How To Grow and Trim the Scruffy Beard Style

Ever wonder how those Hollywood stars can pull off the laziest looks in the most spectacular way? The truth is, those lazy looks are anything but lazy. There is an art to maintaining that aesthetic, and this is just as true when it comes to scruffy beards.

A scruffy beard style is one where it looks as though your hair is just growing out naturally. It’s recently been referred to as “The Pandemic Beard” since many men let it grow out during quarantine.

There are plenty of reasons to don’t this type of facial hair. It allows for some patchiness, takes less maintenance than normal beards, gives you a manly aesthetic, and looks stylish in every situation.

A scruffy beard looks different on everyone, especially because there are several different substyles to try. If one doesn’t meet your every expectation, then simply try another. Some of these types include the typically short scruffy beard, the bold long scruffy beard, and the stylish scruffy goat beard. 

Trimming is an essential element of maintaining the scruffy look because a scruffy beard needs to stay short to stay scruffy. Once the beard gets too long, it leaves the realm of scruffiness and starts to look like a typical beard. There are particular methods for trimming a scruffy beard that we’ll delve into more later.

We have all the tips, tricks, and guides to getting you well on your way in this new journey.

Why a Scruffy Beard?

Perhaps you’re a college student who likes to hike sometimes or a businessman who wants to give off a relaxed vibe. Maybe you’re a stay-at-home dad dedicated to his children. Whatever the case, the scruffy beard might be the perfect fit for you.

One of the major reasons the scruffy beard is so popular is that it allows for some patchiness. Usually, patches are symmetrical and can be groomed in a style that hides the baldness. If done right, the scruffy style gives you a flattering beard no matter what — patches and all.

While growing and maintaining a scruffy beard does take some amount of work, it isn’t too tough. As mentioned previously, refining the scruff is more of an art than anything else. When you first try to grow it out, it’s going to take a lot of trial and error, but once you find the right balance, you’re set.

How To Grow a Scruffy Beard

Once you grow a scruffy beard, you’ll never go back. The look is the perfect balance of suave and ease.

If you want to grow out a scruffy beard, however, there are specific steps we believe you should take to find the right look for you as efficiently as possible: 

• Start From Scratch: If you have anything less than all the naturally-grown hair on your face, then shave it all off. That’s right; we want you to get rid of your previous beard endeavors and start with a fresh face.
  
  
• Let It Grow: At first, you’ll be rocking some stubble trouble, but give it a couple of weeks, and you’ll be in business. You must maintain a beard care routine during this time.
  
  
• Get a Short Scruffy Beard: The first look you’re going to try is the short scruffy beard style, which we’ll discuss later on.
  
  
• Try the Long Scruffy Beard: From there, if you’re not satisfied, grow it out into a long scruffy beard.
  
  
• Try the Scruffy Goat Beard: Finally, if that doesn’t work out, then trim it down a scruffy goat beard style.
  
  

Following that guide will give you the best results as efficiently as possible so you can decide which scruffy beard you want to keep. As always, use a beard care routine that involves washing and applying products with the proper tools. 

Next, we’ll break down what the trimming and maintaining processes look like in general, as well as for each specific style. 

How Do You Trim a Scruffy Beard?

Trimming your scruffy beard is imperative because scruffy beards are fairly short by nature. They’re typically shorter than a “short beard,” which starts around two centimeters. Even the long scruffy beards don’t stray too far from this length, so it’s important to maintain the length you need.

Once your scruffy beard is grown out precisely the way you want, it’s time to trim and maintain it as best you can to keep your look consistent. To accomplish this task, you will need the right tools: a beard comb, beard-trimming scissors, a PT45 electric trimmer, beard balm, and a mirror.

Make sure you take a picture of your beard at its peak. If you wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and say to yourself, “Now that is a good-looking beard,” then you know it’s time to take the picture. 

Pull up the picture on your phone and prop it by the mirror for reference when trimming your scruffy beard.

A Simple Trimming Guide

Here is a step-by-step guide to trimming up your scruffy beard for the perfect lazy look:

1. If things have gotten out of hand, then use your electric trimmer to reduce the length. Switch to your beard scissors when you get close to the target length.
   
   
2. Get rid of the neck hir with your trimmer and bring the baseline of the beard closer to the chin. Don’t line up your baseline; let it look natural.
   
   
3. Use the comb and beard-trimming scissors to get a more consistent length across the board by scoping hairs up against the grain with the comb and then snipping them with the scissors.
   
   
4. Trim off any strays without making everything look too uniform. This is supposed to be a scruffy look, after all.
   
   
5. Lean into your patches/bald spots and meld them into your look. Don’t try to cover them up by leaving the hair around them longer. Embrace them.
   
   
6. Don’t line up your cheeks. While some of the cheek hair needs to be completely taken off, the scruff must come up a little higher than most beards.
   
   
7. Comb and rinse out any loose hair, then apply sandalwood beard balm as needed to texturize the hair and get it looking a bit unkempt.

Getting the Short Scruffy Beard Style

This is the classic look that falls somewhere between stubble and a short beard. 

Embracing this normally awkward in-between and styling as guided above gives the ideal “I care too much about other stuff to care about my beard” look. We all know the truth, though. Keep this beard no longer than five millimeters.

Long Scruffy Beard Style

Some might deny this as a true scruffy beard, but we reject those sentiments. 

Breaking the five-millimeter cap doesn’t give you a short beard because it’s nowhere near two centimeters. A long scruffy beard is stylish and, if anything, more scruffy than the original. Be careful you don’t let it break that two-centimeter boundary, and maximize the use of your beard balm to keep it in check.

Scruffy Goat Beard Style

If you want a look that’s a hybrid between scruffy and sophisticated, then the scruffy goat beard is for you. 

To achieve this look, simply allow your goatee to grow long (over five millimeters) and trim everything else as if it's a short scruffy beard. The goatee will stand out enough that you look like you used to be a CEO before you got stranded on an island for two weeks.

Scruffy Beard Care for Black Men

The scruffy style is especially popular in the Black community, but growing and maintaining this type of beard looks a bit different with coarser hair.

When growing out your scruffy beard as a Black man, pay extra care to moisturize it regularly because the curly hair stands don’t distribute natural hair oils well. Ingredients like castor oil, jojoba oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, and olive oil can help keep the hair moist. 

It will also typically take longer to grow out to the length you want, but the denser facial hair that comes in is perfect for stylistic shaping. 

Trimming with scissors is sometimes not as effective on a Black man’s beard, so if you need to substitute and only use clippers, that is perfectly fine. Just be careful not to cut off too much at once. It’s much easier to cut hair than to grow it.

Scruff In Style

No matter your lifestyle or vocation, a scruffy beard almost always works. Now, there may be situations where someone asks you to clean up more, but that’s often not the case. You absolutely could rock the scruff at a business meeting, wedding, or first date. 

This look is short but rugged. That doesn’t mean you have to be rugged, though. Some of the most rugged-looking men have the most tender hearts. The truth is that anyone can rock the scruffy style, which makes it one of the easiest beards to recommend.

Sources:

Keeping Your Pandemic Beard? Solve Skin Problems Caused by Your Facial Hair | Yale Medicine

5 Popular Beard Styles: How Barbers Grow and Maintain Them | IBMC College

The Benefits of Olive Oil For Hair Regrowth | Evergreen Beauty College