Deciding how to grow stubble that looks good on you begins with deciding whether scruff is really a good look for you. Don’t make any decisions about how to grow stubble before you’ve considered whether you should or not.
You’re a good candidate for the designer stubble look if you:
- Get bumps and scratches from shaving and would look better with some hair on your face than with all the skin damage
- Want to trade in your baby-faced look for something a bit more masculine
- Work in an environment when facial hair is accepted or at least tolerated
- Want to keep up with schoolmates or workmates or the latest trends.
You really should forget about having scruff if:
- It doesn’t grow evenly — because bad stubble is worse than none at all
- There’s no time in your schedule to maintain it properly
- Your significant other doesn’t like kissing a scratchy face.
While stubble isn’t considered a bad thing in today’s world, unkempt and poorly maintained scruff still looks bad on you and can still make a negative impression. But when you shape your facial hair correctly, you can look better than you ever thought possible.
It’s okay to shave around the edges if necessary, but don’t overdo it. Remember that the natural look is very much in style — but shaggy and unappealing is never in style.
How To Grow Stubble In 3 Steps
If you want the very best stubble, follow these three steps every time you groom your facial hair. An important part of learning how to grow stubble is learning how to maintain it using these steps:
1. Exfoliate. Great stubble begins with a clean face that’s as free of blemishes as possible. Shaving scrapes away dead skin from the face, but if you won’t be shaving you have to do this another way. Exfoliate with a high-quality facial scrub or simply with water, facial soap and a sturdy washcloth. When you skip exfoliation, dead skin cells build up around hair follicles leading to bumps and flakes that will look terrible on your face and when they fall on your clothing.
2. Trim to the right length. It makes sense to invest in the best stubble trimmer you can afford and use it at the same setting every day. You may need to experiment a bit at first. If you have very thick facial hair, trimming at the shortest setting every day may look great. If it’s a little less dense, you may need a bit more length to achieve the evenness you want to look good. Finding the right length is the most important thing you will have to learn when exploring how to grow stubble that’s right for you.
3. Shape around the edges. The natural look is in, so you don’t want to over-shape your stubble. But if your stubble connects to your chest hair or goes high up on your cheeks, you’ll want to trim around the edges. Use a shaving gel or oil for this and not a cream so you can see what you’re doing. Any good razor will do for this. If you have a long or very lean neck, you may want to try shaving the neckline up a little higher for a more finished look. This requires some experimenting too. Just don’t shave too high.
A Word About Short Beard Maintenance Too
If you want a natural-looking short beard for a while, consider letting the hair on most of your face grow out a bit and then trim to a longer setting. Under your jaw, you may want to establish a slightly higher jawline than with stubble. Or you may prefer to set the trimmer at a shorter setting and taper your facial hair down to your jawline for a more natural appearance. Some guys like to see a sharp line at the bottom of their beards and some don’t.
Whatever you do, be sure that any stray hairs on your cheeks or your neck are cleaned up with your stubble trimmer without its guard or with a razor. Stray hairs can really ruin a good beard or great stubble.
Learning how to grow stubble you can be proud of is easier than many guys think. And good stubble can add some masculinity and some sex appeal to an otherwise ordinary face, so you should give it a try.
Remember, the key to scruff that enhances your look rather than detracts from it is maintenance and good grooming techniques.
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