I don't want to look like a facial hair newbie

January 8, 2007 8:14 AM

I want to grow a beard. Or a chinstrap or a goatee or something. But I don't want to look like a facial hair newbie. Are there any websites out there with good photos of different styles and tips and such?

This question asked for someone else via AskMeQ.
I found a goodly number of questions related to beards but none requesting sites with with good photos.

posted by econous to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (18 answers total)

Before you try to plan your beard, you need to just let it all grow out to see what sorts of beard your face/follicles will let you have. There's no sense in planning, say, a Van Dyke only to learn that your moustache doesn't reach your chin.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:32 AM on January 8, 2007

If you are thinking about growing a beard, it might be fun to join Wiskerino
for 2007! There are some great beards on the 2005 edition and everyone is going through the beard growing and experimentation at the same time.
posted by brinkzilla at 8:38 AM on January 8, 2007

There are photos (and everything else you'd ever want to know about bears) at Beards.org.
posted by CMichaelCook at 8:59 AM on January 8, 2007

I agree with FoB - the first step is to take a long weekend and just let your facial hair grow out. Note the spots that don't grow hair - this will limit your styling! A good friend of mine dreams of sideburns, but the hair grows in too patchy on the sides of his face, so he's stuck with the classic goatee.
posted by muddgirl at 9:02 AM on January 8, 2007

Please, for your own sake, don't grow a chinstrap. For the rest of your life you and everyone you know will have to live with the knowledge that you once had one.
posted by nathancaswell at 9:12 AM on January 8, 2007

seconding nathancaswell, chinstraps are bad news. please, no more goatees, either. they are looking super-lame these days. david brent lame. do not manicure your facial hair, please.
go for a beard, beards are great.
as are sideburns.
posted by twistofrhyme at 9:23 AM on January 8, 2007

This might (not) help.
posted by mzurer at 9:32 AM on January 8, 2007

What the hell is a chinstrap?? Is that like Billy Mays from the oxiclean commercials? lol.
posted by 0217174 at 10:22 AM on January 8, 2007

A chinstrap looks just like it sounds. A patch of hair where a chinstrap sits. Popular amongst 17 year old boys into cookie monster metal.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 10:51 AM on January 8, 2007

Actually, chinstraps are popular among teenage metal heads and the amish.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 10:55 AM on January 8, 2007

Don't forget college-age jock douchebags wearing overly shiny silk shirts and entirely too much Acqua di Gio on the way to club night in their parents' BMW.

Also, I agree with twistofrhyme on goatees but I would like to go on record about sideburns: without a beard they are a NECESSARY EVIL. Please do not go overboard.

Also, do not over manicure. You will look like a doll.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:03 AM on January 8, 2007

What most people do (and what I recommend) is to let it grow out for at least two weeks before attempting to sculpt it at all. I usually go at least a month before doing anything with it. And then, at this point, you will probably see if you can either do a full beard, or, as is more common, a van dyke. And even if your moustache does not connect to your goatee, it still looks pretty rocking and is easy to maintain. However, just don't accidentally fall prey to the bloatee.
posted by stresstwig at 11:55 AM on January 8, 2007

nthing the recomendation to let it grow and see what it looks like, then decide. Chinstraps are cool if you are Amish, but otherwise look goofy. I'm thinking of getting rid of my pudding ring. I was the first white male in America to have a shaved head and goatee. Now that every other balding male has copied my look its time to move on.
posted by fixedgear at 12:30 PM on January 8, 2007

To dissent, I would recommend doing at least minimal trimming on the neck and cheeks from the start to have a clean hair line and to avoid looking scruffy. This way you look like you're growing a beard and not just "not shaving".

YMMV depending on how hairy you are though.
posted by cardboard at 1:35 PM on January 8, 2007

Something to aspire to.
posted by scratch at 2:29 PM on January 8, 2007

You would probably be well-advised to eschew the dreaded neckbeard.
posted by rob511 at 3:07 PM on January 8, 2007

Here are some styles, although I'm not sure there are any you'd aspire to nowadays.
posted by nevers at 4:03 PM on January 8, 2007

good advice to find out where your beard grows properly. I wanted some proper civil war mutton chops so bad but alas they grew in full of holes.
posted by subtle_squid at 5:21 PM on January 8, 2007