Are you thinking about rocking a beard with your shaved head?
A beard adds character and balance and is a trendy way to boost your style.
With so many styles, it takes time to pick what best suits you. Join us as we discuss the pros and cons of wearing a beard, determine which style suits your face shape, and choose from the hottest beard styles for bald men.
Should Bald Guys Rock a Beard?
Bald guys definitely look better at rocking a beard. Just look at George Costanza's photo without a beard (balding) and after shaved with a beard.
Pros
Balances the Face
Now that you sport a smooth dome, wearing a beard balances your look and your lack of hair on top. A beard helps soften a strong jawline or prominent head shape. But not all beards look good on a bald guy. Your face shape matters. We'll discuss this later.
Allows for a New Style
Are you tired of a clean-shaven look? Wearing a new beard is an easy way to shake things up. It's a totally new style that you can interchange with your clean-shaven look.
Hides Minor Imperfections
Facial hair growth like a full beard hides skin problems like acne, scars, blemishes, or uneven skin tone.
Confidence Booster
A bald head and a beard combine well—like peaches and cream. While many head shavers lost confidence when they started balding, shaving their heads and rocking a well-groomed beard flipped things and helped boost their confidence.
Provides Warmth and Coverage
Full beards can give warmth in cold weather and extra sun coverage.
Cons
Beard Itch
If this is your first time growing a beard, it can itch. Coarse hair can also aggravate the situation by irritating the skin underneath. Facial hair always leaves me scratching, so I picked the clean-shaven look.
High Maintenance
Beards don't just look good on their own. You must maintain them by trimming, combing, and using beard oil or balm. For longer beard styles, like a full beard, you may need the help of the pros to maintain them.
Food Trap
If your friend knows what you had for lunch (either seeing or smelling), you may have food trapped in your beard, which can be embarrassing.
Beard Dandruff
If you choose a full beard, dandruff can be a problem. But don't worry. Beard shampoos and oils can keep your Santa Claus warmers flake-free.
Hot in Summer
Full beards can be hot and uncomfortable in hot weather. When summer comes, it may be time to get your electric shaver and cut it. You can grow hair when it's colder anyway.
What's the Right Beard Style for Your Face Shape?
Like choosing the right glasses or sunglasses for a bald head, there's a right beard style for your face shape.
Face shapes matter.
With different styles available, the perfect combination will boil down to matching your beard with your face shape.
Oval Face
Oval faces look good no matter what beard you choose. There is no need to worry if a style matches your face shape. From a classic goatee to a handlebar mustache, you can choose from the best beard styles and look good.
Oblong Face
Bald men with oblong face shapes should avoid long beards. A medium beard length works well for oblong faces since it offsets the long face. A stubble or goatee are your best options here.
Diamond Face
A diamond face has wide cheekbones and is narrow at the top and bottom. A square or rounded beard is an excellent style to consider for diamond-shaped faces. Avoid beards that enhance your jawline, which gives your face even wider cheekbones. A chinstrap beard or stubble also works well for a diamond face.
Round Face
If you have a round face, add contrast by choosing a longer or medium beard length to add sharpness. A full beard can balance plain-looking round faces.
Heart Face
People with broad foreheads and narrow chins should avoid short beards, as they can further emphasize their natural face shape. Adding more volume to the sides will do the trick for heart-shaped faces. Here's where a box beard comes in handy. Just keep it trimmed, as it can get scruffy quickly.
Square Face
For square faces, you need a beard that reduces the angular appearance of your face. A Van Dyke beard is ideal in this case as it adds length while keeping sides narrow.
The Best Beard Styles for Bald Men
Long Beards for Bald Men
Full beards take time, discipline, and commitment to grow. They are over 3 inches long (7.5cm), or until you reach the maximum length, your facial hair can grow.
If you fail to trim, your beard will look untidy right away. Remember that longer beards make you look older, but it's up to your personal preference if you want a longer beard.
Viking Beard
Do you want to look like a Viking warrior going to battle? Vikings were meticulous about their looks; they often carried combs and tweezers. A Viking beard complements a bald head well, contrasting the lower face and giving it a more defined shape. A defining feature of this style is a shaved neck, making the beard stand out.
Ducktail Beard
A ducktail beard features a pointed tip at the chin, like, you guessed it, a duck's tail. To achieve this style, you let your chin hair grow and taper the sides towards the chin. The hair on your cheeks and jawlines is trimmed shorter than your chin, creating a contrasting and sleek look.
Lumberjack Beard
A lumberjack beard works well with most face shapes, especially rounder faces. The lumberjack is a good option if you're going for a rugged, wild, and untamed look. It's meant to be untrimmed on the cheeks, chin, and neck.
Tactical Beard
The tactical beard, or combat beard, is popular among gun guys and military personnel. When you serve in the military, you're required to be clean-shaven. But during military operations in the Middle East, culture dictates wearing a beard. Special forces started growing their beards to gain the respect of the locals. This is if there wasn't a gas poisoning threat (facial hair gets in the way of wearing gas masks).
Military guys also started wearing beards after leaving the service since they were tired of shaving. Thus, tactical beards became a thing.
Hipster Beard
A hipster beard is slightly unkempt and scruffy, giving it a more natural look. To prevent tangles, you may need to trim and brush it several times.
Medium Beards for Bald Men
This is the sweet spot for most beards for bald men. The length is 1 inch (2.54cm) to 3 inches (7.5cm).
Corporate Beard
Are you hesitant to grow a beard because you don't know if it's ok in the workplace? The corporate beard is a good option for you. Let your hair grow for several months until it reaches its full length. Trim the bottom half and let it sit along your jawline. Add a goatee, and you're done.
Van Dyke Beard
The Van Dyke is a combination of a floating mustache and a pointed chin beard. It's a sophisticated, classical choice often linked to historical figures and personalities.
Boxed Beard
The boxed beard features a rectangular shape, which is achieved by trimming your beard with clean, straight lines along the cheeks and neckline, creating a "boxed" effect.
Chinstrap Beard
The chinstrap beard solely focuses on the jawline and does away with the mustache. Hair follows the jawline, beginning at the sideburns and running down to the chin, but does not connect across; thus, the name "chin strap."
The Balbo Beard
The balbo beard features a trimmed mustache that's disconnected from the beard. There are no sideburns, either. The cheeks are clean-shaven, giving a distinct separation between the beard and head.
Short Beards for Bald Men
Short beards, which range from stubble to up to 1 inch long (2.54 cm), are the easiest to maintain.
Moustache Only
If you're still deciding whether to grow a medium or full beard, you can always test the waters by wearing a moustache-only style. It's a great starting point for your beard journey. It's low maintenance and gives the right balance to your smooth dome.
Circle Beard
The circular beard is achieved by making an outline on your jawline with a firm, short beard in a circular shape. Your facial hair should be around 3mm long and cleanly lined around your jawline.
Anchor Beard
As its name implies, the anchor beard resembles a ship's anchor. It combines a pointed chin strap beard, a soul patch, and a disconnected mustache. The chin strap follows the jawline, which tapers at the chin. The soul patch connects the chin strap to the mustache. This style works well for those with patchy beard growth.
Stubble Beard
A stubble beard is the easiest to maintain. A beard trimmer is all you need to keep it neat. Stubble is a great starting point, especially for bald guys with oval faces. Keep facial hair between 1mm and 3mm long to maintain the style.
Goatee Beard
The goatee is a great style for men with square faces. It offsets the strong jawline. The goatee also works well in the workplace and on formal occasions.
Beard Styles for Bald Black Men
Circle Goatee
A circle goatee looks good on bald black men and helps enhance the strong facial features common in black men. It's also suitable for black baldies with patchy beard hair since the style doesn't require full coverage on the cheeks.
Stubble Beard
A stubble beard is another great beard style for black baldies. Unlike longer beards, maintaining stubbles doesn't take much effort. Due to its contrast, stubbles can look striking on darker skin tones.
Corporate Beard
Like the stubble beard, the corporate can look good on black bald men. A well-trimmed corporate beard makes it a sophisticated and stylish option for black baldies.
Most Stylish Beard Styles for Bald Men
Beard with Handlebar Mustache
Combining a beard and a handlebar mustache is a bold, distinctive look. Only some people can pull it off, though. Only those with longer faces will look good with this style.
If you have a round face, the long beard and handlebar mustache can make your face appear shorter and broader.
Solo Handlebar Mustache
image via Paramount
When we talk about a bald head and handlebar mustache, the first person that comes to mind is Dr. Robotnik, the villain from Sonic the Hedgehog. His thick, orange, and upturned handlebar mustache is a classic.
Celebrity Inspirations
James Harden - Full Beard
image via Nagashia Jackson
Known as the "Beard" in the NBA, Harden rocks the Full Beard while playing pro ball. He lets his facial hair grow to its maximum length on his cheeks, chin, and neck. The full beard adds definition to James' rounder face shape.
Jason Statham - Stubble Beard
image via productplacementblog
Famous for his buzz cut, Statham also rocks the stubble beard style. Stubble is easy to grow (a few days vs. months for a full beard) and easy to shave off when you need a clean-shaven look, making it a good choice for busy film stars like Statham. It's one of the best beard styles for bald men.
Robert Downey Jr. - Anchor Beard
image via inflationhedging
Downey popularized the "Tony Stark Beard" in his Iron Man movies. It's a combination of an anchor beard and a classic goatee. His mustache doesn't connect to the beard on his cheeks, and the beard tapers to a point on his chin.
Stone Cold Steve Austin - Circle Goatee
image via Screengeek
The Texas Rattlesnake started out clean-shaven but decided to rock the circle goatee during his wrestling heydays. The beard style, combined well with his shaved head and denim attire, gave him a tougher, more rugged appearance that matched his wrestling persona.
For more celebrity inspiration, read our articles on bald bad guys, the sexiest bald men, and the best bald characters on screen.
The Best Tool for Styling Your Beard
Freebird Beard Series Trimmer Kit
Have you chosen your perfect beard style yet? You'll need a reliable beard trimmer to help you achieve your style. Using scissors can be time-consuming. Razors? Who wants painful nicks and cuts? They can also make you shave off more facial hair than you want.
A beard trimmer offers more control and efficiency. It can keep your beard well-groomed and tidy.
The Freebird Beard Series Trimmer has everything you need. It can cut various beard styles without pulling and tugging your facial hair. With adjustable settings (0.5mm to 20mm), you can efficiently work from a stubble to a long beard.
Get one now and start rocking your new beard style with confidence.
Buy from the Freebird website.
The Best Tool for Shaving Your Head
Freebird FlexSeries
You need the right tools for the job to shave your head and groom your beard. We already recommended the best tool for beard grooming; now, we'll discuss the best tool for shaving your head.
A smooth head is essential to complete your overall look. You wouldn't want well-groomed facial hair and a messy scalp.
The FlexSeries is your best option here. It can create a smooth dome in just 90 seconds, which gives you enough time to groom your beard.
The best part? It costs around $40 and comes with a load of free attachments.
The Bottom Line
A bald head and a beard will never go out of style. While it may not be for everyone, you can decide whether to rock a beard with your bald head.
With plenty of beard styles to choose from, you can pick one that suits you. Just remember to keep trimming and maintaining for a well-groomed look.
FAQs
Why do Some Men Go Bald but Have Beards?
While DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, plays a major role in scalp hair loss, a study shows that DHT supports facial hair growth. This answers the question of why some may go bald but have beards.
Genetics also plays a role in why men go bald and have beards. You may inherit a predisposition for baldness but not for facial hair growth.
How Can I Keep My Beard Healthy and Groomed?
Before growing your beard you must learn to keep it healthy and groomed. A nice beard doesn't just happen it takes patience and the right grooming routine.
General beard care involves regular trimming, shampooing, conditioning, and applying beard oil. You also need tools like a beard trimmer, comb, and scissors.
You can check out this complete guide to learn more.
Are There Any Facial Hair Options Beside Beards?
A mustache is a stylish option if beards are not your style. A well-groomed mustache can add character to your face without a beard vying for attention. Compared to a beard, a mustache needs less upkeep (trimming and shaping).
While you're at it, you can add sideburns to the mix. It's a great way to add contrast to your chrome dome.
Sideburns also help you transition to a full beard once you decide to grow one.
