9 issues I needed to study facial hair the onerous method.
Because of Brio for partnering with us and providing Primer readers a free Zero Blade attachment ($25) with their Beardscape buy.
Shaving and taking good care of facial hair is quite a bit like doing our taxes: It is a kind of issues we have now to do however we’re by no means actually educated on the best way to do it. A few of us might need been fortunate to get some preliminary directions from a father determine, however even then, in case your facial hair development or fashion is any totally different from his, you’ve got needed to determine it out for your self.
What on the floor looks like it ought to be easy – hair on face too lengthy, make shorter – really has fairly a little bit of nuance.
1. Don’t Belief Your Lavatory Lighting Alone
Take my phrase for it: If you happen to do all of your grooming in the identical rest room, in entrance of the identical mirror, with the identical lighting each day, you is probably not getting the complete image.
About 10 years in the past, I used to be chilling with considered one of my closest buddies at dwelling and he politely informed me I had a hair rising out the aspect of my nostril, coincidentally (and completely timed) with our dialog about our frustrations with the LA courting scene. Not out of my nostril – out the aspect of my nostril. I went to the toilet, and even doing that factor the place I’m inches from the mirror, I couldn’t see what the heck he was speaking about.
![illustration of a hair growing out of the side of man's nose](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Nose-hair-1.jpg)
I pulled out my cellphone flash mild and moved it throughout my face, and positive sufficient, there it was, a hair that will need to have been a 3rd of an inch lengthy simply straight up rising out the aspect of my nostril. Its size made clear it had been there for a while and I may by no means see it as a result of it simply occurred to fall on this awkward blind spot that my rest room arrange induced.
To get a greater image of what’s happening, particularly for doubtlessly embarrassing belongings you’d want to keep away from like nostril and ear hair, but additionally for catching beard strays, sometimes give your face a sweep with lighting that breaks up your regular perspective.
2. Obtain a Naturally Rounded Higher Cheek Line by Pulling Your Cheek Up Then Shave a Straight Line
![an illustration showing a man twice, on the left with his beard shaved in a straight line up his cheek, on the right with a natural rounded cheek line](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/cheek-edge-beard.jpg)
![an illustration showing a man twice, on the left with his beard shaved in a straight line up his cheek, on the right with a natural rounded cheek line](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/cheek-edge-beard.jpg)
Your face isn’t flat, and neither ought to the highest of your cheek line. An higher beard cheek line that has a pure contour permits you to neaten up your facial hair look with out wanting such as you simply squared off the bushes with a hedge trimmer. The trick to cleansing up your cheeks whereas giving it a pure look lies in a easy however efficient method:
- Begin by pulling the pores and skin of your cheek upward
- Then, together with your pores and skin nonetheless taut, shave or trim in a straight line the place you need your cheek line to be.
- The magic occurs if you launch your pores and skin; the straight line you’ve got simply created will naturally undertake a barely rounded look that follows the pure form of your face.
![man pulling up on his cheek skin and shaving his cheek line](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/shaving-tips-cheek-line.jpg)
![man pulling up on his cheek skin and shaving his cheek line](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/shaving-tips-cheek-line.jpg)
This technique does extra than simply create a visually pleasing line; it additionally helps in defining the cheekbones and framing your face in a method that enhances your facial construction.
3. Minimize Into Your Mustache, Don’t Minimize It Straight Throughout
![illustration of a man's mustache, on the left it is cut straight across looking awkardly, on the right it has a more natural edge where the hairs are not the same length](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mustache.jpg)
![illustration of a man's mustache, on the left it is cut straight across looking awkardly, on the right it has a more natural edge where the hairs are not the same length](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mustache.jpg)
Whereas a lot of facial hair grooming comes all the way down to bettering presentation, trimming the ends of your mustache hairs is a extra sensible, “GET OUT OF MY MOUTH” operation.
It’s straightforward to consider it the identical method you do your sideburns or the way in which the barber trims the underside of your hair in your neck: Straight throughout with the trimmer.
![mustache trimming tip](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/shaving-tips-mustache.jpg)
![mustache trimming tip](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/shaving-tips-mustache.jpg)
However for a extra pure edge, deal with the mustache extra like bangs as an alternative, and lower into the ends of the hairs together with your trimmer or scissors to cut back size in a extra natural method as an alternative of giving your ‘stache the equal of a bowl lower.
4. My Most popular Straightforward Clear Up Method
![a paper towel in the bottom of the sink before shaving for easy clean up](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/papertowel.jpg)
![a paper towel in the bottom of the sink before shaving for easy clean up](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/papertowel.jpg)
The clear up is likely one of the most annoying elements of shaving and trimming. Whether or not you are dwelling with a associate, roommates, or just cherish a clear rest room like an grownup, these tiny hairs appear to have a expertise for locating their method into each nook and cranny, clinging stubbornly to sinks and counter tops.
One factor I’ve discovered that makes issues simpler when utilizing a trimmer is to put a moist paper towel within the backside of the sink. The moist floor acts like a magnet for facial hair clippings, making them keep on with the towel reasonably than flying off into the unknown.
There are additionally devoted sink covers for these inclined, however they appear type of costly for what are basically the identical as bathroom seat covers. For males with routines coping with much more density, a devoted product like the assorted beard bibs accessible, whereas wanting foolish, supply a bigger and reusable resolution.
![brio beardscape v2 trimmer with 2 double sided guards and charging stand](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/brio-beardscape.jpg)
![brio beardscape v2 trimmer with 2 double sided guards and charging stand](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/brio-beardscape.jpg)
In relation to what actually issues in a trimmer, there are a couple of non-negotiables: it wants sufficient energy to glide by means of your hair with out snagging and pulling, blades sharp sufficient to attenuate the variety of passes you need to make, development that stops it from getting too scorching in your face and in your hand, and maybe most crucially, a battery that will not betray you by dying midway by means of a trim, which all the time appears to be proper earlier than a giant occasion.
Frustratingly, nearly any trimmer you come throughout regionally is not going to have any of that.
Ceramic blades, like these on the Beardscape V2, are a rarity on the planet of trimmers, the place metallic blades are customary. The benefit of ceramic over metallic is important: they keep sharper for longer, resist warmth build-up, and are quieter throughout operation.
![close up of ceramic blades on beard trimmer](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/beardscape-ceramic-blade.jpg)
![close up of ceramic blades on beard trimmer](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/beardscape-ceramic-blade.jpg)
That is in stark distinction to the extra frequent metallic blades, which might uninteresting faster, get uncomfortably scorching with extended use, and sometimes create extra noise. The usage of ceramic blades within the Beardscape V2 ensures a trimming expertise that’s not solely extra comfy but additionally extra environment friendly, lowering the necessity for a number of passes over the identical space and thereby lessening the danger of pores and skin irritation.
![close up of brio beardscape screen which indicates cutting length, rpm, and battery in minutes](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/brio-screen.jpg)
![close up of brio beardscape screen which indicates cutting length, rpm, and battery in minutes](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/brio-screen.jpg)
Shopping for a trimmer comes all the way down to investing in a device that you may depend on for years, and the Beardscape V2 is exactly that. It is what you improve to if you’re bored with burning by means of plastic-y, off-the-shelf trimmers that share the identical motor as the electrical toothbrush within the subsequent aisle and as an alternative are prepared for a critical device designed with longevity and efficiency in thoughts. Its distinctive options set it aside from the extra generally accessible trimmers that may supply a decrease upfront price however fall brief in sturdiness and effectivity. The Beardscape V2 is a device that not solely meets your grooming wants immediately however continues to carry out for years to return.
Brio is providing Primer readers a free Zero Blade attachment price $25 with the acquisition of a Bearscape.
5. Nail The place Your Beard Hair Ought to Cease On Your Neck Each Time With This Information
Extra so than how to develop facial hair, or selecting which fashion to go along with, or what merchandise to make use of, it looks like absolutely the one factor most males are by no means taught and isn’t inherently apparent is: The place in your neck ought to your beard or scruff cease?
Go too low and also you begin wanting like a werewolf. Go too excessive and also you run the danger of drawing consideration to the underside of your chin, like this TV present poster I got here throughout within the grocery retailer:
![](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/beardline-fixed.jpg)
![](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/beardline-fixed.jpg)
Left: A beard shaved too excessive on the neck Proper: Photoshopped to indicate how leaving the hair in your chin attracts the attention up
Right here’s a simple information to get it proper:
- Your facial hair mustn’t prolong handed or beneath the again nook of your jaw. The hair ought to wrap round the nook, however not prolong additional.
- From there, use your comb (or eyeball it if you happen to’re adventurous) to visualise a line from the nook of your jaw to simply above your Adam’s apple.
![Illustrated guide on how to find the appropriate neckline for a beard. Two side profile drawings of a man with a beard are featured. The top image shows a dotted line marking the start of the neckline on the far side of the jaw corner. The bottom image shows an orange line curving from the start point around the neck to end above the Adam's apple. Text instructions accompany each step. The background is a watercolor wash in blue and white. The logo of 'Primer' is at the top](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/how-to-fine-the-neck-line-for-beard.jpg)
![Illustrated guide on how to find the appropriate neckline for a beard. Two side profile drawings of a man with a beard are featured. The top image shows a dotted line marking the start of the neckline on the far side of the jaw corner. The bottom image shows an orange line curving from the start point around the neck to end above the Adam's apple. Text instructions accompany each step. The background is a watercolor wash in blue and white. The logo of 'Primer' is at the top](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/how-to-fine-the-neck-line-for-beard.jpg)
Adjusting the road barely primarily based in your facial construction can additional optimize your beard’s look. For these with rounder faces, a barely greater line can elongate the face, whereas people with longer faces would possibly profit from a decrease line so as to add fullness.
For males who lack an outlined separation between their jaw line and their neck, my advice could be to comply with the identical information however taper the hair beneath the jaw line to create the phantasm of contour.
The hot button is to make sure that the tip level enhances your pure options, reasonably than adhering rigidly to a one-size-fits-all method.
Preserving your shavers, trimmers, and razors clear isn’t only for professionals and the OCD amongst us: It’s a important a part of avoiding pores and skin irritations and infections. Each time you shave or trim, your instruments come into contact with micro organism that may proliferate if left unchecked.
A easy and efficient technique is to make use of isopropyl alcohol. After every use, take a second to wipe down your razors or trimmer blades and some other non-electric elements with a material dampened with alcohol. This kills off micro organism and retains your instruments in prepared situation. For electrical trimmers, seek advice from the producer’s directions for protected cleansing practices, as direct software of liquids can harm some fashions.
![bathroom counter with a tray with rubbing alcohol, safety razor, and small mister bottle](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/disinfect-shaving.jpg)
![bathroom counter with a tray with rubbing alcohol, safety razor, and small mister bottle](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/disinfect-shaving.jpg)
→ Professional-tip: Put your resolution in a small mister bottle in order that cleansing is a breeze
For guys with a clear shave, utilizing isopropyl alcohol on the blades can sanitize and assist displace water. Change razor cartridges or blades usually – at the least each 5-7 shaves for many males. Uninteresting blades are tougher to maintain bacteria-free.
Whether or not it is sticking with what his father used or grabbing no matter was accessible when he first wanted one, it is simple for a man to simply type of fall into utilizing a selected grooming device, not realizing that some work higher for sure males than others.
It ought to be primarily based on the kind and elegance of your facial hair – in addition to your desire for an expertise or comfort.
![illustration of a rotary shaver](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/rotary-shaver.jpg)
![illustration of a rotary shaver](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/rotary-shaver.jpg)
Electrical Rotary Shaver:
- Greatest for shut shaves reducing by means of curly or thicker facial hair
- Method: round, rotating motions
- Route: small circles throughout the face to catch and lower hairs rising in varied instructions
![illustration of beard trimmer head](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/beardtrimmer-illustration.jpg)
![illustration of beard trimmer head](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/beardtrimmer-illustration.jpg)
Beard Trimmer:
- Greatest for trimming varied lengths of facial hair from stubble to beard upkeep
- Method: use with or with out guards for desired size
- Route: flippantly go towards the grain
![safety razor illustration](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/safety-razor.jpg)
![safety razor illustration](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/safety-razor.jpg)
Security Razor:
- Greatest for an in depth and exact shave
- Method: use brief, straight strokes
- Route: with the grain of the hair development
![illustration of a straight razor](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/straight-razor.jpg)
![illustration of a straight razor](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/straight-razor.jpg)
Straight Razor:
- Greatest for skilled customers in search of an in depth shave
- Method: cautious, clean strokes
- Route: holding the razor edge at a 30 diploma angle to your pores and skin and going with the grain on the primary go, non-compulsory throughout or towards the grain on subsequent passes
![illustration of a cartridge razor](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/cartridge-razor.jpg)
![illustration of a cartridge razor](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/cartridge-razor.jpg)
Cartridge Razor:
- Greatest for comfort and fast shaves
- Method: mild strain with longer, regular strokes
- Route: with the grain for the primary go, non-compulsory throughout or towards the grain for nearer shaves
![illustration of an electric foil shaver](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/foil-shaver.jpg)
![illustration of an electric foil shaver](https://www.primermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/foil-shaver.jpg)
Electrical Foil Shaver:
- Greatest for clear shaves with much less pores and skin irritation
- Method: lengthy, straight strokes
- Route: over the face within the route of hair development
8. Wash Your Face Earlier than Trimming or Shaving to Reduce The Probability of Pimples, Ingrown Hairs, and so on.
There’s a purpose nurses wash the floor of the pores and skin earlier than a surgeon will get began with the scalpel: The pores and skin is dwelling to loads of issues that may trigger issues in the event that they get inside an incision.
While you shave or trim with out first cleaning, you are not simply reducing hair. You are doubtlessly dragging micro organism throughout your pores and skin, inviting it into tiny nicks or infected pores, which might result in pimples, ingrown hairs, or worse. A pre-grooming wash with heat water and a mild cleanser does extra than simply rinse away these micro organism; it additionally softens your facial hair and opens your pores, setting the stage for a smoother, cleaner lower.
Simply because we’re not making an attempt to chop our selves when shaving and trimming doesn’t imply it’s not an inherent reality of facial hair upkeep.
9. Do not Endlessly Minimize Flyaways, Use Hairspray on a Comb
Earlier than you frustratingly take scissors to that lone beard hair that insists on going its personal method, irrespective of how a lot you sweep it, there is a easy but efficient trick that may convey them into line: utilizing hairspray on a comb.
Spritz a fine-toothed comb with no matter hairspray you’ve round, circuitously onto your beard. This enables for a extra managed software, making certain you do not find yourself with a stiff or sticky beard. Then, gently run the comb by means of your beard, specializing in the areas with flyaways. The hairspray helps maintain the hair in place with out weighing it down, with out having to consistently take care of the now shorter fly away because it grows again.
What are your shaving, grooming, and facial hair suggestions you had to determine the onerous method? Preserve the listing going within the feedback.
→ Primer readers get a free Zero Blade attachment after they order a Beardscape 2! Because of Brio for supporting Primer’s mission.