So you’ve found yourself in the need to trim your goatee with just a pair of scissors eh? This could be your first time growing a goatee and what you have at hand is limited, or you’ve been caught out, your goatee is looking a bit messy and you’ve got a hot date or an important meeting to attend. Style of wide moustache.
Not to worry, I get it, and below I’ll guide you through the process. First up you’re going to want to make sure that you’ve got yourself the very best beard scissors, without these you aren’t going to get very far as unfortunately you can’t really use any old scissors to get the job done.
I have to break it to you…. You probably won’t get very far if you just have a pair of scissors and are looking to shape a goatee from a beard.
It’s possible but it won’t look as good as it could simply because you won’t be able to get the hairs around the goatee as small as possible. So if you happen to have a razor nearby that would be an ideal addition.
The inclusion of a razor is also ideal if you are looking to trim your goatee with a pair of scissors, a razor will give you those crisp edges and also remove any unwanted beard hairs.
Find the perfect type of goatee for you
It’s actually rather simple to trim a goatee with scissors, first things first you need to find your style, there are many different styles of goatees, so you need to find one that you feel will suit you.
It’s from there that you can start your trimming process, so to help you here are a few different styles of goatee which we’ve broken down by face shape.
Round Face Shape: Pure Goatee (goatee without the mustache), Anchor, Norse Skipper, Soul Patch, Rap Industry Standard.
Square Face Shape: Goatee and Mustache, Handlebar and Chin Puff, Petite Goatee, Balbo.
Oblong Face Shape: Extended Goatee, Goatee with chin strap, Handlebar and Goatee, Van Dyke.
Diamond Face Shape: Full Goatee, Handlebar and Chin Puff, Goat Patch, Balbo.
Triangular Face Shape: Anchor, Goat Patch.
To help you visualize the different styles of goatee we’ve put together a few images to show some of the most popular styles
1. Pure Goatee (A Goatee Without Mustache)
Sometimes called a pure of original goatee, this by definition doesn’t include any style of mustache, if you were to grow a mustache and left the sides of that mustache connect with your pure/original goatee, well you’ve got yourself a full goatee.
So to achieve a pure goatee you’ll want to make sure that at the end of your trim you have left a small chin beard under your lower lip with no mustache and with the rest of your jawline shaved.
2. Full Goatee
This style of goatee is fairly common, you’ll find it often referred to as the classic goatee or even a full goatee.
When people picture a goatee, this is the style that people think of.
Basically this is a circle beard, where the mustache continues down and around the side of your mouth, where it joins your beard below which should be trimmed to only extend as wide as the outer edge of your mouth, as shown in the image above.
If you’ve watched the TV show Breaking Bad you’ve seen this style of goatee and seen how well it works if you have gone bald.
This is unbroken circle of hair is the most popular of all goatee styles and it perhaps one of the easiest to achieve.
3. The Pretty Boy
The pretty boy is basically the same as the full/true goatee but it has one major difference.
Rather that being a wide and thick area of facial hair, the pretty boy has the goatee trimmed back quite considerably.
The result is that you end up with a thin-ish (you decide how thin when trimming your goatee) mustache and goatee, by keeping the hair well trimmed your get a small gap between your chin and the hair under your lower lip.
4. The Landing Strip
The landing strip is another quite popular variation of goatee, which is very simple to maintain.
The walrus mustache
To achieve this style all your need to do is to shave off your mustache, and all your chin/facial hair except for the hair directly below your mouth.
Typically the landing strip will run vertically down from the corners of your mouth and as far below your chin as you would like.
5. The Van Dyke
If you are a gent who’s struggling to grow a complete circle of hair, and don’t worry it’s quite common (and may become easier as you age) then the Van Dyke may work quite well for you.
The Van Dyke is similar in style to the full/true goatee, it’s made up by a combination of a soul patch, mustache and a chin goatee, without any of these parts being connected.
This works well for those who can’t grow a circle beard simply because any gaps in hair growth won’t show as those areas should be completely shaven.
6. The Anchor
The anchor is similar to the Van Dyke Goatee, however unlike the Van Dyke where the chin hair is confined to a very small area.
The anchor is actually a longer version of the Van Dyke, in this version you continue the facial hair below the mouth to grown longer along your jawline, moving close to the sideburns.
This unique style of the soul patch, a wider goatee (goatee + half chin strap beard) and a mustache, combine to look very similar to an anchor.
This is how the goatee style first for its name.
7. The Balbo
The balbo is very similar to the anchor, borrowing all of the same concepts.
So with a balbo instead of having a soul patch, instead you have a landing strip.
You combine the landing strip with a wide goatee which is thicker than normal and the tips towards the sideburns will extend up onto your cheeks.
If you’ve ever seen Iron Man, this is the style of beard that Tony Stark is sporting.
8. The Extended Goatee
The extended goatee, is built upon the full/true goatee paired with a chinstrap beard up to your sideburns.
This is a very simple style of goatee to achieve
Will these goatee styles work for bald men?
Absolutely, any of these will work so if you are going bald and are afraid to take the leap, just do, go into your bathroom, grab your razor and shave your head, pick a goatee style from the ones i’ve listed above.
Then follow my steps below on how to shape your goatee with a pair of bead scissors, trust me, it’s much better to go big, than the hold out for those last wisps of hair to finally give out on you.
Wondering how to grow a long goatee?
The length of your goatee depends entirely upon your tastes, some like their goatees tight and neat, others may have a longer version.
If you are someone how fancies sporting a longer goatee, that no problem at all.
To grow a long goatee all you need is time and patience, keep shaving away any beard hair that sprouts up in areas outside of your goatee, this way your goatee won’t lose its definition.
If you don’t currently have a goatee, trim your beard back to the shape of goatee that you prefer then just let it grow.
Every 4-8 weeks you’ll want to trim your goatee back slightly, this will allow you to remove all damaged beard hairs and split ends, keeping your goatee in it’s best health.
So how do you shave the hair under your chin when you have a goatee?
You’ll want to shave away almost all of the beard hair under your chin when you have a goatee, you’ll only want hair on your jawline and your chin, but nothing further back and onto you neck.
The amount of hair your leave behind on your jawline and chin will depend entirely on the style of goatee that you are trying to achieve.
Unsure about perfectly shaping your goatee? You can use a goatee trimming template
They look a bit silly, but they can save you time and frustration, there are no worries about getting one side thicker than the other it’s very much stick the template on, shave everything around the template.
Then trim the goatee itself with scissors to your desired length.
It really couldn’t be simpler, you are limited to the templates available and most tend to go for the full goatee.
So you’ve grown a long goatee and want to know how to trim it.
Trimming a goatee is very simple, you’ve already built the foundation, it’s just got a bit long, for me, I find a one or twice weekly clean up is ideal as the growth will have been minimal requiring very little to be trimmed off.
To trim a long goatee, first take a razor and shave any stubble that’s appeared.
Then take your scissors and cut back any growth you no longer want on you goatee, if you keep on top of this, you won’t have any issues with having to define the your goatees overall shape.
Want to make your goatee grow?
I find it surprising how often I get asked “How do you make your goatee grow”, this one is simple, time.
Just leave it alone and it’ll grow, if however I am asked why can’t I grow a full goatee, that’s a different problem, some people just don’t have hair follicles in the right places to accommodate a full goatee, this may change as they grow older, my beard certainly became more full as I aged.
Though for some they’ll never be able to grow a full goatee and for those people, or yourself, I suggest finding another goatee style, don’t forget there are many styles of goatee and you aren’t limited to a full goatee, you could grow a Van Dyke or a Balbo, embrace the alternative styles.
Embrace your uniqueness.
So should you grow goatee or a beard?
I often get asked goatee vs beard, it’s a question I can’t answer for you, If you are unsure which would suit you best grow a beard first, if you are happy with it, keep it.
If you want to experiment with a goatee, why not shape your beard into a goatee around November, if it doesn’t suit you, you can shave it all off and raise some funds during Movember.
How short should you trim your goatee?
Personal taste as always will answer this.
My advice would be to trim your goatee back as short as you dare in small steps, 1-2mm at a time, this will allow you to see the goatee at different lengths.
Yes when you are doing this, you are going to spend a long time in the bathroom, but you will find the perfect length of goatee for you.
Ready to trim your goatee?
Great, but first things first. Mirrors.
If you want to know how to trim your goatee evenly, hell your beard even.
The secret it mirrors showing you your face from different angles you are going to want a front on mirror and 1 – 2 mirrors catching your beard from either side, this way you’ll know exactly how even the sides are.
I must confess… I tend to cheat and have my wife cut my beard for me as she does my neckline much better than I can.
So finally onto the main purpose of this article.
How to trim a goatee with scissors
As I mentioned above when it comes to knowing how to shape a goatee, it all comes down to the goatee style you’ve chosen.
2016 mustache styles
That said they all follow a fairly similar pattern, so these steps will suit all styles with some minor tweaks.
First of all, you will need more than just a pair of scissors, you will need a razor as well, ideally a beard trimmer, but in this instance we don’t have one, so a razor and scissors will do.
Step 1: Pick a goatee style
This could be any of the goatee styles I’ve shown above, or something else you’ve found.
Step 2: Bring out the razor
Use your razor to cut away any hair that won’t be needed. I suggest doing this in passes, at first keeping your distance from where you goatee will finally sit.
Then slowly working your way as close as you dare to the final shape of you goatee.
Step 3: Shaping the goatee
Using your razor, start to define the shape of your goatee, cutting away any excess beard hair, doing your best to remain even using multiple mirrors.
Keep an image of your desired goatee style in front of you so you can inspect your goatee development against the final style you are intended to achieve.
Step 4: cut your goatee to length
Using your beard scissors, trim back your goatee until your hit your desired length.
You’ll want to cut around one millimetre at a time, cutting more than that usually ends up with mistakes being made.
A goatee is basically a fairly short beard, so any mistake your make will you are trimming will be very noticeable.
If you’ve never trimmed your beard before, it’s worth practising on the hair you are going to remove entirely first, it’ll give you a good feel for it, areas like under your chin are a fantastic option for this practice.
Step 5: Admire your goatee
You’re done, you’ve shaped your goatee with a razor, and trimmed it to length with scissors. Stand back and admire your handy work and the handsome devil looking back at you in the mirror.
Remember to keep your goatee neat by trimming one to two times a week.
Final Thoughts
For those of you are are unsure or insecure about whether they can pull this off, it’s worth going to a barber first.
Using a barber to trim your goatee for the first time will be the best solution for you.
While your barber is trimming your beard into a goatee, ask for some times on how to do it yourself next time.
Now you may have noticed that I “snuck” a razor into the mix, you can do this process without a razor, you can do this entirely with scissors, it won’t be easy, and it will take a long time.
All the areas where you would use a razor to trim away unwanted beard hair, you can use your scissors, be careful as you’ll be at a high risk of cutting yourself, remember professional barber scissors are very sharp.
The result also won’t be anywhere near as clean and sharp, but in a bind, it is a solution.
Good luck and let us know what you goatee you decided to go with!
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