How to Groom a Beard While Growing it Out

If you’ve been granted the whiskered honour of being able to grow facial hair, you need to know how to grow and trim a beard. That’s non-negotiable. No one with a beard should rely only on their barber to keep it in shape.

Whether you’re just starting on your journey, or you’re going to let your beard grow to new lengths, you’ll need to know how to groom a beard while growing it out. Grooming isn’t going to hurt you – in fact, you’ll probably benefit from it in the long haul. Follow Jericho’s list on how to grow your beard out while keeping it well groomed, as well as all the tricks and equipment you’ll need to get any beard styles right.

How to groom a beard while growing it out? Use the right tools

The first step to understanding how to groom a beard is ensuring you have the right tools to get the job done. Wherever you keep your most important facial hair tools, you should make sure you have the following in your kit:

1. A beard brush 

Brushing with a beard brush before a trim can help make the trim easier. A good brush will show you any inconsistencies in beard length and straighten out some of the more stubborn beard hairs.

2. A beard comb 

A beard comb is perfect for distributing nourishing beard oils throughout your beard and detangling. Combing is equally as helpful for styling the beard back into place post-trim.

3. Facial hair scissors 

A small pair of facial hair scissors can help take care of any wispy or remaining stray hairs in your beard. It’s all about attention to detail.

4. Beard clippers 

Clippers help maintain an even length throughout the beard, which is a crucial element of grooming. Clippers are helpful for fading the beard neckline.

5. Razor

You aren’t done with your razor just yet, even with a bit of hair. Have a razor handy to rid yourself of any pesky hair growing below the beard neckline and Adam's Apple, as well as clean up the cheeks too.

6. Something to style with 

How to groom a growing beard? Not by leaving it alone! Your beard won’t shape itself, unfortunately. You should have some beard balm or oil handy to help run through your beard when styling it.

7. Something to wash with 

Always give yourself a blank canvas in the morning or evening when grooming your beard. Make sure you have specialised beard shampoo to help make your trimming, shaping, or other maintenance as effective as possible.

How to groom a growing beard: 5 tips 

1. Beards require maintenance 

If you want your beard to look its best when growing out, then you need to make it look intentional. Understanding maintenance is part of understanding how to groom a beard while growing it out.

Maintenance is more than setting the length of your beard. Grooming involves washing your beard with a beard shampoo frequently. And before you ask, no, you cannot use regular shampoo. Your beard hair has different oils that are better left in, which regular shampoo will clear you out of.

2. Don't fear the trim 

Besides washing, you also need to be trim your beard regularly. You might be thinking, “Why do I need to trim? I want it to grow!” There are people out there who will tell you that trimming is folly, and to their credit, not everyone is the same. However, even if you are planning on growing your beard to new lengths, it’s important to be doing regular trimming on your future long beard. Trimming a beard prevents stray hairs, dryness, split ends, and overall unkemptness. You must always be in control of the beard, not vice versa.

When you trim your beard, you are not slowing down your progress, you are taking control. In fact, it does the opposite. Trimming your beard is a sign that you have started making serious progress on your beard.

Start by giving your beard a once-over with a beard brush or beard comb. Do this against the grain so that your hairs stand up. Take your facial hair scissors and snip any overachievers that have grown faster than the rest. If you need to, get the clippers, or razor out and tidy up around your neck and cheek lines.

Hairy cheeks are a big no-no on a clean beard. The ideal method is to draw a very shallow curve from the inner edge of your sideburn across to the edge of the whiskers. Any hair that comes above that - shave it off. And for the love of God, please, no neckbeard.

Even if your beard naturally stops growing at a certain point, taking control, and defining your neckline with a clean shave will do wonders for your image. It shows that you make the rules, and knowing how to groom a beard while growing it out is another of your talents.

3. Remember the mo'

Ah yes, the often-overlooked younger brother of the beard. The moustache. Your moustache is more likely to get overgrown quicker than the rest of your beard. You might need to check the moustache for stray hairs more frequently.

4. Balm it up 

Beard balm is your beard’s own leave-in conditioner. Packed with essential oils like shea butter, beard balms help soften your beard, locking in vital moisture and allowing you to get inventive with your styling. Balm is an important factor in understanding how to groom a growing beard, so don’t overlook it!

5. Grow and trim a beard that suits you

As it goes with the hair on top of your head, the style of hair on your face accommodates some face shapes better than others. There’s no actual beard style rulebook here. If you want to go for the Tom Hanks in Castaway look, then credit to you. Your answer to “how to groom a growing beard” will be easy – do nothing! But not everyone can pull off the long, scraggly, ungroomed beard look.

Though the rules around grooming have become more flexible, in general, your goal should be to make your face look as oval as possible. For our circular and squarer headed brothers, you’ll focus on adding length and trimming the sides. If you have an oblong or more rectangular face, keep that full beard short, and fill out your cheeks.

This is important when it comes to grooming. When growing out your beard, the only places you should be trimming are around the cheeks or sideburns.

Growing and trimming a beard with Jericho

So, there it is. Almost all you need to know about how to groom and trim your beard while growing it out. Growing a beard is not always going to be smooth sailing. If it was easy, everyone would have one! Remember to take your time and give your beard the patience it deserves.

Whether it’s months, or weeks, it's different from person to person. Sit back and give it the nourishing it needs. Beard itch comes and goes. Knowing how to groom a beard while growing it out means knowing when to use beard oils and balms to keep your skin underneath soft and itch-free.

Make sure that when you need the right products for your beard, you go with Jericho. Our extensive range of beard balms, oils and other essential beard kits will have you grooming and shaping in no time. If you’re unsure about what product you need for your full beard, just get in contact with our friendly team, and we’ll point you in the right direction.