What my Beard Has Taught me – Week 4

Every man wonders when is the best time for him to trim his beard. There are three main questions that every man will ask in this regard. First question on every mans mind when he starts growing his beard is whether he should trim his beard at all. The second question when you begin to grow a beard is when is the best time to trim your beard. The third and final question is how often you should trim your beard. These are all valid questions. No man is born out of the womb and knows the answers to these questions. However, trimming is as intricate as a mans style. Not knowing when, how, or why could be detrimental to your beard. Do not despair, there is an answer, and it may or may not surprise you.

Tools of the craft

Tools of the craft are very important. For example, have you ever tried cutting a tomato with a dull knife? You would be better off just getting a sledge hammer and mashing it into a pulp. The same can be said about your beard trimming tools. Spend the time to shop around and find what you need. Do not settle. Quality dictates price; the more you spend the better the product. Have you ever wondered why clippers dull even though your hair is not as hard as metal? This is because of dirt. The dirt fragments get between the blades and dull the edge. That is why if your clippers did not come with clipper oil, buy some and thank me later; I like coffee, just saying. Some of the basic tools you may need are listed below.

1. Comb or brush: for detangling
2. High-grade clippers: for trimming
3. Scissors: for detailing
4. Beard oil and/or balm: for softness and health

Should I trim my Beard?

The answer to this question is Yes and No. this is a matter of personal preference. The more pressing and decisive question is what are you trying to do with your beard? Additionally, how long do you want your beard? If you want a long beard you must trim it. Remember a while back when I told you about how split-ends will diminish or stop beard growth? Well I am telling you again to impress upon you the importance of trimming your beard. Trimming your Beard is important for length (Stomp Stomp). In retrospect, if you are not going for length, you will still cut it so I guess you know the answer to that question. Now, when it comes to length, you need to understand that length is predetermined. I spoke about a term called Terminal length and how it affects beard length in Week One of “What my Beard has Taught Me”. I spoke about the three phases of beard growth known as the Anagen (Growth phase), Catagen (transition phase), and Telogen (resting phase). Additionally, I these three phases also had a time frame. So, if your beard slows down due to split-ends it will ultimately not reach its destined length. So, trimming will be required. Now you can minimize this by investing in beard oils and beard balms. However, the choice is yours. Another aspect of whether or not you should trim your beard is based on whether or not you need to for employment. Now I cannot secure you a job. However, I can say within a reasonable certainty that if you look like a homeless guy at Christmas, they will not take you seriously. Let’s face it, if you were about to interview a man for employment and they walked in looking like they just rolled out of bed, would you hire them? Your first impression counts. So, clean it up. I am not saying you need to be concerned with the length as much as you should concern yourself with the tidiness of it. It sets a precedent and if it looks good it may become a topic piece and you will just breeze through the interview. So, here is to hoping!

When should I Trim my Beard?

The “Why” will dictate the “When” in this equation. Now normally, with balms and oils in the equation this will be less frequent. Additionally, for you new bearded men out there, you should not trim your beard until iit has had sufficient time to grow. Time is a factor here. You should not expect to have to trim your beard until at least four to five weeks into your initial beard growth. For everyone else who has been growing their beard for a while, remember when I informed you about sebaceous glands in the skin that secrete an oil called sebum. Well here it is again. It is almost like I was leading up to this, right?! There are two main reasons why men need to trim their beards, trimming to repair, and trimming to maintain. Trimming to repair is where you are trimming to repair damaged hairs so they will grow to their full potential. This is where you will trim up to and slightly past the length of the damaged hair. It is important to note, the more you neglect your beard, the more you will need to trim later on to repair your beards potential. The second reason to trim your beard is to clean up the hairs that seem to want to grow faster then the other parts. This is normal. Ever mans beard will grow different then the man to his left and to his right, the same can be said about the individual hairs that comprise your beard as a whole. How often you should trim is dependent on your own needs there are some common reasons. However, this will mostly be based on the two reasons above; repair and maintenance.

How do I Trim My Beard?

To learn how to trim your beard navigate to The Beard Struggle’s guide “How to Trim your Beard the Right Way”. Few tips, take your time, do not trim it wet, and style first then cut. Happy trimming.