Choosing the right beard style for your face shape is an ideal way to accentuate your features. Just because it looks good on Chris Hemsworth, doesn’t mean it’ll suit your face shape.
Having a particularly long face shape, you might be wondering, “what are the best beard styles for oblong faces?”
An oblong face is characteristically long. It requires a beard style that would not further elongate it such as a tapered beard end. Instead, an oblong face needs a beard style that would add more attention to the cheeks.
Stick around to find out which beard styles you should be considering and which to avoid for your oblong face shape.
What Is an Oblong Face Shape?
Before getting into all the beard styles that would suit an oblong face shape, let’s first understand what it looks like. That way, you can be certain that you have one.
Oblong is defined as a rectangular shape with unequal connecting sides. In other words, it could be identified as any elongated figure. If that’s the case, then what differentiates it from an oval face shape?
Well, an oval’s length is simply one and a half times its width. Meanwhile, an oblong face shape’s length is two times its width. How does that translate on your face?
Your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw would have to be aligned by a similar width. The length of the face would be noticeably longer than the width. If you compare it to any other face shape, an oblong is the longest one out of all.
How to Identify Your Face Shape
After knowing the characteristics of an oblong face, it’s time to bust out the measuring tape. You can start by estimating the length of your face compared to its width.
After taking those measurements down, you’ll want to also measure the width of your forehead, between your cheekbones, and jaw.
Ultimately, you’ll confirm your oblong face shape if the length of your face is much longer than its width. There should also be a vertical symmetry between your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw.
If your cheekbones are slightly larger in width, then you might have a diamond face shape instead. An oval face shape would mean the length of your face isn’t as long as you imagined and the jaws are more round than sloped.
Best Oblong Face Beard Styles
The good news is that there’s a myriad of beard styles that suit an oblong face shape. Most of the styles are classic and easy to do.
Without further ado, here are the best oblong face beard styles.
Full Beard
A full beard carries several benefits. One of those is that it adds a certain ruggedness to your style. It goes well with most face shapes, making it an all-time classic.
Although you’d want to avoid any beards that add length to your oblong-shaped face, a full beard can be an exception.
This beard style can add more width to your elongated face shape. The thicker the beard around the cheek area, the more attention will be drawn there, rather than the length of the beard.
Additionally, it would be perfect for sun protection and keeping you warm in the colder months. On top of that, it can also act as a moisturizing sealant since it keeps all of your skin’s natural oils on your face, rather than dried off.
If you choose this style, you might need to be patient. It can take up to four months or more to grow, depending on your genes and hormone levels.
After you do manage to grow a full beard, you’ll want to make sure it’s periodically trimmed to remain neat. You also don’t want it growing too much in length or else your face will just look longer than it already is.
Short Boxed Beard
If you work in a corporate setting, then beards might often be an issue. Nevertheless, you might be able to go to work with a short boxed beard.
The beard style is exceptionally professional and clean. It’s only about half an inch long and the cheek edges are cut precisely.
The best part is that it’s easy to grow. On average, beards grow about a half-inch every month, so it’ll only take a month or so to achieve the look.
There are a couple of variations to the boxed beard style, namely, high and low-boxed beards. This refers to how high or low the beard cheek line is.
For oblong faces, we highly recommend a high-boxed beard to give the illusion of less length and more width.
Apart from the cheek area, the neckline should be trimmed to form a straight line. This will give the style its box shape.
Wolverine Beard
As the name suggests, this beard style originates from the famous X-Men character, Wolverine. What better way to widen your face than to add more volume around the cheeks?
The style features one-inch long mutton chops, a fully shaven chin, and a stubble mustache. It might be difficult to pull off, but if you’re looking for something new to try out, then this might be it.
Fair warning, the Wolverine beard style might need more maintenance than usual. To start, you’ll need to grow about a one or two-inch long full beard.
Next, trim off the mustache region and form a stubble. After, you’ll want to shave off a small area of the chin. This step might be difficult to do without a beard shaping tool.
In the following step, you just need to shape things up around the jawline and cheek. Make sure to leave the mutton chops at an inch or so long.
Stubble Beard
When it comes to versatility, no beard style does it better than a simple stubble. This style adds little to no length to your face, making it well-suited to any oblong face shape.
Some men might find it difficult to grow out a beard, making a stubble their best bet. Having said that, a stubble beard can draw more attention to your jaw and define it as well.
You’ll be able to say goodbye to that baby face and hello to a more mature and handsome one. The stubble adds masculinity, ruggedness, and not to mention sexiness to your oblong face shape.
There are a few stubble types you can choose from. A light stubble is the easiest to grow since it only requires a couple of days or so. The length is around half a millimeter.
After about a week, you’ll have a medium stubble grown out. It’s about one to three millimeters long.
Following the medium stubble by a few more days will be the heavy stubble. It can grow between three to five millimeters long. Whichever stubble length you choose from the three will go well with an oblong face shape.
Imperial Beard
If you’re a fan of the old ages, then you might want to consider the imperial beard style. Similar to the Wolverine, this beard style sports fresh mutton chops from the 19th century.
The main difference is in the mustache and chin area. Unlike the Wolverine’s stubble mustache, the imperial beard has a full mustache that seamlessly connects to the mutton chops. The shaven chin area is also a bit wider, measuring about 1.6 inches or so.
It almost looks like a giant mustache reaching the edges of your face, on the sideburns. The imperial style is a fitting choice for oblong faces because it widens the face shape with its mutton chops.
You can find several variations of the imperial beard such as a Hulihee or an A La Souvarov. The former style is characterized by its exceptionally long mutton chops.
The latter, on the other hand, looks sleeker and French-like. The A La Souvarov almost resembles the letter “W.” This might be the most difficult beard style to maintain since it requires sharp and error-free lines.
That being said, we highly recommend visiting the barbershop if you want to get an imperial beard done.
Garibaldi Beard
Nothing cuts an oblong face shape better than a Garibaldi beard. It’s essentially a full beard, but it’s messy and has circular edges, rather than sharp ones.
The Garibaldi beard’s name is derived from an Italian general, Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was around shortly after the 19th century. He basically played a major role in uniting the Italian kingdom. Garibaldi was a powerful man with an equally powerful beard.
In the present time, this beard style will give you that lumberjack look. It’ll take around half a year or more to grow depending on your beard’s growth rate.
The Garibaldi beard style will broaden your oblong face shape since it stretches out to the sideburns. You’ll look large and in charge, as Garibaldi himself did.
Short Beard
If you want to keep things simple, then keep your beard short. A short beard style will avoid further lengthening your already long oblong face shape.
It’ll look effortless and fashionable. Even though it might look easy to maintain, you’ll need to regularly trim it around to keep it even and clean.
To achieve this style, you just need to keep the length to approximately an inch or less. The best part about this beard style is that you can style your hair however you like with it. You can also go to any event with a short beard, whether it’s a casual friend’s hangout or a classic night out.
Beardstache Beard
Do you prefer a mustache more than a full-grown beard? Then you might be able to rock a trendy Beardstache.
This style involves a stubble beard with a full-grown mustache. It mainly draws all the attention to the middle of your face, rather than its length.
The mustache part might take around a couple of months or less to grow, but the heavy stubble beard will only take around ten days.
You’ll love a Beardstache if your beard is particularly patchy in some areas. It’ll also help you display your jawline, unlike a full beard.
To get a Beardstache, you’ll mainly need an electric trimmer to keep a heavy stubble beard. You can then leave your mustache to grow as long as you please.
Beard Styles to Avoid for Oblong Faces
After knowing which beard styles to choose from, now let’s dive into the ones you might want to steer clear of. These looks might further unflatter your unique face shape. Check them out below.
Goatee Beard
Oblong face shapes need to draw less attention to how long their faces are. If you grow a goatee, you’d be elongating your face shape further.
Goatees lack any cheek beard volume. Instead, they mainly grow around the chin and mustache region. This style highlights the chin and makes it seem longer than it already is.
Balbo Beard
The Balbo beard style may look great on Robert Downey Jr., but it may unnecessarily lengthen your face shape.
It looks good on the “Iron Man” star because he has an oval face shape, which is more symmetrical than an oblong face shape.
The inverted T style also mainly focuses on the chin, rather than the cheeks. The Balbo beard might work for an oblong face shape if you have pronounced sideburns to widen your face shape.
Van Dyke Beard
This beard style originated from the famed 17th-century painter, Anthony Van Dyke. You can also see the beard style worn by Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of Django Unchained.
You can find many variations of the Van Dyke beard style such as a curled mustache with a pointed chin beard.
This beard style has a tapered beard end, which will likely stretch down your face, creating an unflattering appearance.
Pointed Beard
As a general rule of thumb, oblong face shapes and pointed beards don’t go well together. The sharp end is only meant to extend your face.
This style would better suit other face shapes like circle, square, or oval ones. Meanwhile, oblong face shapes need a flat beard end to keep their face more well-proportioned.
Celebrities with Oblong Face Shapes
After looking at all the best and worst beard styles for oblong face shapes, let’s take a look at some of the celebrities that have oblong face shapes.
Jason Statham
The “Transporter” star is famed for his stubble and bald look. Did you know that if you’re prone to male pattern baldness, you’re more likely to grow a thicker beard?
Well, his bald and bearded style has earned him several coveted spy and action roles in Hollywood. Statham’s stubble is around five to four millimeters in length.
You can get his look with the help of a stubble trimmer and a healthy beard care routine to avoid any razor burns.
Ben Affleck
If you’re to use any oblong face shape guide, then Ben Affleck would be the best choice. This movie star has continuously changed his beard style throughout his fame.
He’s been seen with a stubble, a full beard, and even a short boxed beard style. Affleck has also been seen with a few silver specks around his beard.
Russell Crowe
This “Gladiator” star has opened doors to most beard possibilities for an oblong face shape. Whether you want to flaunt your full beard or make do with a corporate beard, Russell Crowe can give you a suitable guide.
If you’re looking for that Santa Claus beard, then look no further. Russell Crowe has kept his gray beard in nature’s hands as he kept it long and messy for his Zeus role in “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
Adam Sandler
Even though Adam Sandler is usually recognized as clean-shaven, he has still grown his fair share of beards.
We have to admit, our favorite beard style Sandler has picked would be the stubble. His full beard look has fans scratching their heads. Even he admittedly wasn’t a fan of it, but we’ll let you be the judge.
Adam Levine
The Maroon 5 lead singer has had several beards and hairstyles throughout his music career. At some point, he even sported the bald and thick beard look in his music video, “Nobody’s Love.”
Levine’s most popular images are usually ones that feature his stubble beard style. He had a long full beard with a soul patch as well. The singer was also seen with a cool new Beardstache on Instagram.
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To Conclude
Having an oblong face shape doesn’t mean you don’t get to explore all sorts of new beard styles. You can get as creative as you like as long as you stay away from styles that would make your face any longer.
Our favorite oblong face beard style would have to be the iconic Beardstache. It’s contemporary, unique, and best suits a long face shape.
Be sure to check out our other article, “Does A Beard Make Your Face Look Fatter? Here’s The Truth!” for more insights into beard care.
