Beard Grooming 101: Essential Guide for a Well-Kept Beard

A well-kept beard can frame your face, adding a masculine energy which is both rugged and refined all at once.

Conversely, a poorly maintained beard can look untidy and can leave you looking older and more haggard than you actually are.

The problem is that nobody can control the way their beard naturally grows, or how it frames the jawline up towards your sideburns – just like nobody really teaches you exactly what you need to do in order to nurture a manicured and stylish beard.

Which is where we come in. Offering both hands-on services and advice for the modern man, we’ve created this mini guide to beard grooming – drawing together all the essentials for growing and maintaining a well-kept beard, regardless of its length, texture, or colour.

The power of a well-kept beard

But before we get into the complexities of maintaining a tidy beard, a quick question – why bother?

For one thing, a well-kept and manicured beard looks good. It can give you an air of professionalism which hints at maturity and masculinity, and it’s deemed as widely attractive (largely thanks to the number of movie action heroes and Hollywood heartthrobs who sport great looking beards).

In addition to this, a well-kept beard is a sign that you care about your appearance and are committed to promoting a positive self-image – something which hints at confidence and is seen as a good thing by employers and potential partners alike.

Safe to say, a well-kept beard can serve you well both professionally and personally. So, how do you achieve it?

Beard trimming

If you want to grow your beard, it may surprise you to learn that one of the best ways of doing so is actually to trim it regularly, cutting away stray hairs and ensuring that the shape frames and flatters your face.

Even just a few days of growth can become messy if you don’t indulge in a regular trim, using a simple beard comb and scissors or else an electric beard trimmer with different heads and blades for different lengths and finishes.

Top tip: Where possible, always trim your beard when it is dry so that you can see the texture and the length that your beard hair sits at when it’s dry. While we tend to cut hair when it is wet, the shortness of beard hair means that the difference between wet and dry can be noticeable, with a dry trim the best way to ensure an even and balanced finish.

Don’t forget your neckline

A well-kept beard does not simply stop at the base of your jaw – nor does it give way to a messy and unruly matt of hair which runs down your neck. In order to maintain a well-kept and attractive beard, you need to conduct the same level of maintenance up towards your sideburns and down your neckline – using a beard trimmer to create a more polished finish.

Keeping your beard soft

Beard maintenance isn’t just about length but texture too – focussing on using the right products in order to keep the hair soft and to avoid scratchy and coarse hair which looks and feels old and unruly.

This is where it becomes important to use a beard oil, which nurtures and nourishes both the beard hair itself and the skin beneath – seeping hydration into the roots and follicles of the individual beard hairs to soften them.

Top tip: When it comes to distributing a beard oil or conditioning cream, consider using a beard brush that will facilitate even distribution and will open the skin up to a more intense hydrating effect. Using a beard brush will also act as a light exfoliator, brushing away any dead skin or loose hairs.

Indulging in a little self-care

While all of this is perfectly possible to achieve in the comfort of your own home, booking a regular beard trim at a trusted salon or barbershop will ensure your beard gets looked after by those who know best.

Here at Boilerhouse Gentleman, we offer beard care advice as well as a beard trimming service, combining education and awareness around the importance of beard maintenance for men of all ages and from all walks of life.