25 Inspiring Black Men Beard Styles

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Portrait of confident businessman in sunglasses

From Richard Roundtree to Marvin Gaye to James Harden, black men have supremely stylish icons that exude coolness, especially their beard style. We’ve collected the hottest trending facial hair styles to help equip your next look.

Black men beard styles include a variety of lengths for mustaches and chin hair, as well as bushier styles that grow into long sideburns. Other styles are kept supremely trim and neat with faded or defined lines to reveal unique designs.

How will you style your hair? Here are 25 of the best beard styles for black men on-trend right now.

1. Goatee Beards

See more Black Men Goatee Styles

2. Anchor beard

3. Short Beard

4. Garibaldi Beard

5. Bald with Beard

bald black men beard styles
Modern bald with beard style. See more glasses for bald men.

6. Patchy Beard

Faded Beard for Black Men
Chadwick Boseman with a Faded Beard

7. The James Harden Beard

James Harden long beard style
Rockets at Wizards 11/7/16. James Harden Beard

8. The Short Beard

Kevin Hart Short Beard
Kevin Hart

9. Mutton Chops

Black Man with Thick Mutton Chops
See more mutton chop styles. Image courtesy of Estilos de Barbas.

10. Shaped Stubble Beard

Shaped Stubble Beard
Be careful to match your beard hair with your face shape.

11. Ducktail Beard

Black Ducktail Beard Faded
Stylish ducktail beard style. Image courtesy of Mequetrefismos.com.

12. Faded Beard

Faded Beard
Slick faded beard style also with a ducktail.

13. Chin Strap

Young African American man with chin strap beard
Cool Chin Strap beard with a stubble mustache.

14. Chin Curtain Beard

Samuel L. Jackson Chin Curtain Beard Style
Samuel L. Jackson making a shiny bald head look dapper.

15. Mustache Only

Black Mustache Style worn by Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey mustache style on the red carpet. See more black men mustache styles.

16. Pointed Beard

Black Pointed Beard Style - James Harden
James Harden shows off a pointed beard style. Image courtesy of GQ.com.

17. Idris Elba Beard

Idris Elba shows off full beard with shaved head.

Shaved Bald with Beard - Idris Elba
While not clean shaven, Idris Elba shows a shaved head with full beard.

18. Classic Goatee

Soul Patch with Chin Beard - Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Hounsou shows some grey in his cool bald with goatee look.

19. Hipster Beard

Black Bushy Beard - Childish Gambino
Childish Gambino shows off full bushy hipster beard on red carpet.

20. Pencil Beard

Black Pencil Beard - Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard shows pencil thin beard at the Grand Re-Opening of the L Salon, Los Angeles, CA 12-01-04

21. Van Dyke

Ultra stylish Van Dyke beard style
Image source Pinterest. See more triangle shaped Van Dyke Beards.

22. Square Beard

Super bold square beard style
Bold square beard style.

23. Soul Patch

Dizzy Gillespie Soul Patch
Dizzy Gillespe’s famous soul patch

24. LeBron Beard

LeBron James Beard
LeBron shows off a long beard.

25. Five O’clock Shadow Beard

Stylish Five O'clock Shadow Beard
Simple Five O’clock Shadow.

Expert Beard Styling Tips

Men have an unlimited playing field for their beards to grow and shape them into a stylish masterpiece. There’s no right or wrong way to style your beard.

From the list above, there are a variety of ways to style your facial hair. Whether you want it to look longer and more natural or completely faded and edged for perfect lines.

How to trim and shape.

Shaping tools and products

There are some tools and products to help you achieve different styles, according to professional barbers.

  • Shaping and Defining: Electric trimmer with an outliner and t-liner
  • Fading and Trimming: Regularly trimming with multiple sized guards for faded looks
  • Conditioning and Hydration: Murray’s Billey’s beard balm, Jamaican Mango Lime Black castor oil, olive oil, or coconut oil
  • For Brushing and Combing: Use a boar bristle brush with smooth, wide teeth and a mustache comb with finer, smooth teeth

Things to avoid

There are some things that you should avoid, especially if you have sensitive hair or curls.

  • Don’t pick up a regular brush or comb with sharp teeth.
  • Stay away from products with alcohol, mineral oil, petroleum, sulfates, and propylene glycol.
  • Don’t brush or comb hair when wet.
  • When applying beard balms and beard oils, use only a dab and rub in your palms first, so you sparingly apply to your beard hair. Finish by brushing or combing through strands.

How to Get your Beard soft

It’s difficult to style beard hair if you have tight, coarse hair. While this is a challenge at first, you may wind up at the barber asking for a solution. However, you can actually do this at home with a few different products.

1. Start with a Sulfate-Free, Moisturizing Shampoo or Beard Wash

Shea Moisture, Cantu, and Palmers make incredibly good shampoos for softening and conditioning coarse or curly hair. You want to maintain the oil in your hair while adding some moisture to alleviate the coarseness. Over time, washing your beard hair with a moisturizing shampoo can make it softer.

If you have issues with beard itch or dry skin, be mindful of the ingredients and choose a sulfate-free product. Sulfates can be really damaging for hair because it strips away your natural oils.

For hair growth issues, we recommend trying a beard growth and thickening conditioner like Polished Gentleman’s beard growth conditioner.

2. Use Beard Oil or Pomade

One barber recommends using a beard oil specially formulated for black men can help with moisturizing coarse hair.

Check out Best Beard Oil for Black Men

These products include:

Check out Best Beard Beard Products for Black Men

If you have never grown out your beard and it’s extremely coarse, consult with a barber first for the healthiest way to soften your hair without losing your natural curl.

3. For Extra Softness, Brush and Comb Regularly

Brushing every day can help your hair go from tight coils to loose curls and waves that are easier to style for longer beards. Boar bristle brushes may be the best thing to direct hair where to grow. These brushes also exfoliate your skin.

Some of the best beard combs and mustache combs for black men include:

  • Sandalwood boar bristle brushes: Won’t snag or pull out hair
  • Cellulose acetate plastic brushes: Glides through coarse hair
  • Buffalo ox horn: Reduces frizz
  • Cricket Ultra Smooth Hair Pick Comb: Best for smoothing hair and strengthening your strands
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AUTHOR

I'm the founder of Bald & Beards, an amateur barber and I've been obsessed with men's grooming, styles, and trends for over 20 years.