Beard Vs. Goatee: Which Style is More Attractive?
Choosing between a goatee and a beard can be confusing. While they may appear similar at first glance, there are distinct differences between the two.
A goatee typically consists of hair on the chin and directly beneath the lips, while a beard covers the entire jawline and cheeks. Both styles can vary in length and shape, giving individuals the ability to customize their looks to their personal preferences.
A goatee can help you show off your sharper facial features, but it could require a lot more maintenance. On the other hand, a beard can take longer to grow out fully, but it offers greater versatility in terms of style options.
So let’s know the difference between beard vs goatee and choose your personal favorite.
Goatee Vs. Beard: What’s The Difference?
While you can find plenty of goatee and beard styles online, it is important to understand that a few factors are consistent. Understanding what makes a goatee unique from a beard can help you make a better decision, and it helps to know what you want when going to the barber.
Goatee
A goatee refers to a beard style, that focuses on the chin. The main characteristic of a goatee is that the beard hair will be removed from the cheeks and sideburns.
The hair on the chin is usually trimmed into a pointed or rounded shape, resembling the beard of a goat. It is easier to grow since it grows on the chin and upper lip. Sometimes you can let the hair grow to the jawline and neck in an extended version of a goatee.
Pros of Goatee
Here are a couple of advantages of keeping a goatee beard.
Easier to Grow
One of the major advantages of growing a goatee and beard is that it can be significantly easier to grow out. If you tend to grow a patchy beard or have thinner hair, a goatee condenses your facial hair into a small part of your face, which can reduce patchiness.
Furthermore, the chin and the upper lip naturally grow hair much faster, so growing it out from a clean shave is also much easier.
Let’s You Show Off Facial Features
Another benefit of growing out your goatee is that you can show off your facial features better. If you have a sharper jawline or cheek line and want to show that off, you can do that with the help of a goatee. You can even choose from different styles of goatees that can take up as little space on your face, further letting you accentuate your facial features.
Cons of Goatee
Let’s look at some of the cons of a goatee beard.
Difficult to Maintain
Possibly the biggest reason why people don’t grow out a beard is that they need a lot of upkeep. If your beard tends to grow out fast, you could dedicate a portion of the day to cleaning off the rest of your beard. Since the chin and lips grow out hair the fastest, you must trim them regularly.
Doesn’t Pair with Many Hair Styles
Goatees have become synonymous with bald heads, especially with all the big celebrities like The Rock had one. But if you want to get a more modern cut, the goatee might need to look better. Again, this can come down to trial and error.
Beard
A beard is typically defined as a full growth of facial hair that covers the chin, cheeks, and neck. Beards can come in a variety of styles, including a short “stubble” look, a medium-length beard, or a long, flowing beard.
Some men may choose to style their beards with mustaches, sideburns, or other facial hair accessories, while others might skip the mustache, chin, and cheeks altogether.
Pros of Beard
Keeping a beard can offer you the following benefits.
Styling Options
One of the best things about growing out a beard is that you can access many styling options. You can have a short-boxed beard or a beard that touches up to your cheek line. You can have a long beard or just light stubble. The combinations that you can try are practically endless.
Requires Less Maintenance
When growing a beard, you can skip a lot of the maintenance that is sometimes necessary for a goatee. If necessary, you need to trim the cheek and neckline to your style once a week. Other than that, you could trim the beard every two weeks.
Easily Covers Your Face
While a goatee shows off your facial features, a beard can actively hide them. If you have scars on your cheeks or don’t like that you don’t have a pronounced jawline, then a beard can easily cover your cheeks and jaw.
Cons of Beard
A few downsides associated with keeping a beard are as follows.
Longer Growing and Grooming Time
Some people are luckier than others when it comes to growing a beard. In the conversation of goatee vs. beard, people choose goatees because they can be much easier to grow.
And some people who can grow a beard might see it grow patchy or stringy. It also takes longer for grooming and styling a beard than a goatee due to the larger surface area.
Regular Washing and Moisturizing
While you might spend less time trimming and shaving your beard, you must wash and moisturize it. Beards can collect food and drink residue. If not cleaned regularly it can cause beard dandruff.
Goatee Vs. Beard Comparison Table
| Feature | Goatee | Beard |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Requires regular trimming and shaving | Requires regular washing and oiling |
| Appearance | Few goatee styles to try | Various beard styles to try |
| Acceptance | Can be considered unprofessional in certain situations | Can help individuals look more professional |
| Face Types | Works best with angular faces | Works with all face shapes |
| Facial features | Exposes jawline and cheek line | Hides jawline and naturally strong facial features |
| Growth | Can grow fast | Grows slowly |
| Facial Flaws | Exposes scars or injuries on the jaw and cheeks | Hides scars or injuries on the jaw and cheeks area |
| Popular Styles | Long Goatee, Van Dyke, Circle Goatee Beard | Stubble, Garibaldi, Full Beard |
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Goatee vs. Beard
Choosing between a goatee and a beard can be difficult, seeing how you could look good in both. However, there are various important considerations that you need to make before you can settle on a specific style.
Facial Hair Thickness
A full beard will only look good if your hair is thick enough. A patchy or uneven beard will often look unappealing, and people with thinner beard hair are usually advised to keep a short beard. So, if your beard hair isn’t thick enough, you can grow a goatee instead.
Face Shape
People with a more angular face and a more pronounced jawline or chin are likelier to go with a goatee. It best shows off your facial features, but usually isn’t the choice for people who don’t want to show off a lot of their faces. A beard can cover up the jawline and even be shaped to make it look sharper.
Lifestyle and Job Considerations
In the goatee vs. beard argument, people usually overlook that both types need maintenance. Goatees require regular trimming, and beards require regular washing and oiling. Furthermore, you also need to consider if your job will allow you to have a scruffy beard when you walk into work. A neater goatee might be a preferable choice, but that again comes down to your workplace and the rules they have in place.
Hence the choice between a goatee and a beard comes down to personal preference and style.
FAQs
Is goatee a beard?
The goatee is a tuft of beard hair that grows on the chin, which is said to resemble the beard of a goat. So, a goatee can be considered a type of beard; not all beards are goatees.
Which face shape is best for a goatee?
A more angular face with a pronounced jawline works best with a goatee. Since the goatee doesn’t get in the way of your facial features. Rounder, or bigger faces, can also pull it off sometimes.
Is circle beard a goatee?
A circle beard is a goatee style, which some may even call a full goatee. The facial hair on the chin will connect to the mustache to create a fully connected goatee.
So, the main difference between a goatee and a beard is the placement of the hair. A beard typically features hair on the lower cheeks, chin, and neck, while a goatee only features hair on the chin and upper lip.
