MAGAZINE ARTICLES
June 2008
The Perfect Beard
The Perfect Beard
Variety is the spice of life and since a man shaves about 20,000 times in a lifetime (!) the desire for adventure may be the only thing that can drive away boredom. Instead of growing a radical beard, current styles leave a lot of room for classy hair experiments.
Excellent shape
The classic facial hair fashion is designer stubble or “three-day-growth”. The skin can still be seen under the short stubble, lending a manly appearance with relatively little care and expense. However, it does not always make a good impression if you are in daily contact with customers. In contrast, the somewhat more conventional beard style can always win points.
However, for a beard that is supposed to look good, simply growing one is not enough. Even a full beard only looks truly attractive if it is well taken care of – trimmed and shaped on a regular basis. Certain beard or moustache styles like the “Dalì”, a moustache twirled upwards, require products such as a beard pomade. It makes the hair on your face soft and easy to shape. All styles of beard or moustache give the face a certain aspect. Side burns visually frame your face. A chin-only beard lengthens the face and makes it look leaner.
Rules for a well-manicured beard
Regardless of whether you shave wet or dry, the contours of the beard and the remaining facial growth should always be shaved as accurately as possible. This lends the desired beard shape a concise look. A good choice for cutting the contours is the razor with a disposable blade. With multi-blade systems, on the other hand, you can shave larger areas faster while being gentle on the skin.
For trimming the beard length, an electric razor for long hair is clearly an advantage. Its various adapters hold in place the thick and often hidden beard hair much better than a comb and scissors. If you plan to shave off your beard, the long-hair razor works well. Only very short beard hairs can be smoothly shaved off reliably and pain-free using the usual wet and dry shaving method.
Trimming is not the only type of care that a beard requires. Depending on your beard’s length and shape, like with the hair on your head, combing or washing is recommended. And as with shaving, the best time to take care of your beard is about a half hour after getting up. Because the facial muscles are firm and the danger of hurting yourself is at its lowest.
If you are planning a holiday in the sun or on on the slopes, you should decide on a type of beard before you go. Otherwise, if you change your beard style after your holiday, the areas where you shaved off your beard will be lighter than the rest of your face for a few days!
