Beards and Goatees are two of the most common and all-encompassing facial hair styles out there in the world. They can often be seen as two sides of the same coin, considering a beard, in some ways, incorporates a goatee already. Well, today we’ll be battling the two popular facial hair styles against each other to determine which one is best for you!
In this article we’ll be talking about the differences between beards and goatees, how they are perceived by the outside world, and the overall pros and cons of rocking each style of facial hair. But first, we need to define what a beard technically is, as it makes a large difference in the distinction between beards and goatees.
Before we dive in, check out this awesome video where Austin will be describing the differences and the pros and cons between beards and goatees!
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What’s The Difference Between A Beard And Goatee?
Before getting into the pros and cons of each style, let’s first discuss the difference between beards and goatees. The difference is a simple one, but is important in understanding the benefits and disadvantages of beards and goatees.
Beard: A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. – Wikipedia
Keep in mind, beards must require hair being grown or tended on the cheeks. Goatees, on the other hand…
Goatee: A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on one’s chin but not the cheeks. – Wikipedia
So, now that you know the technical difference. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of these different types of facial hair, and which one of these styles you should choose based on your own preferences. Let’s dive into beards first.
Advantages of Beards
Here are a few advantages that beards have over goatees.
Style Options
Because beards incorporate a lot more hair and “area” on your face than goatees do, theoretically, you have more options available to you when it comes to styling in many more ways than you could with just a goatee. Not to mention, beard styles are also more versatile when it comes to the length of your facial hair as well.
Beards Cover Facial Flaws
A lot of men are perhaps unhappy with the nature of their skin around their neck, or maybe they don’t particularly like their jawline or the shape of their chin or something else. The point is, feeling unsatisfied with your body is a natural and, unfortunately, very real feeling for lots of men out there.
Beards often give men a way to grow out their hair enough to cover or keep these “flaws” (as they are often seen) hidden or away from view. Not to mention, beard care allows men to, quite literally, transform and shape their appearance into one that they enjoy by shaping and styling their beard to pronounce their jaw, widen their chin, etc.
Goatees, however, make this more difficult by exposing a lot more skin, as is the nature of that particular style.
Beards Require Less Maintenance Than Goatees
The last beard “pro” we’ll talk about today is really only a “pro” when it is relative to having a goatee. And that is, beards typically require far less maintenance than goatees do. Beards still do require some maintenance. You still must trim it and keep it healthy and hydrated with something like beard oil or beard balm, but not nearly the maintenance that goatees require to keep clean.
Goatees require not only daily amounts of shaving, but also trimming of the actual goatee hair near the mustache and chin. This makes a clean goatee one of the most demanding facial hair styles to maintain when it comes to your daily routine as opposed to beards or the clean-shaven look.
Disadvantages of Beards
Not Everyone Can Grow A Beard
Probably the most common, and most upsetting, disadvantage of beards are that not every man can grow a beard that they are satisfied with. Beards require lots of really good dense hair growth on your face, and typically compared to goatees, beards require good amounts of growth on your cheeks, which are the most common spot to find patches or thinning hair.
There are things you can do to remedy this, however. One of which is using a beard filler like Volt Instant Beard Color to fill patches or thin areas.
Beards Can Cause Skin Issues
While this isn’t always the case, the fact of the matter is that beards, since they cover more areas and more sensitive areas than goatees do, are prone to more skin issues. Excess dryness, breakouts, rashes, or redness can easily occur if you aren’t always on top of your beard maintenance. Thankfully you can resolve these issues with some high quality beard balm or beard oil!
Beards Take Longer To Grow
The hair around your mouth and chin actually grow rather quickly, making a goatee possible in a matter of days. It’s the hair that grows on your cheeks (and that defines a beard) that takes some time to fill in and become dense and long enough to give you that fully bearded look relative to goatees.
Advantages of Goatees
Here are some advantages that goatees have over beards.
Goatees Expose Facial Features
In direct contrast to one of the points mentioned above. If you happen to enjoy some of your facial features, your jawline, for example, a goatee will expose and accentuate that jawline well. If a goatee is maintained well, it can also broaden the appearance of your chin, which presents a more masculine image.
Goatees Are More Unique
This may be a pro or con depending on how you look at things, but typically, goatees are seen as a more unique and noticeable style of facial hair in modern days. Beards, because they are more common now, are becoming less unique. But goatees are still a much more “stand-out” style.
Goatees Are Easier To Grow Than Beards
Like we mentioned earlier, the areas of your face that a goatee consists of tend to grow hair thicker, quicker, and more easily than the parts of your face that define a beard (like the cheeks). This means goatees are traditionally easier to grow, even for people who have a difficult time getting the fullness and density that they’d like out of their beard.
Disadvantages of Goatees
Goatees Require More Maintenance
Goatees require the maintenance of both beards and the clean shaven look. This is because not only do you need to consistently trim and shape your goatee hair, but also shave and trim the hair on your cheeks to keep that goatee from blending into a full beard. In this way, keeping a clean goatee is a matter of more steps and more time than keeping a full beard or the clean shaven look.
Goatees Aren’t As Stylish
Although this may be a moot point because styles and trends change over time, goatees aren’t typically seen as “in fashion” as beards tend to be nowadays. But, that happens to be the logical tradeoff for the uniqueness and noticeability of goatees.
Less Style Options
Relative to having a beard, goatees have less style options. Although you can choose where to shave your goatee, long or short, big or small, etc. losing that large patch of hair on your cheeks simply means that your style options are limited as opposed to having a full beard.
For example, with a beard you can even rock a goatee-beard combo where you trim your cheek hair lower than your chin hair that gives you a goatee/beard hybrid look. The beard simply has more options available to it.
Goatees and Beards are both extremely popular facial hair options and have their own respective pros and cons. Choose the beard if you have the ability to grow dense hair on your cheeks, want a more common look, and enjoy shaping the beard to accentuate your facial features. Choose the goatee if you have trouble with patchy areas on your cheeks, don’t mind the extra maintenance, and want a more unique and noticeable look.
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