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When growing out a beard, it can look actually bad at times, especially when it comes to long beards. This is why those trying to grow long beards generally tend to do so when they won’t have to be around other people for a while.
This is also why right now is probably the best time to try growing a long beard. With the quarantine and face masks, it is easy to hide an uneven beard as you are trying to grow it out. So, let’s see the 2022 best long styles for your future beard.
What Is A Long Beard?
There are three lengths of beards, and long beards are probably the least common of these three. This is because long beards, as you might guess, take the longest to grow.
Short beards are close to being just stubble. Though these are sometimes called stubble beards, some consider stubble beards to be a different class of beards entirely. The hair on your face for the short beards is only about ½” or less.
Medium length beards are up to about 2” or 3” long, which might not seem much until you try growing your beard out that far. Long beards are even longer, with even the side hair often going past your chin. Sometimes the long beards that are longer than 6” are put into a category called the ‘very long beards’ as well.
The Best Long Beard Styles or 2022
Long beards can come in a variety of different lengths and styles, so picking which one you want to try can be difficult. However, you have plenty of time to pick your new beard style in the months that it will likely take you to grow your hair out that long.
The Ducktail Beard
The ducktail beard is one of my personal favorites and has a classy look to it that most can’t deny. The basic cut is triangular, with the bead coming to a point a few inches under your chin. This point is often styled to be slightly upturned in order to look like a duck’s tail.
There are even a few variations of this type of beard that you can try if you like it. The ‘tail’ part can be thick or thin. Also, the sides of the beard can be short, with only a small section around your mouth forming the tail, or the sides can be long and adding to the taper.
The Power Beard
The power beard can be paired well with almost any type of mustache, and it looks soft around the edges while still looking completely professional. This is because the edges are rounded and trimmed to stay neat. This type can be just long enough to cover your chin or a few inches longer.
The Yeard Beard
This type of long beard is sometimes also called the year-long beard, and it is one of the simplest imaginable. Simply put, a yeard beard is a beard that you let grow freely for a full year.
Any piece of the beard that is determined to stick out at a weird angle is trimmed. Also, when the beard starts getting split ends, you can trim that off as well. Other than those two things, you simply leave your beard alone as far as cutting goes.
The Tweard Beard
The tweard is similar to a yeard beard, with one minor difference. Where a yeard beard is one year’s worth of growth, a tweard beard is two year’s worth of beard growth. At this point, beards tend to get wider, and the growth can slow down a bit.
The Terminal Beard
Though this beard might not sound appealing just based on its name, this is one of the longest types of beards and can take years to grow out. Simply put, a terminal beard is what you get when you grow out your beard to be as long as it can grow.
At some point, you won’t be able to grow out your beard anymore, and this will be your terminal beard length. For some, this is mid-chest, though some can get it to their waist or even lower. However long it gets, it is going to look cloudy and wispy at the edges.
The Lumberjack Beard
The Lumberjack beard has a few variations itself, but some of the basics stay the same from one to the next. This type of beard goes all the way around your mouth. Sometimes the part over the mouth is styled into a moustache, but it can just be kept trimmed short to be part of the beard.
The part of the lumberjack beard that goes under the mouth is often trimmed short for just an inch or two. You can also choose to leave a thin strip of thicker beard down the center coming down from your lower lip.
The Long Goatee Beard
Most people know what a goatee looks like, and a goatee is a fairly popular short beard. However, if you like the goatee and want a longer beard, you can have both! The long goatee can stretch all the way to our chest, or you can have it only a few inches longer than a regular goatee.
The Square-cut Beard
The square-cut beard is one that is as simple as you might think based upon its name. It can either be moderately long or really long. Either way, the cut is as square as possible. This means that the hair at the sides of your face is technically longer than the hair under your chin.
This type of beard works best if you find that the hairs at the sides grow better anyway. You can start it out as something more like a yeard beard and then cut the bottom off in a mostly straight line.
A Few Lesser Mentions
Though less popular, and with one or two perhaps not technically beard styles in their own right, there are a few other options if you are looking for something a little more unique. These few beard styles prove that almost anything can work in a beard.
The Amish Beard
The Amish beard is a unique looking beard that isn’t for everyone. Essentially, you let your beard grow only on the edges around your face while still shaving the front part of your chin and most of your cheeks.
The unique look can make people do a double-take to see if you really have a beard or not. It also makes it slightly easier to avoid getting food or coffee in your beard, as you have a nice open area before the top part of your beard.
The Viking Beard
This isn’t a type of beard so much as it is a way of styling your beard. You can have a yeard beard, for example, and make it into a Viking one. All true Viking beards just have to be long enough that you can braid sections of it.
Viking beards are simply beards that have some form of braids or ties in them. You can have one tie or braid at the bottom. However, two small braids, one on each side of your chin, is slightly more popular. If you prefer, some Viking hair jewelry can also be added to your beard, or you can go all out and do several small braids.
Bushy And Unruly Beard
This isn’t technically a style, and yet it is still a type of beard. Even with the yeard beard, you still do a bit of trimming to keep your beard looking presentable. But the advantage of having an unruly beard is that you don’t do any of that.
In fact, other than some basic maintenance, you just let this type of beard grow as long as you want it to. You don’t trim away any wayward pieces that might be determined to stick out at a wrong angle. In fact, this is the whole point of this beard.
Some Details On Long Beards
Some of the above beard types are better suited for certain types of hair. This is where beard styling products can come into play, and styling your beard can make it look even more unique.
For example, you can use straighteners or curlers on your beard. You can even have effects like fading at your sideburns. This is where your sideburns are really short, while the lower part of your bear gradually gets longer. Fading works really well with beards like the ducktail one, among others.
What details will work best for you will depend some on what your face shape is and your genetics. Some people have facial hair that grows more quickly in one area and not another, and this will affect the type of beard that it will be easiest for you to grow.
Finally, almost all beards work best when paired with some type of mustache. The only absolute exception to the mustache rule is the Amish beard, which leaves your face perfectly smooth other than the beard around your jawline.
Growing Your Long Beard
Growing a long beard can take a long time, especially as your facial hair only grows at a rate of about ½” to 2” per month. So, growing an impressive 6” beard is something that can take a whole year in some cases. If you are lucky, facial hair grows quickly and easily for you, then you can try to grow your beard out even faster.
While you are growing out the first inch or two of your beard, you will probably quickly find it itching. When this itching starts, you may find it helpful to start applying a beard oil or a moisturizer. Beard washes and conditioners can also be very helpful, some of them being formulated to help with this itch.
As your beard starts to get longer, it may get unruly. While some unruliness is to be expected, you don’t want it to get so tangled up that it looked tangly and you can’t even get a comb through it. Depending on what type of hair your beard is growing, you may even want to get a beard straightener.
You may even get dandruff in your beard, or your hairs in some areas might grow in patchy looking. However, both of these two potential beard problems can be solved if you do your research. There are many tools and products that are made just for your hair.
Finally, be sure to care for your beard every day – don’t think that just because you don’t have to shave anymore that you can just skip that part of your morning. You will need to trim, wash, and comb through it regularly. You will probably need a beard guard as well to do even cuts when you trim.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned, covid is providing the perfect opportunity to try growing out a beard. Perhaps this is why beards are having an uptick in popularity right now, especially long ones. Long beards require more work, but they can also look more iconic for that very same reason.
