Goatee Trimming Tips

A proper goatee is a kind of beard that only has hair present around one's chin, and not having it grow anywhere else around the mouth or face. People mistake the goatee look for one that is coupled with a mustache above the top lip, but that is actually known as a Van Dyke, when a guy combines both the mustache and goatee look. It is a goatee type anyway, but doesn't embody the true goatee chin look.

Celebrities and artists worldwide are seen with this infamous look, and it is considered the sexiest way for a man to carry off a bearded look. Women would agree that more than just a patch of hair around the chin, the Van Dyke would instead score big ones for its more manly look. Trimming your beard may not seem easy at first, but once you get a hang of it, you'll be trimming with your eyes closed (figure of speech please). Envy the rugged look that Christian Bale, Robert Downey Jr., Dave Navarro or Johnny Depp can pull off so effortlessly? We're here to help you attain a sexy finish to your beard, in more styles than one.

Types of Goatees

Before we get down to business when it comes to some goatee trimming tips, we first look through the different options that men have when it comes to beard styles of specifically the goatee look.

Soul Patch
This type of goatee isn't all that hard to shave out, and consists of just one strip of hair, that is narrow and falls just below your lip, dead center of your chin. It doesn't reach the bottom of your chin, but sort of makes it halfway there in a narrow hair-line, or as a small tuft of hair gathered in the center of your chin just below your lower lip.

Traditional Goatee
This is where facial hair only covers the chin area, where everything else from one's upper lip area to the cheeks and jaw line, are butt-naked from hair. It covers the whole portion of one's chin, generally in the same width as your mouth, and not trailing away from those ends. It can be trimmed or long in length.

Chin Strip
This is where one has a mustache, that is not connected by hair to the chin from the sides, but has a thin/thick strip of hair running down the middle. It is much like that of the soul patch although this can reach the end of your chin, with of course a detached mustache.

Chin Curtain
This look is a more grungy and messy way of sporting a beard. It is where hair is grown in a thick mass that covers the jaw line and dips down below beyond the chin. It can be trimmed along one's jaw line, or turned into a fancy patch of hair by experimenting with beard designs like zigzags or little artworks. It only consists of hair along the lower part of one's face, along the jaw line and chin. Many metal artists are seen with this look, giving them that raw, messy metalhead look.

Van Dyke
Like mentioned earlier, this look entails that a guy have a mustache, along with a chin full of hair, where it connects with lines running down either side of your mouth, giving it the true Van Dyke look.

Goatee Trimming Tips for Beginners

To be able to trim a goatee that doesn't look like something that could ruin your reputation, you to need to know how to not mess it up.

1. Goatees should be combed out and slightly damp before trimming them.
2. Using the goatee guide above, find out which look works best for you and then experiment accordingly.
3. If you haven't grown a goatee before, wait until all of your facial hair has grown considerably thick.
4. If this is the first time you're actually growing facial hair, then patience is key, since all your beard needs to grow in a thick tuft, in order to help you work your way around it.
5. Once your hair starts to thicken, you can use either a manual razor or an electrical one, for good trimming. Philip Norelco and Andis Professional are two such trimmers that are doing well amongst goatee and beard trimmers.
6. Use a mirror that you can lean into at close range, to help you trim better, thus making sure you stay within your boundary.
7. Alternate your position towards and away from the mirror to give yourself a view while standing aback as well.
8. When you trim your goatee, first make sure that hair present on your cheeks is completely shaved off. Then depending on the look you choose, shave off your jaw line hair as well, and then work with the center of your chin.
9. Trim off excess hair to keep it neat and groomed anywhere around the middle of your chin.
10. Use the corners of your mouth to help gauge how wide your goatee should be from across your chin space.
11. Smile first, and then trim off excess hair that wanders off away from these two points, to help with the width of your goatee. Using a goatee template will help you shave off excess in a jiffy.
12. If there is hair present below and above your lip, again depending on your look shave off the excess to give it a more finished and clean-cut look.
13. Maintain your goatee by occasionally giving it a good rinse with conditioner and shampoo to eliminate the presence of dandruff and the case of an itchy skin situation.
14. Constantly trim hair that grows wild, to keep it in check and not have you looking grisly by the end of the week.
15. Keeping it slightly thick but not too thick, will give you a good chance of not scarring someone with your trimmed prickly hair, if they were to greet you or come near your face that is.
16. Always trim away hair that grows beyond your mouth's width to maintain uniformity at all times.

Just remember how good you can look with such a neatly trimmed section of hair, where it is both professional and stylish with a lot of room for experimentation.