More and more men recently come to the conclusion that growing facial hair is undeniably something they wanna do.
In fact, studies have shown that women prefer men with beards rather than fully shaved men because they find these bearded men manlier.
There are many types and styles of beards but today we will only discuss goatee vs beard as they are quite popular.
Having said that, is a beard better than a goatee or the opposite?
In short, it depends on some factors like face shape, patchy areas in your beard, willingness to shave regularly, and more. A fully grown beard probably is most preferred by most men and also most girls and women prefer men with full beards rather than goatees.
But, here is the problem.
Are all men able to grow a complete thick beard?
You guessed it. The answer is no and that’s why we have this debate. There are actually many men that are not able to grow a thick, strong beard.
The goatee may be the ultimate solution for them if they don’t want to be completely shaved.
In this article, we will discuss how you can decide which is one is best for you. But, before we discuss the criteria that we use to choose between the 2 types of beards it is a good idea to distinguish their differences.
Let’s get straight into it!
What Is The Difference Between Goatee And Full Beard?
A goatee is a beard style that incorporates facial hair on men’s chins but not on their cheeks. It took its name from the chin of goats(how it looks like), hence its name goatee.
This style dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome according to Wikipedia. The god Pan was depicted with a goatee and later on when Christianity became popular Satan was also depicted with a goatee.
However, it was not until recently that goatees incorporated mustaches and become relatively fashionable.
On the opposite side, there is the full beard.
This type of beard does not need much explanation. It is the type of beard that needs good genetics and time in order to be created. A beard is ”considered” as beard when facial hair is longer than 4-5mm long, otherwise, it is a stubble.
Read Also: Goatee Beard vs Clean-Shaven Style
Most men prefer the full beard but only a few of us are able to grow it. The majority of men that grow a beard have some patchy areas or more hairs on one side or even different levels of thickness on specific areas of their beard (cheeks, sideburns, chin, neckline, etc).
And here comes the goatee beard!
Some men can’t accept that no one is perfect! We sometimes cannot accept that we might have a patchy area and we want to have the perfect beard! And since magic does not exist (at least for me!), they choose a different path in order to feel better about themselves.
So, what do they do when they don’t like something on their beard?
Read Also: Goatee With Sideburns: Benefits, Guide, Examples
You guess it! They shave their cheeks and try the goatee!
But, this is only 1 factor that can affect this men’s choice. Let’s now dive into all the possible factors that will help you make the right choice between the goatee and a full beard.
How To Decide Which One Is Best For You? Goatee vs Beard
The most significant aspects of your choice should be:
1. Patchiness
Patchiness is a very decisive factor as far as beard choice is concerned. Some men grow very little if not any facial hair on their cheeks.
If they try to grow it, then it might seem a bit awkward.
So, if you do not yield to the temptation to buy this or that product to grow a beard, you will soon realize that the 2 solutions to these problems are either the goatee or the complete shave.
We must accept that we are not perfect and therefore we won’t all of us be able to grow Dan Bilzerian like beards and…that’s ok! We are still handsome.
Confidence and high self-esteem come from the inside and not from hairs.
2. Face Shape
The 2nd most decisive factor is the shape of the face.
Have you ever wondered why some people look amazing with goatees and others look very bad?
Face shape is the answer.
Face shape is actually very important when we are choosing a beard style but in most cases, men prefer to just let it grow as much as they can.
3. Maintenance
The next factor we will discuss is maintenance. For some men, this is very important. They may not have enough time, or they may not have the willingness to spend much time for themselves and that’s ok. I am not here to criticize people’s personal choices.
A full beard requires brushing, cleaning, maybe some beard products for styling and beard care like beard oils, waxes, balms, butters, etc.
You may also want to create a good sharp neckline or shave the sideburns to look a little bit better.
On the other hand, the goatee needs less work. You will need to shave your cheeks often but you won’t have to brush/ comb your beard and use styling products unless you really want to.
Also, it is easier to clean since you have fewer hairs overall.
Itching and tangled hairs are also less seen in goatees rather than full beards.
In general, the more hairs you have got, the more difficult it is to maintain your facial hair and style. Goatee beards require mainly only shaving.
4. Shaving
We have already discussed shaving but let’s summarize. The goatee style needs regular shaving. Even if you grow little hair on the cheeks, you need to shave it.
There are men that have very sensitive facial skin and they don’t like shaving because it is irritating. If you are one of those then a goatee may not be suitable for you. Plain and simple.
Full beards normally do not require regular shaving. You may just want to clean it and make create some sharp lines. Most men do but it is optional if you wanna skip shaving you can do it.
5. Cost
The cost of growing a beard or a goatee is relatively low. In fact, you don’t need anything expensive.
For a goatee, you will need a shaver and a trimmer. A good trimmer can cost from $50-$200 but it is a one-time purchase.
On the other hand, for a full beard, you will need more stuff but again nothing very expensive.
For sure, you will need to have a trimmer to create those sharp lines and clean your beard. But, there is more to that. Beard care products are a necessity when you wanna grow a full long beard.
Beard oils, waxes, balms, butter, brushes, or combs. Some men even use beard dyes. But, you guessed it. All of those products are very inexpensive for most people.
Spending $30-$60 once a month or once every 2 months should not be a major problem if you really want to grow a beard.
Growing a beard is very inexpensive but if we want to compare goatees and beards as far as pricing is concerned growing a goatee is cheaper.
6. Level Of Difficulty To Achieve
In short, a good-looking full beard is much more difficult to achieve than a goatee.
A goatee only needs regular cheek shaving and maybe a little bit of trimming.
On the opposite side, a full beard requires much more attention because growing a beard is not a walk in the park for everyone.
You may have patchy areas, you may have itching, some hairs may curl back into your skin that may cause pain or infection.
Also, your facial hair may not have the direction you want, may not have the color you want, and much more.
Some more problems are when your beard is not connected to your mustache, or when your hairs are sticking out.
As you can easily understand, growing and maintaining a beard is much more challenging than growing a goatee.
Growing a goatee does not require any specific skills or any beard care products like beard oils.
Read Also: How To Transition from Goatee to Full Beard?
How To Trim A Goatee
The process of trimming a goatee consists of two phases. During the first phase, you need to trim your whole face to your desired length with a high-quality beard trimmer like this one and during the second phase, you need to create the goatee outline.
This is the easiest way to do it.
The whole idea of wearing a goatee is to not have any facial hair on your cheeks.
The sidelines should be 1-finger width from the chin. Continue the lines across the bottom of your chin. The lines must be exactly vertical for this beard style to look great.
Moving on to the neckline. How far should the goatee neckline extend?
There are two ways to find your goatee neckline. Either tilt your chin downwards and mark the line formed in your neck or put 2 fingers right above Adam’s apple. This is where your goatee neckline should be.
If you are confident enough you can also use a straight razor to clean everything outside your goatee. The secret of this style is the contrast between the goatee and the rest of your face which will be clean-shaven.
Except, of course, if you wanna wear the goatee with stubble style.
How To Trim A Beard
Before you start trimming your beard you should take some decisions.
Yes, you will wear a complete beard but where your neckline will be? Will you trim your cheeks to create awesome sharp lines? How long will you trim your beard?
All of these questions should be answered very clearly by no one else other than you.
Let’s make some assumptions to create this short guide. Supposedly you want to wear the heavy stubble style, the most preferable beard style by women according to studies.
In short, the steps you should follow are:
- Wash your beard
- Dry and comb your beard
- Get your trimmer and trim your beard to 5mm.
- Get a straight razor or your trimmer without a guard and create sharp cheek lines
- Repeat the same process for your neckline. Learn how to do it by reading this.
- Wash your face and check the result.
- Fix any mistakes (if there are)
If you prefer a long beard, you can always use a comb (and a trimmer) to help you cut only the amount of facial hair you really want without any accidents.
Another option is to use scissors to trim your long beard a little bit and only cut its edges.
All in all, in order to look good in any beard style you should master the trimming process. Grooming and maintaining a beard style is very significant and once you learn how to do it properly you will avoid many headaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Words
Let’s summarize what we have learned in this article, goatee vs beard.
Many men nowadays face the dilemma of a goatee or full beard and this is due to various reasons.
The goatee is a specific beard style that consists of facial hair on the chin and maybe on the mustache but not on the cheeks.
On the other hand, a full traditional beard is self-explanatory. Hairs on cheeks, chin, sideburns, under the chin, under lips.
The factors you wanna take into consideration when it comes to choosing between those two beard styles are face shape, patchiness, maintenance, cost, difficulty to achieve, and shaving.
The face shape and the lack of ability to grow thick facial hair are 2 of the main reasons why someone may choose a goatee over a full beard.
With that being said, there are men that are able to grow a beard and they just prefer and like to grow a goatee and that’s ok! These are their personal preferences.
And that’s it for today. I hope you found your answers and liked this blog post.
If you have any questions or just want to share your thoughts feel free to write in the comment section below and I would love to get back to you.
Are you ready to grow your beard and step up your game this year?
Until next time,
Stay safe and…Let it grow!
Tasos.
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Tasos Moulios is the founder of Beardlong. He loves trying different beard and hair styles and blogs about them. The tips he shares come from his own experience and love for what he does.