Men's Facial Hair Styles

Female barber
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Basic Styles for Moustaches and Beards
 
"To shave, or not to shave - that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the nicks and cuts of outrageous grooming, or take a stand against the bareness of face and by opposing, grow a mustache and beard."
 
With apologies to the late Mr. Shakespeare (who, by evidence of portraiture, was fond of facial hair himself) I decided to make a little joke of what is for some people a fairly serious subject. Throughout the span of recorded history, facial hair on men has gone in and out of fashion so often that it is often difficult to track. Facial hair on men has at different times been a symbol of virility, maturity, social standing, nonconformity, countercultural identity, and just plain personal pride.
 
And the question of whether or not men look good with facial hair or without it is one that often gets a different answer from every person asked. The topic has both proponents and opponents, and these individuals' views on the subject range from the congenial to the fanatical.
 
The extent to which some women are obsessed with the hair on their heads is nothing compared to the level of obsession some men have with their facial hair. While generally speaking, most women prefer a clean-shaven man, many women (and even more men) find facial hair to be very attractive. And the up-and-coming generation of young men (those in their late twenties and early thirties) seem to have found a renewed interest in growing and grooming unique facial hair designs.
 
Even with this massive influx of new and updated trends in men's facial hair, we have to remember that there is rarely anything new under the sun. All the current facial hair styles have their origins in a handful of basic styles. You could even argue that by looking at a man's facial hair as having three basic areas - the upper lip, the chin, and the sideburns - all men's facial hair styles are simply variations and combinations of the same themes.
 
Here are some basic styles of men's facial hair and a description of what makes them unique3
 
The Chin Curtain: This is a style of facial hair that is often seen in the media whenever video footage of the United States' Amish community is shown. The style is marked by facial hair grown only along the lower part of the face at the chin and following the jawline.
 
Chin curtain beard
 
While many Amish men still wear traditional chin curtains, modern variants are seen that are trimmed into ultra thin lines and even patterns along the jaw.
 
The Goatee: The goatee has been a popular style throughout history, and has been seen in countless variations all along. It is characterized by its confinement to the chin area. It can be worn close-trimmed, or grown long and full, sometimes combed and clipped into geometric shapes.
 
Goatee beard
 
Modern variants tend to be close-trimmed and can cover the entire area below the bottom lip, or just the chin itself.
 
The Goatee with Moustache: By adding the moustache to the goatee, you end up with a different look that has as much variety as seen in the regular goatee style.
 
Goatee with moustache
 
This has also been seen in long and close-trimmed variations, and can be shaped to be more square or rounder, depending on the shape of the wearer's face. And like the goatee-only version, it is modernized by close-trimmed and thin variants.
 
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