Styling your beard is a kind of art that you can perfect with practice. There are basic steps that you should follow to achieve the best possible style. Skipping certain steps may result in a poor shave which might affect your appearance. You also must know how to maintain your style once you have achieved it. Here are some tips for styling your beard:
Use Quality Equipment
The quality of the equipment you use to style your beard will directly affect the style. For instance, if you use a blunt razor blade, it might not completely remove the stubborn hairs which means your shave won’t be a clean cut. On the other hand, if you use the best electric shaver, your style will be without stray and stubborn hair. You must make sure that your equipment isn’t worn out and if it is, you must replace it. Using worn-out equipment may also cause bruises and cuts on your skin.
Keep Your Beard Clean
A clean beard makes for a quality style. If your beard is knotted and has lodged particles in it, the fanciest of styles won’t rid of the fact that the beard is dirty. Make sure to regularly wash your beard whether you intend to style it or not. When you are ready to style your beard, it will be clean meaning you can effortlessly navigate through the clean hairs.
Moisturise Before Styling
Moisturizing your beard before styling it softens the hair. When you style your beard while the hair is soft, you don’t run the risk of tugging at stubborn and brittle hair. Tugging and pulling at dry hair can result in pimples, soreness, redness, and rash. You can use water or natural-based oils such as lavender oil to moisturize your beard before styling.
Visualize The Style
When you have decided to style your hair, you should visualize the style first. Trying to decide the direction that you should take when you have already started, may result in a style that you don’t enjoy, unless you are naturally creative. You can take a photo of the style that you wish to do and imitate it. If you aren’t sure of how to go about it, you can take the style to a barber or a spa where the professionals can create the style for you. Professionals can also suggest the type of styles that go well with your face and style.
Feel The Skin Underneath
If your style requires a close shave, you should first feel the skin underneath for any pimples, lumps, or rash. If you feel as if the skin is tender and shows signs of these, you may want to wait to perform a close shave. A close shave may only aggravate the skin and worsen the condition. If the skin condition persists, you should consult your dermatologist or doctor.
Cut Against The Grain
Cutting against the grain means cutting in the opposite direction of how your hair grows. this means that as you cut, the hair will be upright making for a more efficient cut. it is however advised that if you are new at styling your beard, you begin by cutting in the direction that your hair grows rather than against. This is because cutting against the grain may increase the risk of you cutting yourself. As you get more confident in styling your beard, you can then cut against the grain.
Brush Throughout The Cut
Brushing your hair as you cut your beard makes it easier for you to see the direction in which your style is taking. If you leave the loose hairs on your face, you may get distracted and the style ends up uneven. Gently brush off the cut hairs to determine whether your hair is levelled and even.
Don’t Forget Your Moustache
Usually, when one speaks of styling the beard, the moustache is included, unless leaving it out is a part of the style. If you wish for your moustache to be evenly styled with your beard, you must make sure that it is levelled with the beard. Depending on the length of the moustache you should brush or comb it to make for even hair ready for cutting and styling.
Be Gentle
When shaving your beard, you need to be gentle on your skin. Avoid scraping at your skin by repeat shaving on the same spot. This is why it is crucial to use quality shavers as blunt equipment will make you scrape as close to your skin as you can. This can result in cuts, bruises, and scraped off skin. If you find that you need to cut too close to your skin for the hair to be removed, you must get a new shaver.
Maintain Your Style
Once you have cut your beard, you need to maintain the style. This may mean regular trimming, moisturizing, and re-aligning of a particular design. Some styles require shaping over some time when the hair starts growing back. You can also maintain your beard style by visiting a spa where you can enjoy a beard treatment and shave. Avoid constant shaving as this will irritate your skin and can compromise skin health.
Conclusion
Shaving your beard is an art that is developed through nurturing and care. Some of the tips for styling your beard include using quality equipment to avoid scraping and cutting, keeping your beard clean regularly, moisturizing the beard before styling, visualizing the style, feeling for any skin problems underneath the beard, cutting against the grain, brushing your beard as you style, paying attention to your moustache, being gentle and maintaining your style.
Keep in mind to monitor your skin after styling your beard. If you find that your skin develops bumps, rash and pimples, you should re-assess the products and gadgets that you would have used. If this problem persists, you must consult your dermatologist or doctor as this could be indicative of underlying medical problems.
Carol
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