A beard is not just a facial hair style, it’s an event. From the Milibeard to Jeremy Paxman-gate, the mere hint of a famous person growing a beard can set the Internet alight and leave a slew of hashtags and comment pieces in its wake.

But it’s not only celebs and politicians on the receiving end of beard-related hysteria. The decision to grow a beard can plunge even the meekest man chin-first into the spotlight as family, friends and colleagues offer thoughts and feelings on their new facial hair.

This attention might not be such a bad thing, if only it arrived at a more opportune moment. It’s one thing having people gawp at your chinstrap when it’s fully formed, but another to have them judge the shapeliness of your facial hair when you’re still in the process of trying to grow it out.

Here, we’ve clustered together some helpful opinions on how to grow facial hair.

LET IT GROW

“Out of 10 men I’d probably say seven of them break,” says Dan Gregory, founder and creative director of Man Made London, discussing the initial growth period. “It’s hard, it looks so scruffy.”

“I always suggest, if you’re going to go for a new beard, grow it over the Christmas break or your holidays,” Dan explains. “Don’t try and do it when you’ve got an important meeting in three weeks time.”

Set a goal

“Find an image online or on Instagram or a Tumblr or some feed you’ve seen, and take a picture. It’s like going to the gym — if you haven’t got a goal in mind then you’re just going for the sake of going.”

“Coming through from freshly shaved, the stubble tends to be very sharp and itchy,” explains Denis Robinson, artistic director at Ruffians. “After two to three weeks, depending on how fast the stubble grows, I would recommend visiting a barber to have it smoothed over with the clippers. Then you can discuss where you’re going with the beard in terms of what shape it’s going to be.”

Keep it clean

“Make sure the skin is clean, otherwise you can end up with beardruff (beard dandruff),” warns Dylan MacGreggor, a barber at Gents of London. “Your skin will go dry and start to go flaky or scaly. I’m an Aussi, so I use a face wash brand called Neutrimetics, but Dove is a really good brand for face wash too.”

Dan Gregory concurs. “It’s worth scrubbing the beard once or twice a week. What’s really good is a brand called Cornerstone. We use it quite regularly. It’s not too harsh, it’s not too strong on the beard.”

“There isn’t too much difference between a shampoo and a beard wash,” says Dan. “I wouldn’t put anything on my scalp that I wouldn’t be happy putting on my face.”

TAME THE BEAST

The best way to maintain a beard can shift from person to person, depending on their hair. However, there are some tips that can be applied broadly to most men.

Get to know your trimmer’s grading system

This can help prevent confusion when updating your barber on how you’ve been maintaining your beard. “Some clients come in and say ‘I use an 8’,  and we say, ‘oh that looks like a 2 to us’ in the clipper grade,” Dan explains.

“The Babyliss iStubble is awesome. It’s almost like a digital size guide, you just press up to go higher, but it tells you in millimeters as well.”

“If you don’t like to use a razor but you still want the sharp lines, you’ve got the Panasonic ES-LT6N. Foil shavers generally don’t cause any skin rash or irritation. I always try and stay away from the oscillating blade (rotary electric shavers), because if you’re cutting it in an oscillating turn it can cut the hair at an angle and that can cause irritation.

“They’ll take it down to clean shave, so if you’ve got the need for speed but still want precision, you can use your iStubble to trim it down, and then get your foil shaver to put your line in and on your cheeks as well. It’s a good option if you want to stay away from wet shaving.

“You’ve also got razors like Wilkinson Sword that have a flick trimmer where you can pull the head back and it exposes the blades, or a Quattro where you’ve got one blade at the back.

“A few of the Gillette ones have a one blade on the back as well. They’re good for getting the line in, and then just flip it round and shave comfortably with more blades.”

All three experts recommended that you can also get decent beard trimmers from Andis and Wahl.

Ditch unwanted beard curls

“If you have tight curls, I’d suggest getting an afro comb,” Denis suggests. “After you’ve showered, towel-dried and applied beard oil, just comb it through and then pat it into shape and let it dry on its own.” Working a little bit of moustache wax through the beard can also help achieve the desired shape.

Don’t cut away at the beard to try and rid it of unwanted curls and waves. “You always want to try and work with the curls and brush them out,” explains Dylan. “If it doesn’t go straight, you’re just going to have to leave it and work with it because once you start taking chunks out, it’s going to go patchy. And no one wants a patchy beard.”

Keep stray hairs in order

“If you’ve got a few long hairs that are sticking out longer than the bulk of the beard, then fluff your beard out by brushing against it and then snip them off using a small pair of scissors,” Denis advises.

Use a beard oil or beard balm

“Most are made from a carrier oil and another oil, typically seed or grain, so flaxseed or canola or rapeseed, something like that,” Dylan suggests. “It’s also going to help with styling. It’s not going to give you a lot of hold but it’s just going to keep it in place.”

“Avoid things that contain silicone,” Denis says. “There are a number of beard oils on the market that tend to contain silicone that make the hair look shiny but they’re not actually giving it any nourishment, so go for something which has got argon in there, which helps soften the hair.”

As the beard gets longer, Dylan recommends using shampoo and conditioner. “You can use haircare products in beards,” Denis confirms. 

STYLE IT

According to Dylan, “if you trim it properly, that’s half the battle with styling”. All the same, there are a few further points to consider when honing the beard’s shape.

Use ‘the smiley face’ technique

Shaving in a straight line below the chin will actually create a curve when you put your chin back down to it’s natural resting position. To avoid this, “do the smiley face”, says Dan Gregory.

“Start higher and follow the line of the jaw, follow that curve.”  He runs his thumb along the underside of his jawbone, in the curved shape of a smile. “Push underneath the jaw where your finger caves in and run that along the line of the jaw, and then follow the line in the cream.” That forms a guide to follow with the razor.

Keep it combed

“The key thing is to comb your beard. We just use our regular combs, or boar-bristle brushes. The combs you can get for beards are just smaller, more portable. If you’ve got a big hipster beard, combing it is the biggest go to thing.”

Don’t try to hide grey hair

“Personally I think grey’s dapper,” says Dylan. “The best thing to do is just embrace it. A big grey beard? I honestly think it looks really awesome.”

Dan concurs. “It adds a bit of distinctiveness to the person, it makes them look distinguished as well. You look at the likes of George Clooney, he’s got a beard sometimes, and it’s grey, but it looks groomed. I would keep it to the 3-6 millimetre mark.”

Francis Blagburn 

(The Daily Telegraph)