The best part about having a beard is that you can sculpt your face just the way you want. Whether it is a soul patch or a handlebar moustache, you get to choose who you are for the day.
If you are in the mood to be seen as someone who is eclectic, artsy and comfortable in their skin, then having a soul patch beard is the way to go. It is only small in size but the impact it has and the impression it leaves is definitely not small.
What is a Soul Patch Beard?
If you don’t know what a soul patch beard looks like, it’s a defined and often triangular area between your lower lip and chin. This short beard style doesn’t take long to grow as you don’t need to wait for chin or cheek hair to fill in.
If you’ve had a longer beard style and want to attempt something new then you can even shave around this area under your lower lip, just leaving the soul patch intact.
If you’re wondering where this style came from, it’s traced back to jazz musicians and was also sported by Frank Zappa. Today you can see musicians and actors like Bruce Springsteen or Robert Downey Jr pulling it off.
If you want to follow in their facial hair footsteps, you’ll need a precision trimmer and some styling skill.
How to trim a soul patch beard?
Step 1: Knowing your style
Within the soul patch beard universe, you will find a myriad of permutations and combinations. The trick is to know whether you want to go ahead with just the soul patch beard or make it a part of a larger setup which includes a full beard or a moustache or both. Once you have decided your soul patch beard style, it is time to get going.
Step 2: Assessing the length
It is important to note that in order to work on your soul patch, you must have around 1 cm of beard growth. We say this because you need a solid ground to play around with when trimming. This minimum length allows you to have a substantial and visible soul patch even after you are done trimming and shaping it.
Step 3: Shave the beard
The next step is to shave the remainder of the beard. If you are using something like Braun’s Series XT5 Beard Trimmer and Electric Razor, you will be able to carry out the entire process with a single tool. It is both lightweight and high-performance, thanks to its 4-D blade technology that feature 4 different cutting elements in a single blade.
While shaving make sure that you leave the portion of hair beneath your lower lip intact. It can be a square or a triangle or a shape that falls between the two. If you are going for the sole soul patch, you can go ahead and shave off your entire moustache and beard, leaving a section of hair bigger than a stamp where you want your soul patch to be.
Step 4: Stop and assess
Now that you have successfully shaved, it is time to start shaping. You can use Braun’s MGK7331 All-in-one Trimmer since its AutoRazor technology adapts the trimmer according to your hair type, making the process smoother. Ensure that the lines are straight and clean.
If you are not sure whether you have achieved the right shape, just make sure that you would have the same size and shape of beard if you had an imaginary line drawn from your nose to your chin.
Step 5: Moisturise
If you are happy with the results, it is time to wash up and moisturise your skin and hair to leave them looking healthy and nourished.
Face shapes and soul patch beard
When it comes to choosing which beard styles for men might be best suited to you, a tried and tested approach is looking for a style that will complement your face shape
For men with the hard lines of a square jaw, something like a goatee beard can soften these angles.
Guys with a rounder face shape may wish to go for something that will give a more angular edge such as the Van Dyke beard.
The soul patch beard is similarly shaped to chin beards like the Van Dyke so if you fall into the less square-jawed camp, it could be a great choice for you.
If you find the soul patch works wonders for you, it’s also easy to grow this out further into something like the Van Dyke chin beard.
How to maintain a soul patch beard?
To maintain a soul patch style, make sure you keep the rest of your face clean-shaven, across your neck and cheeks.
One of the best things about this minimal style is how little styling it needs. Once you’ve got the growth you need and shaped it, just keeps things tidy and the soul patch will add some stylish flair to your look.
Five soul patch beard styles that you can try
1. Soul patch with moustache
This is the style which you can easily achieve by not shaving your moustache when you shave most of your beard. The soul patch works great in combination with the medium-sized moustache, giving the wearer a rugged but clean look. Hollywood star Johnny Depp makes this beard style look effortlessly stylish.
2. Soul patch goatee style
This soul patch beard style looks great but might need some skills with a precision trimmer, like Braun’s BT5260 Beard Trimmer. Essentially, you are going to be nestling your soul patch within a goatee. Both are going to have a visible clean-shaven patch to give a defined look. This is a great way of introducing yourself to a soul patch if you are not ready to go the whole way just yet. If you have any doubts, you can always get inspiration from actor Colin Farrel’s look.
3. Small soul patch
This is for the evenings where you are going to be donning a suit and want to try something different from your regular clean-shaven look. A small soul patch with clean, crisp lines is the way to go. Pop star Zayn Malik elevates this style with the hint of a stubble.
4. Soul patch with a chin patch
This style can be best described as an hourglass, except the fact that the top half is much smaller than the bottom half. In this style, the soul patch is connected to the chin patch through a thin section. This one is a bold style but can work wonders for your face if you are able to pull it off. If you need some inspiration, why not look how Hollywood actor Brad Pitt does it?
5. Sole soul patch
The last one is the classic soul patch where you let this small patch of hair shine on its own. This is great way of making a statement, without putting too much effort into the shaping of things. Actor Robert Pattinson for sure is the poster boy for the classic soul patch look.
Takeaway
Crafting your beard and moustache can be the most rewarding way of sculpting your face. Now that you know the right process and tools, we are sure that you will be able to create your own version of the soul patch beard style. Whether it is a fun escape or a more serious gathering, your soul patch can help you make the impression you want.