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Once a beard reaches a certain length, the maintenance methods change. Long beards still require trimming to keep a sightly shape and style, but it’s a different beast than maintaining a half month’s worth of grown-out stubble on the chin and cheeks. This is why dedicated long beard trimmers are both necessary and convenient for maintaining hefty hair growth while giving it a pleasing shape.
While the features of a long beard trimmer certainly matter, one’s technique is the most important part. The emphasis is on guards and trimming lengths for shorter beards, but lengthier facial hair almost always outgrows these devices and requires more TLC for the texture and shape. Also, keeping your face oriented the same way throughout the trim is paramount to the cut coming out evenly.
SPY consulted a few different beard and grooming experts, including Steve Purcell, founder of Uppercut Deluxe grooming products, and Eric Bandholz, the founder of Beardbrand. Together they cover what to look for in long beard trimmers, followed by SPY’s rundown of the best devices for maintaining these fuller facial forests (with input from both experts).
In addition to the beard trimmer itself, the process requires a wide-tooth comb (like a rake comb), to detangle hairs and perhaps even a blow dryer to expedite the drying of the beard after a fresh rinse. It’s best practice to always trim a clean beard.
The trimmer alone can’t take care of a longer beard, in fact, it’s the last step of a multi-step process. First up, according to Purcell, you should “give the beard a good blast with a blow dryer, points down to help smooth the beard ahead of trimming.” After that, he says to use the comb to work through any knots.
When trimming, the angle of the head should point in the same direction the entire time. “If you trim the same line but move your head to one side the cutting angle is going to change and your beard will be uneven,” he warns. “Using a comb to comb the hairs down and holding in place can also help, as it won’t add too much tension, whereas pulling the beard tight then trimming will cause an elastic effect and it will appear uneven when it relaxes.”
Guards Matter Less
Guards are essential for keeping shorter beards at a certain length, but most longer facial hairstyles have outgrown the guards, particularly below the chin. Some longer styles might actually have some shorter strands around the mustache and cheeks, which still require guards, but for the most part they’re less necessary.
“Another potential exception is around the sideburns as you try to taper it from shorter to longer from the top of the ear towards the bottom of the beard,” said Bandholz. He notes that the “longest” guards tend to be around 18 millimeters or around ¾ of an inch, and when we’re talking “long” beards we’re talking longer than that.
That’s not to say devices with multiple heads aren’t good for long beards. Purcell likes them for snipping strays, cleaning up the edges, or going shorter if you decide to chop one day.
Also, Get Some Facial Hair Scissors
Both experts suggest using facial hair scissors for spot-checking strays since it seems like every day there are two or three hairs mysterious hairs that are invisible until they’re an inch longer than everything else.
It should go without saying, but don’t trim your beard with kitchen scissors. “Cutting a beard with kitchen scissors out of the drawer can damage and fray the ends of your hairs, which then causes a frizzy beard,” said Purcell. He explains that hair scissors have a much more balanced blade and a smooth cutting edge. “Typically for trimming a beard, a longer blade is better, especially on a longer beard. For barbers, the ideal scissor length is around six inches.”
THE BEST TRIMMER OVERALL
Here is Bandholz’s favorite beard trimmer for long beards. “Brio’s trimmer offers great battery life, the perfect upright angle for trimming long beards, guards for your sideburns, and a sharp ceramic blade to handle the most unruly beards,” he said.
The device’s four-hour runtime and five-speed settings are also extremely attractive, and the powerful tool transitions well into maintaining shooter styles thanks to those aforementioned 1-18 millimeter trimming guards and a stubble-maintaining head that allows for styles with lengths of 1-1.9 millimeters.
THE BEST VALUE
Key Specs: 90-minute runtime; 90-minute charge time; 5-minute quick charge; 1-16 millimeter trimming lengths; interchangeable heads for detailing, clipping, shaving, and nose hair trimming; waterproof; 1-year warranty
Why It’s Great: Somewhat surprisingly, this Amazon-favorite beard trimmer can go toe-to-toe with the best options available, and at a fraction of the cost. It might feel lightweight by comparison, but it has the muscle and precision necessary to tackle every task, including the ability to draw clean lines and snip at individual strays.
THE BEST UPGRADE
Key Specs: 4-hour runtime; 3-hour charge time; fully exposed T-blade for straight lines and precise snipping; dual-voltage corded use
Why It’s Great: BaByliss PRO is a favorite of Purcell’s and a mighty fine upgrade in terms of heft and performance. “They offer you all the tools a professional barber would use in a barbershop,” he said. “The fine teeth and fast motor make it perfect for tackling longer beards.”
THE BEST DETAIL TRIMMER
Key Specs: Runs on an included AA battery; interchangeable heads include lined trimmer, detail trimmer, nose hair trimmer; and eyebrow guide comb
Why It’s Great: This pared-down device handles the simplest tasks and necessary edgework, all for less than $10. Keep it next to the combs and toothbrush, since it’s going to get almost daily use once everything is styled in place and requires a quick spot-checking.
THE FASTEST CLEANUP
Key Specs: 90-minute runtime; 2-hour charge; 13 length settings (0.5 millimeter guardless or 2-18 millimeters with adjustable dial); vacuum belly captures up to 95% of hairs; precision trimmer for clean lines; water-resistant rinsing; 5-year warranty
Why It’s Great: While this is a fantastic time-saver for short stubble, it also helps suck up the vast majority of long-hair clippings too, so that there’s less cleanup on the backend of the cleaning (in terms of the sink ledge and bathroom floor, that is; be sure to at least rinse out the belly of this vacuum, too).
THE BEST FOR LINEUPS
Key Specs: 2-hour runtime, 2.5-hour charge time; 5-minute quick charge; fully exposed T-blade for straight lines and precise snipping
Why It’s Great: This barbershop staple is a favorite for clean lines and fast spot checks, making it especially adept for long beards who want to maintain clear perimeters and shapely style.
THE BEST SCISSORS
Key Specs: 2.5-inch blades; 5.25-inch total length; TSA-approved; Japanese steel; 55–56 Rockwell Hardness rating (soft steel); hollow grind; semi-convex blade
Why It’s Great: There are a lot of ways to measure the worth of hair scissors, from their length to their steel quality to their “grind”… forget all of that terminology, except for the fact that “convex” means “high quality.” Turn to the trusted name in beard care for these Japanese-steel shears which will help tidy up strays while mitigating split ends.
To trim a long beard, start with a clean and dry beard, advised Bandholz. He likes to start with the middle of his beard and work his way outwards and towards his neck. “Lift your chin up slightly, and take your clippers without a guard straight towards your neck. The goal is you want the area of your beard below your chin to be slightly longer than the area at your neck.”
Follow that cut line in a round shape towards your jawbone. Then use a comb to pull your beard hair away from your face. “The goal is to create a taper where the top of your beard has shorter hair than the bottom of the beard. When you have the hair pulled out, use your clippers on the top of the comb to trim excess hair. You can also use scissors for this step,” he added. Then use clippers to clean up the neck and cheek lines, as well as any stray hairs that remain. Use either trimmers or scissors to tidy up the mustache, too.
The term “grind” refers to the way the scissors’ blades are shaped and sharpened. There are several common types of scissor blade grinds, the top three of which are beveled, convex, and concave.
Beveled is the most common for household scissors and entails one side of the blade being flat, while the other side is beveled to form a cutting edge. A convex grind is most common in barbering and grooming, wherein both sides of the blade are curved outward, creating a rounded cutting edge. This type of grind is often found in high-quality scissors and is known for its sharpness and durability. Most professional hairdressers own a pair of convex grind scissors.
Lastly, concave grind is the opposite of convex, wherein both sides of the blade are curved inward, which makes a hollowed cutting edge. This kind is better for stylized cutting and is less common in, say, beard and hair trimming.
Don’t use hair clippers as beard trimmers (though some devices will advertise this duality). While hair clippers tend to have more powerful motors and can mow through thick facial hair, they also tend to be too wide for the precision necessary to trim a beard that looks good. They will likely feel too unwieldy and cumbersome. Stick to guardless beard trimmers for long beards.
