How to shave a neck beard

NA NA NA NA NA Neck Beard!!!

Even though Batman seems to be a fan of the clean-shaven face, we thought it worked…

Anyway, let’s talk about the neck beard. 

First, we have the words “neck” and “beard.” 

Neck. That part of your body that keeps your head on, or rather connects your head to the rest of your body. The headless horseman was lacking in this area. 

Beard. The non-top-of-your-head hair. This is the hair that grows on your face, typically down and across your cheeks, jawline, under your nose, and front-neck area. 

There you go, you’re putting it together. 

Your neck beard is part of your larger face beard, but as we’re about to dive into, you’re going to see it’s a little different.

Get excited about the five areas of facial hair 

To understand the nuances of the neck beard, one first needs to wrap their head around the five different areas of a man’s facial hair in general:

1. Mustache: The facial hair that grows on your upper lip.
2. Soul Patch: The facial hair that grows directly below your bottom lip.
3. Goatee: The facial hair that grows in front of your chin, below your soul patch, but above your jawline. This hair extends to the beginning of your cheeks. 
4. Side: The facial hair that grows on your cheeks above the jawline and into your sideburns. 
5. Neck: The facial hair that is below your jawline on the front and sides of your neck. All of it. Note that there is a differentiation in the type of hair that grows on the back of your head which is top-of-your-head hair. There seems to be a biological line drawn in the sand where your neck beard hair stops and your top-of-your-head hair takes over.  

All of this facial hair serves to make up an overall beard (or that five o’clock shadow of yours for those of you who like a cleaner shave). 

Even though all of this facial hair creates a lovely beard experience, what’s odd is that the hair actually grows a little differently in each of these areas. You’ll notice that some areas are a little more coarse than others and other areas actually grow a little faster. 

For example, neck beard hair has the tendency to grow faster than the facial hair areas of your face. Because of this, you might notice that neck beard hair gets a little patchy or starts getting a little scraggly or uneven. 

This is where neck beard maintenance comes in. 

Note: Neck beard maintenance is also required to keep your overall beard shape and presence looking clean, neat, trimmed, and oh so nice. You should never let your neck beard run wild and you should never, ever, ever allow your neck beard to connect with your chest hair. 

We repeat, your neck beard should NEVER connect with your chest hair. That is not a thing…just, no. 

Neck beard maintenance time

If you’ve made the decision to sport the man beard you are accepting another level of male grooming and hygiene. 

A beard can get out of hand extremely quickly, and your beard is subject to the accumulation of food, drinks, boogers, spit, dirt, sweat, and all sorts of grime throughout the day. In addition to intentional (and regular) beard cleaning, washing, soaping, conditioning, combing, and drying, shaving and trimming are also important (and ongoing) components of a beard grooming routine. 

For your neck beard, in particular, the first step before any shaving or trimming is to determine where your neck beard line should be. 

To do this, you’re going to need to stand in front of a mirror so you can see the entire top part of your body with enough room to move your head from side to side. When looking in the mirror, try and envision an imaginary line that runs from ear to ear below your Adam’s apple. That’s your no-cross zone. There should be no neck beard hair below that line. 

Now, let’s get into the details of how to tidy up that neck beard:

Step 1: Trim

Beard hair can get tangled and curly, so you do not want to risk shaving hair that is too long. Once you determine your neck beard line, we recommend using a high-quality trimmer like The Lawn Mower® 4.0 to trim down the hair you need to shave off. 

Use the adjustable guards and try to get the below-neck beard hair trimmed as short as you can and try to stay away from the rest of your beard. 

We recommend standing over a sink while you’re doing this or laying down a Magic Mat® to catch all your hair trimmings. 

Step 2: Wash

Once you’re done with the initial below-neck beard hair trim, we recommend washing that area before you shave it. Shaving exfoliates your skin and opens up your pores, so you do not want any dirt and grime to sneak in there. 

Just take a few moments to wet and soap up the area you just trimmed so it’s nice and clean. 

Step 3: Shave

Now that you have a clean working space, the next step is to remove all the hair below that neck beard line we drew by shaving. The Plow® 2.0 is the perfect tool for the job as you want a high-quality, sharp razor for any area you shave on your face. 

We recommend using shaving gel to ensure smooth, gliding strokes and extra hydration. In fact, our Crop Gel™ is kind of perfect for your neck beard because the clear shaving formula will allow you to see that line better. 

When you’re finished shaving, rinse your neck off and make sure you got everything. If you need to revisit a spot, reapply the shaving gel and gently reshave. You want to try to avoid irritation which leads to things like razor burn or ingrown hairs. 

Step 4: Review Your Overall Beard Shape 

Shaping your neck beard via steps 1 through 3 above is all about connecting this part of your beard to the rest of your beard hair. Once you’re done with step 3, take a moment and check yourself out in the mirror. 

How does your newly shaved neck hair area look? 

Is your remaining neck beard hair complimentary of your overall beard? 

Do you need to trim things a little more?  

Because your neck beard hair grows a little faster and more springy than the rest of your beard hair, some people might need to spend a little more time trimming and shaping this part of the beard. We suggest all starting with the highest adjusted guard length and taking off a little at a time. Use a beard comb and try to make everything lie flat. This will also help identify stragglers and hairs that are too long in certain places. 

While many people might get away with trimming their overall beard only once a week, your neck beard area might need to be addressed more regularly. Some people might actually need to trim and/or shave daily depending on how fast their hair grows and how much stubble they want to deal with. 

Remember that with a beard comes great responsibility, so if you’re man enough to grow one, be man enough to maintain that thing and keep it clean.  

More beard tips

Now that you have us on the subject of beard maintenance our team at MANSCAPED has a few more tips for keeping that beard of yours rockin’:

Don’t neglect your beard in the shower. 

Your beard is made up of a lot of hair and it covers a large portion of your face. You need to make sure that all that skin hiding under your beard hair is actually clean, so when you are in the shower, slow down and actually remember to wash and suds up your beard hair. 

Take a few moments and really get a good lather and use your fingers to scrub all up in there. Not only will it feel luxurious, but it will make your entire face clean. You can do this right after you wash your hair since you’re already focused on your head. 

An unclean beard starts collecting smells quickly, is at risk of dehydration which can lead to flakiness and beard dandruff, and beard area pimples are just gross. 

Invest in a facial hair comb.

Facial hair combs are a critical tool in any man’s kit. These are smaller combs with teeth designed for facial hair, so please do not use the comb for your head hair. Spend a few bucks and get your facial hair a comb. 

Facial hair combs are great for trimming tough areas like sideburns and a mustache, but they are also helpful for overall beard trimming and styling. 

For those with shorter beards, a beard comb should be sufficient for overall beard maintenance. If you have a longer beard, a beard comb will be helpful for specific areas, but keep reading for tip #3. 

Note: We define “longer beards” as those longer than 3 inches. 

Invest in a beard brush. 

If you have a longer beard, investing in a beard brush will show the rest of the bearded  community that you, sir, have your beard shit together. You are proving your worth and your seriousness to supporting a full, healthy, and good-looking beard. 

A beard brush should be used daily to untangle your beard hairs, shape your overall beard, and help distribute beard oil evenly (see tip #4). Beard brushes also help stimulate hair follicles which enhances blood flow and actually promotes healthier beard hair growth. 

Invest in beard oil.

While your skin produces natural oil throughout the day, the elements, genetics, and day-to-day habits just dry your skin out. Beard oil keeps the skin under your beard nice and hydrated which in turn supports healthy hair growth. 

High-quality beard oils are loaded with natural vitamins and minerals as well, so not only are things moist and soft, but they will be stronger. 

A pro tip with beard oil is to apply it right after a shower, just like you would a moisturizer for other parts of your body. After a shower your pores are open and awaiting hydration, so a good morning routine will lock in that moisture for the day.