Beard Terminology – the full list

Since beards have come back in the early 2010’s the beard terminology has exploded. If you find yourself speaking with bearded aficionado you may hear one of following beard terms and wonder what it means. To help you out, we've compiled a one-stop beard terminology shop with all the vernacular you're likely to see in the world of facial hair. 

Beardoholic

This is actually a brand name but it is also someone who is obsessed with beard and everything to do with beards. 

Beardology

This is the study of beards.

Beardruff

Just like dandruff on your head, beardruff is dandruff on your beard.  Technically it is the dry skin on your face through lack of moisturising from having a beard.  Beard oil and balm helps to moisturise the skin and the hair on the face to stop or at very least minimise this problem.

Beard Brush

The beard brush is a specialised brush for the beard. It can be made from wood or plastic and the brush can be made from man made hair or boar hair. 

Beard Balm

Beard balm is a beard care product that is usually made up of oils and waxes and some fragrance.  This product assists with styling the beard and provides moisture to the skin underneath and hair so it doesn’t look dry or brittle.

Beard Clippers

The beard clipper is used for a longer beard and takes off longer strands of hair.  Again, they can be mechanical or manual.

Beard Growth

This phrase refers to the growth that occurs when you grow your beard.  Over time, if it isn’t cut, it will get longer.

Beard-Spo

Beard inspiration. Originating from Instagram social media platform and Pinterest, this terminology refers to the inspiring images on all social media platforms.  Inspiring beard growers around the world.

Beard Sculpt

Beard sculpt is when you take the original shape of your beard and sculpt it into another shape.  This is generally done in the barber chair of a professional barber.  One wrong move and it might look a little lopsided or will need to be shortened to correct it.

Beard Trim

A beard trim, similar to a hair cut trim you would have at a barbershop or hairdressing salon, the beard trim is when you cut off a small amount of the beard just to make it look and feel healthy and back in shape.

Beard Trimmer

A beard trimmer is often used for the shorter beards and take of a little bit of the hair.  They can be mechanical or manual.

Beard Products

Yes, these are a thing and they are very popular amongst the beard growing population.  These include such products as beard oil, beard balm, beard shampoo and conditioner.

Beard Oil

Beard oil is a grooming product made from different types of oils and fragrance.  It’s main job is to moisturise the face and the beard hair and secondary to that it also helps to style.  There are many on the market, however ours is the best (Milkman Beard Oil).

Beard Shampoo & Conditioner (Cleanser)

Beard shampoo & conditioner is generally made specifically for the beard.  As the hair is on the face (and not the hair) the ingredients are gentler for the skin.  If you use regular head shampoo & conditioner, it may cause serve dryness on the face hair, causing beardruff.

Beard Soap

Specialised soap to help clean the beard.

Bold and Beard Look

Isn’t it interesting how some men that can’t grow hair on their head can grow an epic thick beard on their face.  We love the bald and the beard look.  If you are losing your hair, f$%k it, shave it off and grow an epic beard. Own it!

Balbo Beard

This is an interesting style of beard and looks similar to the goatee.  The moustache and chin beard appear like they are floating on the face.  There are no sideburns to connect the two together and as you can see from the images below, it can be a very small beard on the chin or quite a thick beard on the chin.  Robert Downy Jnr has rocked this look.

Cheek Line

The cheek line is exactly what it says.  When the beard grows on the face and on the cheeks, it will grow up to a line on the face.  This is the cheek line and some grooming tips on keeping this cheek line nice and tidy is shaving it into a straight line. 

Chin Curtain / Chin Strap

A chin curtain is when the beard grows around the chin and jaw line.  Sometime they can be teamed up with moustache but in the true sense of the chin curtain the face will be shaven down to the chin beard.

Corporate Beard

This is a style of beard that is short in nature and a beard that is generally accepted in a corporate setting.  It is a well-kept beard with straight neck and cheek lines. 

Cutthroat

This is the cutthroat razor, which is similar a switch knife (well at least in my eyes – those things look deadly to me) and they are used to shave the face or groom the neck and check lines of a bearded man.  They were used a lot in the olden days and have since come back into fashion.

Ducktail Beard

This is another style of beard in which the hairs on the chin are cut and shaped into that of a ducks’ tail. 

5 o’clock shadow

Similar to a stubble beard this is just a few days of beard growth without shaving and often referred to as the 5 o’clock shadow.

Full beard

A full beard is generally a beard that is just left to grow.  It can be kept neat and clean with great lines or messy with unshaven neck and cheek lines.  There is hair all over the face just growing.  A full beard can generally be grown by male adults when they are in the earlier twenties after they have gone through puberty.  Of course, there are the outliers that can grow a beard at 17 and some that will never be able to grow a full beard.  It heavily depends on genetics.

French Fork Beard

This beard style is unlike its name French and it doesn’t need a Fork to style it in such a way.  It has been said that this style of beard actually started in the Middle East with the Persians men loving this style of beard grooming.  It is actually a full beard that grows past the chin and then is split into two points at the bottom.  This look can also be completed with a smaller goatee. It can look quite nice.

Face Fungus

Just a little reference to beards.

Full Shave

As the title clearly explains this one, this is when there is no evidence of facial hair.

Franz-Josef

The Franz Josef beard is a very old fashioned style of beard and not that popular in todays society unless you are creating an angle to win a beard competition.  So the beard that grows on the cheeks are fully grown out and the chin is actually shaved.  The moustache is too fully grown out to meet the cheek beard. 

Grandfather Beard

This term refers to an older man that grows a beard.  The beard is usually white as well.

Grey Beard

A beard that has grey hair and is grey in colour.

Half Yeard

The half yeard is a beard that has been growing for 6 months.

Handlebar Moustache

We did an ultimate guide to the moustache in a recent blog, you can read this here. The handlebar moustache refers to quite a thick moustache that is basically the centre piece of the face.

Hipster Beard

This style of beard is generally a full beard, however it is super groomed and stylish.  There is just not one way that a hipster beard can be styled as you can see from the images below.  The moustache is fully grown out and almost twizzled at the ends and the hair on the hair is also slightly longer and styled in a sweeping motion.

Imperial Beard / Goatee

The imperial beard is very similar to the goatee.  It is that little tuff of facial hair that grows just under the lip.

Long Stubble beard

This is a beard that is similar to the 5 o’clock shadow and is not a popular reference like the 5 o’clock shadow.

Mane

This word is used when you are referring to that gorgeous facial hair that you are growing.  Similar to a horses’ mane which is maintained beyond belief with special brushes and treatment and even accessories.

Moustache (Stache / Tache)

This is the hair that grows above the lip and below the nose.  It can be trimmed short or the beard grower can let it grow and it can be quite long.

Mustachioed

This term refers to a man that has a moustache and mostly when that moustache is really elaborate.

Mutton Chops

Oh my god, this is a look that definitely will turn heads.  It is growing out the sideburns in a bushy way and it will connect up to the moustache.

Nik-aragua

That place you to on your face that you keep on nicking when you shave.

Ned Kelly Beard

This is a long full beard.  Back in the days of the bush rangers and the Ned Kelly gang, a full beard was all the rage.  Also, they didn’t have access to shaving gear and it was easier to just let it grow.

Neckline

The neckline is described as the line taken from under your ear lobe under your chin all the way to the other ear lobe.  This is the neckline and where the beard should finish.  The rest of the neck is usually shaven to make a nice neat line and make the beard look tidy.  It also helps with washing.

Neck Beard

For guys that fail to grow hair on their actual face, they grow the hairs under their chin and on their neck.

Old Dutch

The old dutch is similar to the chin beard however the old dutch generally appears longer. As you can see in the images below, there is no moustache and the beard is longer.

Patchy Beard

This is where patches are apparent in the beard.  They appear anywhere from the sides of the cheeks, to under the chin maybe directly on the chin, depending on what Mother Nature decided to dish out.  

Petit Goatee

Petit means small and Goatee is referred to as a beard just on the chin.  So therefore the petit goatee just means a small goatee and is generally just hair on the chin.

Pogonophile

This word is the one that describes a person who is an admirer of all things to do with beards.

Pocket Comb

A pocket comb (in the essence of having facial hair) is a very small comb that fits into your pocket when you go out for a night on the town and this comb helps your beard and mo on point.

Short / High Boxed Beard

The short-boxed beard, it can either be low boxed or high boxed, what the heck does that actually mean?  It is a short haired beard and it depends on how low the cheek lines are shaved to.

As you can see from the images below, there is a difference with how low the cheek line has been shaven to.  The guy on the left has a low boxed beard and the guy on the right has a high (or medium) boxed beard).

Stubble beard

A stubble beard is a short facial hair beard. Usually this is basically when a man doesn’t shave for maybe up to a week or more.

The Yeard

The yeard is used a lot in the beard communities.  This is when a man tackles the year long goal of growing out his beard.  He usually takes progress photos of it and posts on his socials.  Most styles are usually a full beard when growing a yeard.

Toothbrush Moustache

This is a style of moustache.  A moustache is the hair that grows on the top of your lip.  The Toothbrush Mo (also referred to the Hitler moustache and isn’t really a popular option in today’s men’s grooming world) is the two patches of hair that grow just below the nostrils. 

Transplant

To have facial hair surgically embedded into the face.  In the natural world, transplant would refer to as replacing and older withered organ with a brand spanking new one, in the beard world this refers to a similar line of thinking where there are patches to the beard, a hair transplant and be done.  Not too sure if anyone would do that though.

Tweard (2 years of growing beard)

I have not heard of this one up until now and it is a beard that has been growing for 2 yeards.

Verdi

This is a take on the full beard, grown just past the chin and kept neatly in shape, with having a stylised moustache to finish off the look.  As you can see in the images below, these two have also done their lovely locks to match their facial hair style.

Van Dyke

The Van Dyke beard refers to a very angular moustache and angular goatee.  Generally the moustache doesn’t meet up with the goatee.  The images below display the Van Dyke well.

Viking Beard

A viking beard is a long full beard and with the popular TV show, Vikings, it looks as though you can put plaits in the beard to dress it up however to get the full Viking look, your face must be a bit rough and dirty.

Whiskers

This is a term is another word referring to your beard, actually any type of beard.