The Hollywoodian beard has a vintage, Bohemian charm to it. It’s a style that was popular amongst movie stars and on-screen throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The Hollywoodian beard gives off a sense of sophistication and culture, stemming from its association with rich men on screen.

While it fell out of style during the end of the 20^th Century, this beard is making a comeback. Oddly enough, the Hollywoodian beard has gone in and out of popularity at several stages throughout the century. What began as a sign of the elite early in the century, it was adopted by the protest movements throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before its current resurgence in the 2010s.

The Hollywoodian beard is not for the faint of heart, as it is surprisingly difficult to grow and maintain. Hollywood beards take effort to create a style that’s meant to look effortless. It’s meant to heighten and define your jawline while accentuating your other facial features.

Hollywood beards are attention grabbers. It’s for people who don’t mind and prefer basking in the attention it receives. Chances are, you’re a fan of vintage culture and want to let that show through your style.

While the Hollywood beard isn’t far off from a full beard, its differences are what make it such a statement. People who grow this beard aren’t satisfied with the classic look of the full beard. You want something that stands out from everyone’s normal existence.

The Hollywood beard is essentially an extended goatee. You basically have a mustache and grow the hair along your chin and jawline. Another way to think about it is as a full beard without sideburns.

On the spectrum of beards, it falls between the extended goatee and the heavily stylized boxed beard. The sideburns are shaved off, the cheeks are cleaned up, and the neckline trimmed.

There can be some variation usually in length or the extent you can grow your beard. Your facial hair doesn’t need to be limited to just a chin strap and can be grown out to fit the way your beard grows in.

The key defining treat of the Hollywood beard is that your sideburns are shaved.

The Hollywood beard is a fantastic look, but unfortunately, it does not lend itself well to all face shapes. It’s not only high-maintenance to keep the look clean and manicured, but it’s also finicky.

Having prominent cheekbones is probably the best determining factor for how this beard will look on you. It lends itself incredibly well to faces that have high, prominent cheekbones.

The Hollywood beard is tailored around your jawline and will benefit from a square jaw. You want the focus to be drawn to your chin, and a square face does that best while creating a balanced look.

However, a square jaw and prominent cheekbones will give you the freedom and flexibility to shape the Hollywood beard how you’d like. You can trim the sides as low as you want, almost like a chin strap beard.

If your face shape doesn’t quite match that, you can grow a more prominent beard to offset your facial features. However, if you have a rounder face with less defined features, a full beard, goatee, or a different variant, like the Balbo or anchor beard may be better suited for you. Those beards achieve a similar effect with the added benefit of shaping your face additionally.

Hollywood beards are easiest to style from a full beard. That makes it easiest not only to shape but also to maintain since you’ll be able to shave along already clear lines.

The first thing you want to do is let your full beard grow for 3 to 4 weeks. Make sure you don’t trim your beard’s length otherwise within that time frame.

Once your beard has grown insufficiently, it’s time to shape your beard.

You’ll need some tools to shape and maintain your beard.

Initial shaping is easiest when you start out with a set of lightweight electric trimmers. The lighter and more maneuverable, the better. These often come with guards, so you can use them to trim your beard to a uniform length too. However, you’ll want a pair of scissors to help you with that as well.

Aside from that, you’ll need a razor to cleanly shave your cheeks and neck. That way you’ll get clear, crisp lines and a neatly shaped beard.

Once you have your equipment ready and your beard has grown out, you’re ready to start trimming your beard to shape.

The best place to start is to shape the lines along your cheeks. You’re going to leave your goatee intact, so be careful not to trim into the connecting hair from your mustache.

Trim a line from the bottom of your earlobe to your chin. Once defined, trim everything above that line, including your sideburns and being careful around the goatee.

The Hollywood beard also needs your soul patch to be trimmed and cleaned up. If you can switch your trimmer to a smaller blade for nuanced definition, do so, as that will make your life a lot easier. If not, be very careful with this part.

Your goal is to shape the soul patch into a rectangular shape. If you’re lucky, it naturally grows in that shape. However, it’s more likely shaped like a trapezoid. Clean the edges at your lip so they make vertical lines.

If you’re having trouble visualizing this, pick your favorite reference photo and use that as your basis.

This beard is typically not a chinstrap beard concentrated along your jawline. Make sure not to trim too high along the neck to maintain the ruggedness that comes with this look.

You’ll need to trim a clearly defined line along your neck. That’s easiest when you determine where your neckline falls.

To do so, tilt your head up and inspect the area on your neck. Next, you’re going to imagine a line from your left ear to your Adam’s apple, then to your right ear. Trim a line across your neck, then trim off the hair beneath that line.

Clean up the edges of your jawline too. You don’t want the edges of your jawline to extend beyond the line your sideburns grow into.

Once your beard is shaped, it’s time to trim it to a uniform length.

You have some options here, which typically boil down to whether you’re using your electric trimmers or scissors.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is to comb your beard to make sure your hair is uniform.

If you’re using scissors, snip down any scraggly hairs. Using your comb, comb select sections of your beard up, then trim them down to size. Do this around your entire beard, but be careful to maintain a uniform length.

Using trimmers will likely be easier. Select or set the guard size you want, then trim slowly and incrementally, alternating sides as you do to keep your beard length symmetrical.

Once your beard is shaped and uniform, it’s time to clean up your look with a traditional razor. Clean your face to wash away any loose, recently cut hair.

Then apply your shaving cream or gel to the newly trimmed areas and shave. Be careful along your cheeks to not cut any remaining beard. If needed, make a second pass with the razor to keep a smooth, close shave.

There are no real rules for what style of the mustache to wear with this beard. How you shape your mustache is a great way to put your personal touch on this beard.

Some men prefer a longer mustache, though others keep their mustache trimmed short.

If you’re feeling extra daring, you can wax your mustache or grow out a handlebar mustache.

Your beard is going to look best when you match it to your style. Play around with different mustache styles to find what works best for you.

Just as crucial as shaping your beard is making sure it’s healthy. This is important not only for your appearance but also for your comfort.

It’s important to moisturize your beard regularly; at least once a day. Simply wash your face using a facial cleanser (usually when you shower), then apply a face moisturizer. Don’t use shampoo designed for the hair on your scalp, as that will dry out your beard hair.

Dry your face using a clean towel. It’s generally not necessary to dry your beard with a hairdryer, but if you do so, use low heat. Drying with high heat will dry out your beard hair, which makes it scratchy and brittle feeling.

Applying a beard oil or balm is also recommended, especially if your beard is grown out a little longer. Massage it into your hair and skin, then comb your beard to keep it uniform. This will keep your beard softer and your skin healthier. It will also prevent your beard from being itchy as it grows.

Trimming your beard regularly is also incredibly important. Shave with a wet razor at least every other day. If your beard grows in quickly, shaving daily is recommended. You want to keep the area around your beard clean-shaven for the best appearance.

Trim your beard itself at least once a week to keep it from getting scraggly and unruly. Make sure not to neglect your soul patch either!

Trimming and shaving your cheeks and neck is incredibly important to maintain the Hollywood beard. This look needs to be groomed regularly to keep it looking good.

The Hollywood beard can be pretty finicky, but there are two things to keep in mind to make sure your chances for beard success are very high:

• Make sure your beard is grown in full before shaping
• Don’t be afraid to aggressively shape your beard

Before you shape your beard, make sure it’s grown in very full. If at 4 weeks your beard still seems thin, it’s better to give it an extra week. Patience is crucial because if you shape too early, you’ll likely trim off too much hair and will need to start over.

The Hollywood beard relies on crisp, sharp lines to look its best. Make sure you trim crisp lines, then use your razor to keep your cheeks smoothly shaved. That will make your beard look well-defined, giving it a clear shape where it matters most.

If you’re concerned or not satisfied with your results, go to a barber that will be able to shape your beard for you. After that, it may be a lot simpler to maintain.

The Hollywood beard is a bold, stylish look that demonstrates confidence and love of style.

This vintage look wanes in and out of fashion, but it always leaves a big impression.