A long beard is a man’s pride, and understandably so, because it really is an ornament. In addition, with the help of this natural accessory many men skillfully disguise defects of appearance. If they are not taller, if they are too full – slimmer, if they have not too expressive facial features – more imposing. Of course, all this is possible when the one important condition is respected – the style of the beard is chosen correctly. However, this is not enough – it must be cherished and nurtured, which means that it must be trimmed and shaved correctly.
Instruments for cutting the beard
We immediately warn everyone who dared to ennoble their own vegetation that the usual scissors, an old razor and a disposable razor in this case do not do. Experienced barbers recommend to get rid of these tools that can spoil not only the haircut, but the structure of the hair, even if it is very beautiful, and to buy professional tools.
Choose only quality tools:
- You can cut with scissors, but they should be made of steel with a coating of titanium, vanadium or chromium. Such a tool is durable, durable, has hypoallergenic properties, eliminating irritation. For edging fit scissors with sharp ends, and it is important that the device was not too heavy and was comfortable to lie in the hand. If you have a long or thick beard to correct, this is ideal.
- A razor is essential for shaving the exposed parts of the face. When choosing a power tool, make sure it has a special mesh to protect the skin from cuts, and choose a motor with a rotary or low-vibration design. But for perfectly smooth skin, of course, is better to use a razor for shaving, and it must be high quality.
- Trimmer is a handy device that allows you to do trimming, trimming, shaving the hair on the cheeks, make all the lines of the selected shape clearly outlined. A variety of nozzles provides the cutting of hair of different lengths, but in general, the device is best used for a small beard.
- Hair clippers are mainly designed to reduce the length, but they are not capable of cutting hair as short as a trimmer. They are smarter to use for grooming long hair. Salon masters believe that for beginners it is better to use a trimmer – it is easier to work with, in addition, it is cheaper, more compact, if necessary, it can be taken with you on trips.
- So, men have a fairly wide range of tools, the main criterion is their own beard – its length, color, density, hair structure. But also for work at home you need additional accessories, without which it is impossible to qualitatively maintain the shape and appearance of the vegetation – a wall and a small mirror, molds to create a trim, combs and combs made of natural materials, cosmetics for shaving and after this procedure.
Preparation of the beard
Any manipulation with the beard – its correction, trimming and cutting, should begin with preparation. Despite the fact that different tools are used to work through the hair, it is necessary to prevent the consequences of metal contact with the skin. Conducting hygienic procedures and steaming helps to avoid redness, skin rashes of allergic nature, ingrown hair – an extremely undesirable phenomenon, making further facial and beard care painful.
Washing the hair
To wash should not take the usual cosmetics, because they contain sulfate additives, which form foam and harmful to the skin. These substances dehydrate the epidermis when cleaning it from dirt and sebum, so it is advisable to use natural shampoos with useful plant extracts. They will make the hair softer and more pliable, as a result facilitating further shaving and cutting. Simply massage a little shampoo onto the beard, lather it up gently and evenly over the entire length, then rinse it off with lukewarm water.
Drying
You can dry your hair with a towel, blotting the beard, thus eliminating excess liquid. Using a hair dryer is undesirable unless it is a professional hairdressing and styling tool with adjustable temperature functions.
Combing
A thorough combing process can help remove loose hairs and comb out dead hair shafts. Combs and combs with coarse wooden teeth or brushes with natural bristles are good for this. To straighten the curly strands is used a special iron, which several times in the direction of hair growth. When working with any electric devices for drying and smoothing preapply gels and foams that protect the hair from the effects of high temperatures.
How to cut a beard?
Fortunately, nowadays any man can not only choose his own beard hairstyle, but also properly shave and trim it at home. By the way, the fact that only an experienced barber can model a beard is a misjudgment. If desired everyone can decide himself which shape of the beard suits him ideally – there are special computer programs which simulate individual image from photos and everyone is familiar with this technique today.
You can cut your own beard beautifully if you know the following general rules:
- The beard can be trimmed as along the line of hair growth, and in the opposite direction, as well as making horizontal and vertical movements with the tool, provided that you have a chaotic direction of growth on different parts of the face;
- You should always start correcting from cheeks area, and barbers recommend removing excess hair on the neck, because the hair on these areas is more flexible for processing, then the moustache and side parts should be trimmed; very carefully go over temples because they can visually make the face look wider and narrower – success here depends on the correct choice of beard contours;
- if you do not want to get an unpredictable cut, do not cut the beard while it is wet;
- Regardless of the tool selected, only a razor blade can cleanly and smoothly shave the stubble;
- When using hard to reach areas near the corners of your mouth and nose, keep your mouth closed – removing hairs in this area will make the overall appearance of the beard look neater;
- Long beard should be preliminarily shortened with scissors with tips bent upwards without taking too much length – everything depends on the final result, it may be necessary to straighten the hairs later;
- Short, sparse beard is better trimmer trimmer, with this device is easy to create a stylish look, leaving a slight unshavenness, which is well combined with sparse vegetation, scissors for this form is not suitable;
- trim the vegetation evenly and evenly can be, using stencils or attachments machine, trimmer; in any case, the form must be symmetrical, otherwise the male attribute will lose its appeal;
- the final stage of any adjustment – trimming, trimming, removal of separate hairs, trimming the bristles on the neck; a prerequisite – passing the line of the beard exactly along the lower jaw.
Next, let’s take a step-by-step look at how to use different tools in correcting and trimming the beard.
With scissors
To work with long hair, you will need a good barber’s tool and a comb for combing. The main task is to remove excess hair, making the shape blurred. The procedure is as follows:
- Determining the desired length;
- dividing the hair into two side parts and a central zone;
- Next, use a comb to comb out the necessary strand in the center of the beard and cut it parallel to the comb, without pulling it out;
- Once the middle part is taken care of, the side areas can be cut;
- After that, using scissors, individual hairs in the cheek area are removed, and from the central part to the edges the moustache is cut;
- Finally, the line of the temples is smoothed;
- It is important to cut the hair without capturing large locks, so that in case of an error it is possible to reduce the same length.
Machine
Using a hair dryer is about choosing the right attachment for the length you want. If you are not sure which one is better to use, take the one that is longer – later you can correct the trimmed hair. The main rules for processing the beard – smooth movements of the device, optimal adjacency to the skin of the face, the absence of strong pressure on the device. It is worth to perform the following actions:
- You should start cutting from the earlobes, shifting to the chin area, holding the machine in the direction of hair growth;
- The second step is the movement from the center of the upper lip to the corners and then to the chin to treat the mustache;
- Next, you can remove the attachment, cut the stubble on the neck, moving from the bottom up to the lower jaw.
With some skill with this tool it is possible to create smooth transitions from short bristles to longer hairs – this is useful when the shape of the beard on some parts of the face does not require clear borders of vegetation. Soft transitions are achievable if there is a filleting nozzle in the set of the device.
Trimmer
The trimmer is a useful, easy-to-handle device that allows you to use several important functions at once. Using it for self-decorating your beard at home is quite simple. The tool will help to cope with hair with different thickness and degree of rigidity, the main thing is to choose not too light and heavy device with a rubberized body, which is convenient to hold in your hand. An additional plus is that you do not need special products and water to work through the hair. The haircut and correction procedure includes the following steps:
- With the smooth movement of the device along the growth line the hair on the cheeks and neck is removed;
- The mustache is cut from the middle to the side borders;
- Before trimming the beard, the length is taken off with the scissors and trimmed with the trimmer;
- Trimming is done without the attachment, this gives the shortest cut or a zero shave, just familiarize yourself with the possibilities of your tool.
Trimming your beard and keeping it well groomed is a real art. Not only do you have to initially choose the right shape of the vegetation, you have to be able to constantly trim it, shave it, and make the contours distinct. Not every man dares to do this on their own, which makes many members of the stronger sex regularly go to a barbershop.