Beard styles for a round face

What a beard can do for a round face

A round face is as wide as it is long with no angles. A beard shaped correctly does two things about that: it extends the outline below the chin, adding length, and it can create a straighter line along the jaw and a point at the chin, adding angles. Few other styling tools change the read of a round face this much.

Shaped incorrectly, it does the opposite. A beard that is full at the cheeks and short at the chin adds width to the widest part of the face and makes it rounder.

So the rule is long at the chin, short at the sides.

Styles that suit a round face

• Goatee with or without a moustache. It concentrates hair at the chin, narrows the lower face into a point and adds length. The single most effective style for a round face.
• Ducktail beard: a full beard shaped to taper to a point below the chin, with the cheeks kept shorter. It reads as a strong jaw with length.
• Chin-heavy full beard: a full beard trimmed short on the cheeks and sides and left longer under the chin. Keep the sideburns tight.
• Extended goatee or anchor, which adds a defined line along the jaw for a squarer effect.
• Short boxed beard with a low cheek line works if the chin is kept at least as long as the cheeks and the cheek line is set low and straight.

Cheek line and neck line

Set the cheek line lower and straighter than its natural edge. A high, full cheek adds width at the cheekbones. A low, straight cheek line running from the sideburn toward the corner of the mouth creates an angle that a round face lacks.

Keep the neck line clean and slightly lower than the usual guidance, roughly at the top of the Adam's apple, so the beard under the chin has length to work with. A neck line set too high cuts the length off and shortens the face.

Length guide

Cheeks and sides: short, from stubble to about a centimetre. Chin: at least twice the cheek length, and longer if you want more elongation. Once the chin hair reaches a few centimetres, shape it toward a rounded point rather than a flat edge; a flat, wide chin line reads as square, a point reads as long.

Styles to avoid on a round face

• Full, evenly-long beards that are as wide at the cheeks as they are long at the chin. These add width.
• Chinstrap beards that follow the jaw curve; they trace the roundness rather than correcting it.
• Mutton chops and wide sideburns, which add width at the sides.
• Heavy stubble alone with no shaping, which softens the jaw further.

Pairing with hair

The beard adds length below the face; hair with height on top adds length above it. Together they can make a round face read as oval. A quiff or a textured crop with a fade at the sides, plus a goatee or ducktail, is the standard combination. Avoid pairing a long beard with wide, voluminous hair at the sides.

The face shape test reports the jaw width relative to the cheekbones and the chin angle; a round face usually shows a wide chin angle above about 115 degrees, which is exactly what a pointed beard shape narrows.