There are a lot of different ways to wear a beard. You can choose to let it grow out completely natural, you can use product to style it up a bit, and you can also use clippers and other grooming tools to give it even more finesse. If you want to go with the last of those three options, something you’ve likely pondered at one point or another is how to fade a beard.
The faded look has become extremely popular for men with facial hair recently, but if you want to achieve this, you need to know how to taper a beard — something that a lot of guys don’t know how to properly do.
Faded beards can look quite nice when done properly, and if you’ve been wondering how to fade a beard into a bald head or into any kind of hair for that matter, you’ve found yourself in the right place.
Although fading a beard does require some work and patience on your part, it’s not impossible to do.
What in the World Is a Faded Beard?
Before we move any further, let’s make sure that we’re all on the same page.
A faded beard is sometimes more properly referred to as a faded beard shape up, and it’s a look that you’ve likely seen other guys rocking at one point or another. The look of a faded beard is undeniable, and the appearance of it is pretty much just what the name sounds like.
With a faded beard, the facial hair fades out in a very gradual manner from a very thick makeup to something that’s noticeably thinner. You can choose to get as intense as you want with the progression of your beard’s fade, and the route you go here can make a big difference in regards to how the end result of your fade actually looks.
What’s the Best Time To Attempt a Fade?
As with most hair/facial hair styles, there are certain times where you’ll have the best luck at pulling off the best-looking fade possible. Some guys will say that certain lengths of beards will work better than others for the fade, but in our experience, it really doesn’t matter when you start.
When it comes to fading your beard, the time that you attempt to do this is all a matter of personal preference. A longer beard will have a longer and more noticeable taper, and a shorter one will result in the opposite.
Both styles look great, so deciding which route you want to take will come down to what you think will look best.
How To Fade a Beard
You know what a faded beard is, so it’s now time to actually talk about how to make the magic happen!
There are many different beard fade styles that you can gun for, and while each exact style will need to be worked in its own special manner, the following steps we’re about to run through will at least get you started and in the
So, without further ado, let’s take a look into just what you’ll need to do to get that faded beard look:
Step 1
For the first step, take your trimmer and trim your beard down to the length that you want to wear it at. Make sure that the lever is pulled the entire way down on the clippers that you’re using, and trim until you’ve got your beard at the desired length you want.
Step 2
Next, it’s time to shape your beard around your upper lip and all the day down to the very edges of your bottom lip. This process will require the use of a detailing clipper, so if you don’t already have one, make sure you pick one up.
Step 3
Moving on to step 3, it’s time to start trimming a line that starts about your Adam’s apple and moves all the way down to the edge of your neck. When heading towards your neck, go in the, “sad face” semi-circle.
Step 4
From here, keep moving on with your detailing clipper and create a line that’s underneath your ear where your sideburns meet up at your cheeks. The line that you make should be ever so slightly offset at a small angle that will indicate the point where it will begin to fade.
Step 5
At step 5, you’re going to ditch the detailing trimmer for clippers. Ensure that the length setting is at 0, and begin flicking your clippers off of the line you made in step 4 while slowly moving down your face. As you do this, switch the length setting on your clippers from 0 to 0.5.
Step 6
This is where you’ll actually start fading your beard. Go back once more to the detailing trimmer, and starting at the line you made, work with your beard hair so the beard is around half of a centimeter from your line moving down. By doing this, you’ll get that iconic fade that’s impossible to miss.
Caring For Your Faded Beard
You’ll likely feel pretty smooth after pulling off a faded beard, and this is great! This style isn’t the easiest in the world to pull off, and if you follow all of the steps that we mentioned above, the end result should be rather striking.
However, as with any time you work on your beard, you’ll want to make sure that you take good care of your hard work.
If you’re a man who has dry and/or sensitive skin, you’ll likely want to make use of a shaving gel or foam during the process to ensure that you experience as little irritation as possible.
Also, if your skin tends to
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to fade a beard might seem tricky at first, but it’s far from impossible. Keep a steady head, use the proper tools, and you’ll be golden. Faded beards are in full-force right now when it comes to men’s style, so there’s never been a better time to try out the look for yourself. It may not be for everyone, but in our experience, it’s one of the most handsome looks that you can get.
