6 Ways A Beard Makeover Can Totally Change A Guy's Look

Subtle changes that make a big difference.

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Beards are totally a thing.

If you have one, you recognize the beard's power to literally transform your face.

But beards also tend to grow fast, and sometimes they can be difficult to maintain. And while a rugged look is cool, what about the times when you need a more polished, groomed face, but still want to keep your facial hair?

We worked with several stylists at the Martial Vivot salon in New York to get some tips on how to maintain a great beard no matter what style/length you have.

Martial Vivot / Via martialvivot.com

What you'll need:

* a beard trimmer

* comb

* scissors

* tweezers

* beard oil (optional, but strongly encouraged)

Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

We asked six BuzzFeed men to get a beard makeover — here's what they learned.

Ahmed's beard is thick and tends to grow ridiculously fast:

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Ahmed's beard is pretty full and lush, he says — it's intensely thick, dark, and a lot of fun to play with.

What the stylists did: Prior to Ahmed's beard makeover, it was growing pretty wide. The stylists trimmed it on all sides, removing excess hair to elongate his face and slim it down.

It was also important to pay attention to the mustache area.

Ahmed's stylist Losi took his mustache down some, but she didn't trim all the way up to the lip. Just focus on removing the stray hairs that can often get in the mouth. If you comb and then use scissors it shouldn't be difficult to take away the stray hairs.

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Mark's beard is versatile and can take on many shapes and sizes:

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Mark is one of the lucky ones. He can pretty much do anything with his beard because of its uniform thickness.

What the stylists did: Mark has a very versatile, dense, full beard. If you have a beard similar to his and want to get away from the standard look, place the focus on your mustache. The stylists used a beard trimmer to reduce the sides, making sure to pay attention to the symmetry of his face. They left more length at his mustache.

Then the stylists used scissors to take away stray hairs and finished up with a beard oil to moisturize and calm strays.

For extra fun: Use a wax or paste to curl the ends for a more distinct, cool look.

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

For those of you that have an oval face like Mark, also make sure to pay attention to hair under the chin and around the neck area. Using a shaver to remove excess hair around this area can be the difference between a clean, polished look and a more rugged look.

Clark wanted to try softening up his beard:

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Clark usually maintains his beard at home.

What the stylists did: When Clark first came in, his hair was over his forehead. His stylist Katie immediately pushed it away from his face to create a more distinct look. When your hair comes down into your face it has a tendency to shorten your face, she said. Styling upward elongates and slims the face.

If you have a beard like Clark's, make sure to pay attention to the areas where the beard begins to form on the cheek and the chin area. Instead of forming an aggressive shaping along the cheek, Katie focused on softening the lines. She said that if you go for harsh lines, you'll see your hair will grow out faster.

To maintain clean, soft lines use a trimmer instead of a razor.

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

With Matt's beard he proved that big isn't always better:

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Matt's beard fluctuates between long and short. It was long when he came in, so the stylists decided to give him a more dramatic look.

What the stylists did: Since Matt's beard was long, they decided to reduce it dramatically. They used a beard trimmer to take it down several inches and also lightened up his mustache. They finished things off with a shaver around his neck to take away the stray hairs.

So if you want a beard like Matt's, instead of shaving it, buzz it with a trimmer.

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

For Kevin's patchy beard he kept it thick, but clean:

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Kevin has a pretty long beard in the front, but one side is longer/more uneven than the other side.

What the stylists did: Kevin likes to keep his beard as long and "free" as possible. But sometimes it can look a little scraggly. So instead of reducing the length, his stylist Martial trimmed it down a bit to make it more even all around. The look wasn't an extremely dramatic change, but it did help to clean things up and make it look neater.

Kevin uses beard oil daily because his hair is coarse and thick. This helps to tame stray hairs and keep it feeling soft. It was also important to pay attention to the hair above his lip and below his nose. The stylists just trimmed it down to reduce the length.

To maintain this look a beard trimmer with a guard is perfect and super easy to use at home.

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Ben's beard is super coarse — he wanted to keep it longer, but clean it up:

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Ben likes keeping his beard full. He typically maintains it himself using just a trimmer.

For Ben, bigger was better. He goes for a more robust look.

What the stylists did: They wanted to keep Ben's beard as long as possible and maintain the symmetry. So they used a trimmer to take it down just a bit and clean up all the stray hairs. They finished things off with scissors just for added precision, and a beard oil to keep it moisturized and soft.

To maintain this look, once you've reached your desired length, just use a beard trimmer to keep it clean. Make sure to pay special attention to your neck, just above the Adam's apple, as that area can tend to get a little wild.

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Jon Premosch / Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

Special thanks to the Martial Vivot salon in Manhattan, New York.

Stylists:

Martial Vivot

Losi

Ricardo Garcia

Katy Walsh