Huckleberry's Top 5 Beard Styles!

Huckleberry Beard Company's Top 5 Beard Styles

If you’ve chosen to grow your beard. Now what? What do you do? Well, here are some of the most classic styles to choose from. Some aren’t easy to pull off, but then again… who wants to be known for only doing the easy thing?

5. The Goatee

Maybe you want to stay simple and go with the De Niro in the movie Heat look, or perhaps you want to shape things up a bit and go full Tony Stark with sharp angles on the jaw… either way, this classic look has its advantages, and some drawbacks.

Sporting a goatee can make you look more distinguished and dignified, or leave you looking like you hang out around children’s playgrounds. It’s a bold choice, and requires a strong jaw line and angular face shape. If you have a generally round face, you might want to stay away from this style. Otherwise you may end up looking a fat kid with chocolate frosting all around your face.

The goatee will require regular shaving of the face, excluding the upper lip, chin, and corners of the mouth. You’ll want to use a quality shaving oil like Bay Rum Pre-Shave Oil, some Bay Rum Shave Soap, and a quality razor. Using a shaving foam is going to hide those lines you need to keep sharp, possibly causing you to take a chunk out of your goatee, or to miss spots.

After you are done shaving the portions you need too, you’re going to want to keep the goatee trimmed, neat, and treated with a quality beard oil. After that, you are ready to take on the world.

4. The Het

This one requires you to have some patience and be committed. The Het, made popular by such men as James Hetfield, is ideal for those of us lacking a strong chin, or if you have a round face shape. It elongates the face and creates the look of a strong chin. You can keep this just to the chin area, or let it creep along the jawline with some sharp angles. Anything you grow beyond the chin itself you will want to keep trimmed, but let the chin itself grow strong and proud.

You will want to keep the upper lip shaved, as well as the rest of your face. You can grow out the soul patch area and the corners of the mouth, but the upper lip needs to be shaved, otherwise you have a goatee/Het hybrid. Be sure you stick with a solid pre-shave oil and shave soap for those portions you are shaving. Throw some conditioner on the chin portion to ensure you tame that beast.

Make sure the chin portion stays full and as straight as possible. If your facial hair grows in curly or very thin, this look might not be for you.

3. The Mutton Chops

Some styles come and go, and come again. The Mutton Chops are simultaneously in, and out of fashion at the same time. While you may be mistaken for a Civil War reenactor, if you can pull off the confidence needed, you can rock the chops.

The Mutton Chops are usually paired with a natural, or shaved, head. They work best with a round face shape… not because they hide it, but because they own it. A set of Mutton Chops on round bald head scream confidence, but you're going to need to be unflinching.

While rocking the Chops, you can either keep the mustache (Lemmy from Motörhead style, RIP) or shave the stache off and carve out along the chin like Wolverine.

No matter which way you go, you are going to need to conduct the upkeep. Keep the lines tight, and the Mutton Chops trim. Be sure you aren't slopping on a bunch of shaving cream so you can see what you are doing.

2. The Handlebar

This is the most minimal of our picks, but it is arguably the most difficult. The Handlebar has never been out of style. It's quite simply a rarity in real life.

Maybe you are itching to conjure up the ghost of Wyatt Earp. Maybe you think words like “dapper”, “blunderbuss”, and “forthwith” will be making a comeback. Frankly, it doesn't matter. You can either pull off the Handlebar, or you can't.

This one above all others requires meticulous planning, delicate grooming, and continuous conditioning… and particular genetics.

You’ll need the ability to grow out the very ends of your mustache whilst also keeping everything else in check. It’s going to need to grow thick. If your mustache ends heavily curl inward towards the mouth… you are going to struggle with this ancient beast. Mustache Wax is encouraged to help train the stache and obtain that sweet curl. Keep everything clean shaven, except the mustache. It will need to be heavily shaped and groomed.

As a final caution… do not take this style too far. It’s a fine line between gentleman… and cartoon villain.

1. Full Beard (Groomed)

Now you should never confuse the Full Beard with the Grizzly Adams. The both involve letting the full face grow… but the Full Beard is trimmed, no matter the length, and it's kept clean and conditioned.

The close relative, the Grizzly Adams, is quite simply a beard left unchecked, untamed, and unclean. In order to pull off the Full Beard, you will need to get to know your face.

As your beard grows in, you'll find areas that grow fast and fuller than others. You must master this process to purposefully plan ahead and groom accordingly. The Full Beard can entirely reshape your face, so make sure you look like you want to.

Keep your beard clean with a quality beard wash, and treat it with some quality beard oil, like Curly Wolf. Lastly, any wildness should be tamed with a solid beard conditioner.

If you want to go minimal, or do the Full Beard, be sure you use quality beard and shaving products. With the right focus, you can make any style look easy, while you look like a winner.