When it’s time for a full trim, you may decide to add a long guard to your clippers and move downward with your beard as you trim. This makes for a faster way to trim away those split ends. It could also be time for a deeper trim if you’ve begun to notice that one side of your beard is growing at a faster rate than the other, which is totally normal FYI. You’ll simply have to make an effort to trim your beard as symmetrically as possible.

The moral of the story is to not be afraid of trimming your beard! It is all a part of the process and every bastard has been through it. Keeping your beard healthy is going to promote growth and keep you looking fresh, so it’s all for your beard’s benefit.

Time to look for the trimmer that is going to suite you best? Check out this previous blog post on the Top Five Beard Trimmers That Guarantee that Perfect Trim Every Time.