The best beard styles for your clients… and how to do them
It’s not just David Beckham and Ryan Gosling who love their beards. According to a YouGov survey, 61% of 18-39-year-olds now have some kind of facial hair, compared to 43% in 2011.
Educator and pro barber Mike Taylor says, “Facial hair is massive at the moment. When beards started coming back into fashion five or six years ago a lot of people thought it would be short-lived… which it hasn’t been! Instead, beards are here to stay. If a man has got a beard he’s very unlikely to be clean shaven again.”
Why you should offer beard trims to your clients
As a barber, offering beard trims and beard grooming advice is an easy way to increase business from your existing clients. “The customer is already there so when you’re cutting their hair, ask if they want you to shape their beard up for them”, says Mike.
“Nine times out of 10 they’ll say yes. If you do a good job that will then be part of their regular service. For you, that means suddenly their service goes from £15 for a haircut to £25 for a cut and beard trim.”
“The whole point of a beard is to build a chin. The hair should be shorter round the cheeks to make the face look thinner and then get longer down the beard to make the face look more masculine”
Beard styles for 2019
According to Mike, long beard styles aren’t as popular as they used to be. Instead, there’s a new beard trend for 2019!
“The key trend in beards is that they have got shorter. They were really long but they seem to be a bit more groomed and shorter in length which is good for the barber as more trims are needed.”
Your starting point when thinking about beard styles is a client’s face shape. “The whole point of a beard is to build a chin. The hair should be shorter round the cheeks to make the face look thinner and then get longer down the beard to make the face look more masculine.
“However, if your client has a long face then you should be keeping the sides slightly longer.”
3 steps for the ultimate beard trim
With increasing competition from other barbers, follow Mike’s advice for offering a beard trim your clients will love:
Step 1… “Start by trimming up the beard. Then pop a nice hot towel over their beard for a touch of luxury and also to relax your customer.”
Step 2… “Add some preshave oil and a bit of shaving cream or shaving gel on the edges then line out with an open razor. You’re missing a trick if you’re not edging out the line. That will make the beard look completely polished and ensure you’ve got a customer for life!”
Step 3… “Always finish with a post shave product, like a nice moisturising balm and sometimes even a splash of aftershave.
Mike adds, “The service should be performed with scissors over comb and also in a proper barber’s chair so you can recline the client and they can be relaxed at all times and at the right height for you. The other thing is to always be mindful of beard clippings and their eyes. Place a towel over the eyes to make sure you don’t get a hair follicle going in there.
Upselling to clients
Offering beard services is also a great opportunity for retail. “As a barber you should also educate your clients on how to care for their beard”, says Mike.
“The first thing they should do in the shower is wash their beard with a nice menthol conditioner. Leave that in while they shower and then wash it out and then add a little bit of beard oil.
“It keeps it in really nice condition. Beard oil is a must otherwise the beard goes really dry and they’ll need to get it cut much shorter.”
