How to trim your beard with a razor?

Unless you go to the barber very regularly, you must surely ask yourself this question: how to trim your beard with a razor? Indeed, when we leave the barber, our beard is clean, well balanced, no hair sticking out. But over time, if shaving what has grown back by following the contours is not very complicated, the beard hairs have also grown, and the beautiful gradation is no longer, the beard taking its natural shaggy shape! So, in this article, we are going to give you some advice on how to trim your beard with a razor, a trimmer... But first, what is "trimming your beard"?

Trimming or fading your beard?

Yes, before looking at the "how", you must differentiate between trimming your beard and fading your beard. Indeed, trimming your beard requires a bit of concentration, but it's generally a balancing act immediately. Graduating your beard is a little more complex, requiring more technique and practice. Indeed, the gradation is a cutting technique to progressively decrease the thickness of the beard hairs using different tools, but we will detail that in the last part of the article! First, let's look at trimming the beard.

How to trim your beard yourself?

So how to trim your beard yourself? You'll need a razor to outline and highlight your beard, but most importantly you'll need electric clippers (or a pair of scissors for the purists!). You'll also need a brush or comb to style your hair from top to bottom and keep it as straight as possible, until you feel no blockage when you use your styling tool. Don't hesitate to add a beard balm to align the hairs and make them easier to trim! And a trip to our accessories might just give you what you need to accompany your beard trimmer!

Start by taking your trimmer, setting the cutting height to minimum, turning it over and trimming it from top to bottom in a line to cut off any protruding hairs. After a few passes on one side, do the other. Then, re-brush your beard to realign your hairs and repeat. Before long, you'll have the outside of your beard trimmed, but be sure to make both sides the same. To do this, go slowly: it's better to remove not enough material than too much.

Now it's time to trim your beard on the inside. Now that the top and sides are trimmed, you'll have to go under the chin. To do this, imagine a line following the jawline and joining the Adam's apple. Remember to be gentle and go slowly, as this line can be curved or protruding, depending on your face shape and the style of beard you want to wear. Next, tilt your head back slightly and with your clippers still upside down, start from the tip of the beard and trim down to the Adam's apple. This is the most delicate part, so be careful, and don't forget to brush your hair regularly (upside down) to reach all the hairs.

And that's it, you know all about trimming your beard with a razor all by yourself. But, while contouring only requires following a line, what can be stylish is to do a gradient. Was trimming your beard too easy so far? Then let's go with the gradient.

How to fade your beard?

Now, let's see how to fade your beard. You still have your brush/comb, your razor and shaving product, your clippers, and the clogs that go with them, so we can tackle it!

First, you need to let your beard grow for a week or two, so that you have a little more material to work with for the shading. Brush your beard well, especially the cheeks and the area where you will make your gradient. Set your shoe on 3. Trim the upper part of your beard along a parallel line, but a few centimeters below the contour line: the line (curved) between the top of your ear and the corner of your mouth.

Then, repeat the same procedure, trimming from top to bottom, but with a line slightly higher than the previous line, reducing your shoe to 1.5. And so on, you reduce until the contour line, which will correspond to a 0 hoof, but will be really at zero with a safety razor, shavette ... For more information on this, go to our article on which shaving accessory to choose?

Finally, after a little practice, you should be able to do a nice beard gradient. For the gradient, there are accessories, guides to help you follow the contour lines, but each face is unique, so to really know how to follow the line so that it sticks with your face and your style of beard, ask your barber, he will know how to answer you and give you tips. At the same time, it's in his interest to do this if he doesn't want to have to fix the disaster at the next appointment!

Don't forget the last step which is the care because a shot of beard oil or beard balm will allow you to tame it one last time and to nourish the freshly cut hairs.

That's it! Now you know almost everything about how to maintain your beard: you know how to trim your beard from the outside to the inside, how to make a gradient, how to trim the contours, and how to maintain it! Take the time, because trimming beards is a job, and it takes time and patience. Feel free to read our other blog posts, and share your questions on our social networks, or tell us what you'd like to see in the next post!