While there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to styling men’s facial hair, it’s fair to say that there are some unwritten rules.
With regards to sideburns, one of the most common questions men ask is just how long they should be. Well, if this is you, wonder no more as we’re about to dive into the issue in depth.
Ask a hair stylist and they will likely tell you that sideburns should be curtailed around the middle of the ear. Much longer than that, and you’re approaching dangerous territory, though there are exceptions based on face shape and other features.
If you’ve struggled with facial hair your whole life and just can’t seem to settle on a solution that sits right with you, we’re here to tell you that you’re not alone.
This is a men’s sideburns guide that’s going to cover everything you’ve ever wanted to know about how to master them. Since there aren’t a great deal of sideburn length guides out there, you may have gotten by through trial and error up until now, but no more. Gone are the days of wondering whether you need square sideburns or high sideburns.
With the tips and tricks we’ll show you in this guide, hopefully, you can find the best sideburn length for your face and rock the stylish sideburns you’ve always dreamt of.
Given that facial hair can be so integral to a man’s look, we hope that you come away from reading this guide feeling a lot better about your sideburn length.
Face Shapes
Believe it or not, the best way to figure out how long your sideburns should be is by determining your face shape.
Knowing the shape of your face will help you work out the answers to the common question ‘where should sideburns end?’.
In fact, many people don’t realize that knowing their face shape is crucial for other things too such as finding the perfect pair of sunglasses. For example, as you might imagine, a round pair of shades on a round face will only serve to accentuate the spherical nature of it while a pair with straight lines will provide a pleasing contrast.
As to how face shape pertains to sideburn length, bear with us, there’s a few things you need to know.
First, let’s go through all the main face shapes so you can see which makes the most sense for your face:
- Square: the square face has very few curves and a strong straight jawline.
- Oval: the oval face features wide cheekbones and a curved jawline.
- Rectangle:the rectangular face has a squared jawline and is longer than it is wide.
- Diamond: the diamond face has a small forehead and comes to a point at the chin.
- Heart:the heart face comes to a point at the chin, and the forehead is divided by the hairline much like a heart.
- Round: the round face is one of the easiest to identify as it is close to a circle, with a curved chin and soft forehead.
Ok, now you know your face shape, what sideburn length is best for you?
Square – medium or long
Oval – short
Rectangle – short
Diamond – short
Heart – medium
Round – medium or long
If this sounds like too much effort, your best bet is to locate the center point of the ear and shave down to that point. That way there’s no chance your sideburns will look either too long or too short. From this point, you can make small adjustments either way to get the perfect length.
How to Grow Sideburns
If you’re in the position that you want to have sideburns but don’t know how to grow them, or your sideburns are currently too short, it’s worth knowing how to grow them out.
All you have to do is follow these simple steps, and you’ll be rocking long sideburns in no time at all:
- The first thing you’ll want to do is leave your facial hair alone for a month or so. Yes it may sound extreme, and you may end up looking like a caveman, but it’s all in the pursuit of those elusive sideburns so stick with it.
- Next, make sure that you keep your facial hair moisturized, as this will make the final results look more refined and could even promote hair growth as a nice bonus.
- Reach for the comb at week 1 or 2, depending on how long your facial hair is, since you want to make sure it looks well-maintained.
- When you’re satisfied with the amount of facial hair you have, all that’s left to do is grab your shaver and get stuck in. Take off a lot of the hair on your cheeks and try to leave clean lines from your sideburns to your beard.
- Remember the golden rule that you want sideburns to go down to the middle of your ear, but check in with our face shape guide for more precise instructions.
How to Maintain Sideburns
The last main factor in getting the perfect sideburns is maintaining them.
Specifically, you need to know how to trim your sideburns if you want to stay looking your best for more than just a week or so.
Many people say that sideburns are best when their thickness matches up with the rest of your hair. If you have short hair and dense sideburns, that isn’t going to win you any prizes for style.
Of course, one of the most important things to bear in mind with sideburn maintenance is keeping them at the perfect length. The last thing you want is to end up with sideburns that are too long for your face shape just because you got lazy and didn’t make the effort to trim them down.
As we mentioned earlier, there is an ideal length for sideburns according to what your face shape is, so try and stick to this as much as possible.
If you’re happy with the length of your sideburns, then all you need to do is make sure you trim them to be consistent with the rest of your hair. If your facial hair grows quickly, and you have short hair, then this will feel like a constant battle to keep the sideburns from becoming thicker than the hair on your head.
As such, invest in a good trimmer, and stick to a regular routine to the best of your ability.
You might also want to consider using a moisturizing product regularly, since this can help your sideburns to grow and will make them look healthy.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sideburns
What does sideburn mean?
You can be forgiven for not knowing what exactly a sideburn is, since it isn’t commonly referenced form of facial hair for men.
Unlike goatee and soul patch, the sideburn doesn’t often receive a lot of love, for one reason or another.
As a basic definition, the sideburn is the hair that grows in front of the ears.
Do sideburns look good?
While it will of course depend on who you ask, we believe that sideburns can look great providing you know how to pull them off.
Whether or not your sideburns look good will depend on factors such as your face shape, the length of the sideburns, and how well you maintain them.
If you want to shave them off completely because you don’t think they could ever compliment your face, we implore you to give them a second chance.
How do guys grow sideburns?
Growing sideburns as a guy should be seen as a labor of love.
It’s an act that requires patience and time, since you will first need to grow out your facial hair for anywhere up to a month.
This of course depends on how thick you want the sideburns to be, but it’s generally a slow process especially if you’re starting with no facial hair or just stubble.
A Final Word From The Trending Man
Sideburns can complement a man’s face well, providing that he knows how to get the best out of them.
Finding a normal sideburn length for your sideburns is key if you want to pull them off with style.
