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What Is the Best Way to Shape a Beard for a round Face?

Shelby Winchell
Shelby Winchell

Trimming and shaping a beard for a round face requires time and patience. If you have a round face, keeping your facial hair short will help elongate your round face and make it more oval in appearance. A properly groomed beard will help enhance the facial features of a round face and cover any flaws that you might have, including scars, birthmarks or moles. In addition, a beard can help make thin lips look fuller and make a receding hairline less noticeable. Growing a beard also can make a young man look older and sometimes more distinguished.

Accentuate your natural neckline by properly shaping a beard for a round face. This can make men who have round faces and full beards look well groomed and neat. Using your fingers, trace an imaginary curve starting at the back of one ear, down the jaw line. Now with another finger, draw a line from behind one sideburn to the curved line, and where your fingers meet is how long the beard should be. Letting it grow past this imaginary line might cause your beard to look overgrown and unkempt.

A man growing a beard.
A man growing a beard.

Keep the hair on the sides of your face short by using scissors or trimmers, and avoid growing out your sideburns when growing a beard for a round face. Long sideburns can make a beard look messy. Short sideburns, on the other hand, make your face look more narrow because they help make the face look longer.

If you are tired of grooming your beard, consider shaving it off and keeping some hair on your chin only. Trim the goatee into a triangular shape to help make your face appear longer than what it actually is. A triangular-shaped goatee will draw the eyes downward, making your round face look less circular and more oval.

A neatly trimmed goatee.
A neatly trimmed goatee.

There are a couple of styles for a beard for a round face. A round face generally looks more full, so you should pick a hairstyle that will help slenderize your face. Parting your hair down the right or left side of your head instead of down the middle will help detract from the fullness of a round face. In addition, curling or adding a wave to your hairline just above your eyebrows will take away the fullness that comes with a round face. If your hairline is receding, consider growing out the hair that you do have so that it extends below your shoulders.

Discussion Comments

Buster29

I have a round face, and I found that having a full beard tended to minimize my jowl area. One time I shaved it off completely and noticed I had "too much face". I looked heavier than I really was. I tried a goatee for a little while, but it isn't always an age-appropriate style for someone in his forties. There's still the problem of having prominent jowls.

I found that the best way to maintain a full beard with a round face was pretty much what the article said. Follow the natural neckline and don't trim it too close. I can usually do it myself if I use an electric beard trimmer with a blade guard, but sometimes I'll go to a regular barber to get it professionally shaped.

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    • A man growing a beard.
      By: dandesign86
      A man growing a beard.
    • A neatly trimmed goatee.
      By: ArenaCreative
      A neatly trimmed goatee.