If you're looking to change up your look a little bit, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on a new wardrobe or fancy accessories. Sometimes, something as simple as a new facial hair style can take you leaps and bounds when it comes to looking and feeling your best.
But with so many different facial hair styles out there, which one should you go with?
While there are a number of different facial hair styles you can rock at any given time, here are 10 that may be the best for you.
This is one of the easiest styles to pull off in that it's pretty simple to grow and maintain, and it's perfect for all face shapes. To achieve this look from a clean-shaven face, all you have to do is go about a maximum of three days without shaving (depending on how quickly your beard grows), and then use a trimmer to maintain.
When rocking this look, you will want to make sure that your neck is cleaned up (trimming or taking a razor to any hair that grows below the Adam's apple is a good rule of thumb) and that any hair that grows just above your cheekbone is shaved or trimmed.
Perfect for guys with more narrow chins, the Balbo is a beard without sideburns and that has a trimmed, floating mustache. Robert Downey Jr. has been known to rock this style from time to time, so it's definitely fairly popular.
Perfect for guys with narrow chins, this facial hair style was popularized by 17 th century Flemish painter Anthony Van Dyke and is a mixture of a goatee and a mustache. Achieving this beard type requires delicate care and precision.
Popularized during the 2 nd Empire, the Imperial is a mustache style that is perfect for oblong or rectangular faces. While it is normally worn as a standalone mustache, it can also be incorporated with chin beards or sideburns. Just make sure that, if you do decide to have some accompanying facial hair, the mustache remains the focal point.
To achieve this look, go as long as you can without shaving, so that you have thick enough whiskers that can be properly shaped. Many growers of the Imperial wait as long as three months to get that perfect look.
You want to make sure that the hair near your mustache is shaved, but don't trim the mustache itself. An untrimmed mustache is absolutely crucial to maintaining that natural look.
Finally, and this is the main feature of the Imperial, you will want to use either mustache wax or beard oil to curl the ends of the mustache. The end result will have you looking as fancy as ever.
Ideal for round and oval faces, the circle beard (also referred to as the "standard" beard), is a tidy and presentable mixture of a rounded goatee beard and a mustache.
Guys with either oval or square face shapes are best suited for the extended goatee, which is also known as the Hollywoodian or the tailback. A combination of a mustache and a goatee, this style is unlike the full beard in that it requires you to take the hair off of your sideburns.
Before shaping your beard into an extended goatee, be sure to grow your facial hair to medium stubble. Then, while making sure you keep your mustache completely intact, trim your facial hair to your preferred width.
Also referred to as sideburns or side whiskers, mutton chops were popularized by famous Civil War general Ambrose Burnside (who gave us the term "sideburn" to begin with).
Best for rectangular or oval faces, the Garibaldi has a wild and unkempt look to it, but it does work for some guys.
To accomplish this facial hair style, you'll need to let your beard grow for a long time. We're talking about four months, or until it gets to be around 20 centimeters. To give it that round look, make sure that you shape and trim the lower area.
Despite having so much beard to work with, it's actually best if you don't use any styling products, so that the beard keeps its natural look. You will want to make sure you keep your eye on your mustache length though, as a mustache that is too long will take the focus away from the beard itself.
Hey, technically being clean shaven is a facial hair style, despite there not being any hair on your face. Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to rock a clean look every once and a while.
Comparison Table
Best suited for triangle, inverted triangle, or diamond face shapes
When deciding on the right facial hair style for you, there are several things you should think about. For one, you want to take the shape of your face into consideration. Depending on if you have a more square-shaped face or a rounder face or more rectangular face, some facial hair styles may work better than others.
You will also want to take your beard-growing capabilities into account. Not all beard-havers are created equal, and while some guys can grow hair on pretty much every inch of their face, others might have particular spots that just don't grow in. Obviously, not being able to grow facial hair in certain areas will disqualify you from pulling off certain looks, so be sure to keep that in mind.
Additionally, you will want to consider your budget. Some facial hair styles will require you to get certain products, whether it be beard oil or a full-on trimming kit, to maintain the style. Simply put, the longer the beard, the more time and money you need to put into grooming it.
Finally, you will want to choose the style or styles that look best on you. Suggest to a significant other or to close friends or family members what look you're considering going with. If they react strongly one way or another, you should have a pretty solid idea public opinion-wise.
Bottom line though, it has to be a style that you feel confident rocking. If you think you can pull it off, then by all means give it a try. If it's not getting the reaction you were hoping for, then you can just shave it all off and start from scratch.
