For a beard style that combines old fashioned sophistication and the trends of today, look no further than the Van Dyke beard. The Van Dyke of this beard’s name was a 17th century Flemish painter, but this groomed style isn’t an ancient relic, as you can see actors such as Johnny Depp and Pierce Brosnan have pulled it off more recently.
Achieving the best version of a Van Dyke beard and moustache combination takes some full beard growth to trim down for so if you’re looking for a more of a three-day beard, check out our guide on How to Stubble. If not, pulling off the unique Van Dyke look is just a matter of a sprinkling of confidence and some simple grooming tips.
As this beard style joins a chin beard and upper lip growth, you might wonder the difference between the Van Dyke moustache and goatee styles. We’ll cover the styling differences shortly, but rest assured this iconic beard style stands alone.
What is a Van Dyke beard?
You may be wondering what a Van Dyke beard looks like. Well, this classic beard style takes a simple moustache and adds a chin beard. This moustache and chin combination is similar to the goatee but the big difference here is that the moustache and hair on your chin won’t be connected.
The gap between the moustache and chin beard is where your trimming skills will come into play as Van Dyke facial hair takes some carefully edged lines. We’ll run you through how to master this style but also be sure to explore the latest and greatest moustache styles for men.
How to grow a Van Dyke beard?
If you’ve decided this beard style is the one for you, you’ll want to know how to grow a Van Dyke beard. As you’ll want a clear definition between your moustache and chin hair, we suggest growing out your beard all over to start to at least 2cm in length.
When your moustache and the beard growth on your jaw and chin areas are an equal length then you’ll know you’re ready to start styling and trimming your Van Dyke beard style. This might take a few weeks or more so be patient and as your beard grows be sure to follow our guide on how to take care of your beard to avoid matted hair and irritated skin.
How to trim a Van Dyke beard to achieve the desired shape and style?
The angular look of a Van Dyke beard takes some careful styling so ensure you know how to shape a Van Dyke beard before you dive in and start trimming the full beard growth that we suggest starting with.
As our guide on how to take care of your beard suggests, combing your beard is a must and in this case, you should direct it downwards to prime your full beard for transformation into the Van Dyke beard style.
The first step in trimming is to take a beard trimmer without any comb attachment and remove the hair between the bottom edges of your moustache down to your jawline. Next up in terms of how to shave a Van Dyke beard is removing the hair underneath your chin beard.
Once you’ve shaped the goatee on your chin, tidy up any extra growth on your cheeks and jawline, just leaving the moustache and chin beard. Finally, with this goatee shape, use your electric trimmer of choice to remove hair joining the moustache and chin and create the definition that gives the Van Dyke beard its distinctive look.
Tools you will need
If you want to trim a Van Dyke beard a great tool for the job is a Braun beard trimmer with its range of comb lengths and ability to precisely edge the outer lines of any beard style. The range of comb lengths will let you easily maintain your favoured length of beard once you have styled a Van Dyke facial hair look.
A Braun electric shaver is also a great tool for beard styling and precision shaving. Try utilising the EasyClick Beard Trimmer attachment and its five different comb lengths for the best possible beard styling with a Braun shaver.
Face shapes and Van Dyke beard
Our guide to matching your face shape to the ideal beard style for you suggests that a Van Dyke beard will work best with a round face as the pointed chin beard gives an angular edge to your jawline.
However, the Van Dyke beard style is versatile and you can style a thicker look along your jaw if you have a sharper rectangular face shape. So when it comes to how to style a Van Dyke beard, you’ll have the best chances of success with a rounder face but this look can easily be grown out into other similar shapes such as a full goatee.