How to Trim a Chin Strap

Use an electric beard trimmer to trim a chin-strap beard.

Chin-strap beards are a popular alternative to the traditional clean-shaven, full-beard, goatee-only and mustache-only facial hair categories. A chin-strap beard is usually kept short and well-defined, and it works best for men that grow fairly thick facial hair (if your facial hair is thin, the chin-strap beard may appear spotty). Since chin-strap beards are generally short, a chin strap requires more maintenance than many other types of facial hair. However, with the right preparation and a little practice, you can easily trim a chin-strap beard yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Electric beard trimmer
• Small comb
• Trim razor

Instructions

1. Wash your face and dry it thoroughly. Do not attempt to trim wet facial hair, as facial hair appears longer when it is wet.

2. Comb your facial hair downward so that it lines up in one direction.

3. Attach a medium-length beard trimming guide to you electric beard trimmer, and trim your beard downward, along the grain of the hair growth. Begin by the ears and work your way to the chin.

4. Attach a short-length beard trimming guide to the beard trimmer and trim the beard in the same fashion if you desire a shorter chin-strap beard.

5. Remove the beard-trimming guide from your beard trimmer. Place the blade against the point of your chin, and shave away from your chin along your throat. Repeat this process for the entire jawline, aligning the blade with the point of your jawbone at the beginning of each stroke.

6. Position the blade on the front of your chin, and shave upward away from your jawline. Begin with a thicker chin-strap width than you think you want, and then thin the chin strap to the desired thickness.

7. Complete the chin strap on each side of the chin, keeping the width of the chin-strap beard consistent.

8. Remove any stray hairs from the shaven areas of your face with a trim razor.

References

• All About Beards: Beard Grooming