Over 2/3 of guys say they've grown some sort of facial hair in the past 12 months.
It's has become our way of adding a personal sense of style to our look. The best part? It's cheap, easy to do and has limitless possibilities. But how do you find the style that's right for you?
The short answer is, you don't. Or, at least, you don't need to. What's in style is fairly wide ranging. Sure, there are some major celebs that have made a particular look fashionable for the moment, but most true style is enduring and timeless and really depends on how confident you are wearing that style.
You wanna rock a chevron moustache, go for it, there's plenty of guys out there trying it on. But there's also a ton of guys trying out the Walrus, or the stache-de-jour, the handlebar. If you think you can pull it off, take your shot. One tip might be to start big. See what your best Ron Swanson looks like, maybe even wear it out for a day or two. Then, if you're not feeling it, trim down but leave the ends a bit longer. I'd recommend some moustache wax or beard balm, to help shape and style but also keep is soft and healthy. If the handlebar is not happening, then another quick chop and you've got a chevron or even down to a pencil stache. See, limitless.
The full beard is no different. I'd recommend letting it grow for a while. Give yourself a playground to play in, so to speak. See how truly bushy you can get and whether your inner Viking or Mountain Man is coming out. Again, to see if that style is really a style, use a beard balm daily to keep it healthy and easy to work with. Simply warm up a dollop in the palm of your hands and rub it throughout the beard. Then comb or brush it and you'll really see the full potential of the look coming through. If that's not work, try keep the stache and trim the beard down. Voila, the beard-stache appears and you've got instant "of the moment" beard cred.
You might ultimately be a 5-day stubble guy. There's no shame in that. Miami Vice will never die in our hearts and that's a look that can travel in many circles; work, gym, date night, game night. Just do yourself a favour, keep it clean and keep it soft. It's human nature, we all want positive feedback. And you're going to get the most feedback 1. just from trying something new (people like new things and 2. from others who get close and see and smell it. Whether it's a good beard wash in the morning, a solid beard oil routine or a regular use of beard balm to keep your style on point, you can't just leave your face to it's own devices (unless you're leaving alone out in the woods. Take care of your facial hair and your facial hair will take care of you.
Most of all enjoy that big bushii ride.