Short Boxed Beard Styles: How To Grow, Style & Trim For Your Face Shape

Boxed beards are neatly trimmed alternatives to Full Beards. They’re a suitable option for those who want a classic beard style but have an aversion to the Full Beard’s excessive volume.

Boxed beards are closely cropped, sculpted and groomed with the hair’s natural growth. The result is a neat beard style that complements a variety of haircuts and occasions.

The reasons for choosing a Boxed beard over a Full Beard can vary. Not only are they versatile, but they are suitable for most workplace environments. The neat finish permits the wearer to fit into conservative settings where more extravagant styles can be frowned upon.

Furthermore, Boxed styles use the face’s natural hairlines for contours, heighten the wearer’s angular features without resorting to excessive styling. The low cheek line exposes and elevates the cheekbones, which provides emphasis.

A touch of volume strengthens and highlights the jawline. Nevertheless, reduced styling is not synonymous with reduced grooming.

The defined contours and groomed growth require frequent touching up. This may be between three to four times a week. Although the boxed beard complements the natural hairlines by design, grooming it properly requires a little skill.

Growing A Boxed Beard

Boxed beards can be achieved with as little as two weeks of facial hair. However, the best results are achieved after about four weeks to maximise overall facial hair growth, which is then trimmed down.

Boxed beards require prior knowledge of identifying the cheek and necklines. However, what sets the Boxed Beards apart from their fuller counterparts is that both of these are significantly reduced.

The cheek line of a boxed beard comes with two options. The High Boxed cheek line runs down the Sideburns, curves at the base of the ears and meets the corners of the mouth. On the other hand, the Low Boxed cheek line, which is typically found on short boxed beards, curves below the ears and meets the top of the chin.

Meanwhile, the neckline is much higher on both long and short boxed beards styles than full beards. Hair growth is trimmed half an inch (1.25 cm) below the jawline and runs parallel to the cheek line. It widens under the chin to 1 to 1.5 to inches (2.5 – 3.5 cm) of growth to avoid the appearance of a double chin.

As you can see in the images above, there are two distinctive types of boxed beard. Firstly, the short boxed beard style will usually have sharp contours and well-defined lines. Meanwhile, longer boxed beards are still neatly trimmed but favour a more natural beard look.

Both are excellent options if you’re looking to try new facial hair styles. However, you can refer to our face shape guide below to understand what may suit you best.

How To Trim a Boxed Beard

As long as you’re equipped with the proper tools, trimming a box beard is an easy process. We recommend that you have at least the following to ensure that your boxed beard is well-groomed:

• Beard Trimmer
• Shavette or Safety Razor
• Beard Brush
• Beard Balm

If you’re missing any of them, simply use the links above to head to our guides where we recommend the best brands. They also open in new tabs so you won’t lose your place here!

To trim a boxed beard, simply use the following steps:

1. Reduce the height of the cheek lines with a razor while leaving the sideburns quite wide.
2. Use the razor blade or a trimmer to define sloping contours from the Sideburns to the cheek lines.
3. Remove any growth around the Adam’s apple.
4. Define an oval contour with a razor that neatly follows 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5-3.5 cm) below the jawline.
5. Shave away any remaining hair around the neck.
6. Neaten the moustache and soul patch area by trimming or shaving down.

If this will be your first time trimming a Boxed beard, don’t expect perfect results. However, your skills will drastically improve with very little practice. Furthermore, you may have noticed that we suggested both a shavette and a safety razor.

While safety razors are easier to use, shavettes are like straight razors but with disposable blades. Therefore, you benefit from the added precision thanks to a visible blade. However, they’re not as high maintenance as a straight razor.

If you really struggle to get decent reults, have the first trim done by an expert. The advantage of barber’s touch is that he or she will be able to scrutinise the beard from every angle for an expert finish. As the hair grows back, it becomes far easier to maintain and adjust the beard’s contours.

Finally, brush your beard frequently to keep the hairs healthy with a nice, glossy shine. You can use a balm to nourish the follicles and prevent them from getting dry or wiry.

Will A Boxed Beard Suit My Face Shape?

Being one of the most versatile facial hairstyles, the Boxed beard along with the Full beard, is compatible with any face shape as long as it has been properly groomed. To optimise its styling for yours, identify your face shape among the 7 different shapes we’ve catalogued.

Diamond Face Shapes

Diamond faces can either use a low cheek line to highlight their sharp features or a high one to soften them. However, be careful not to go too long with low cheek lines as this will create a gaunt effect. Generally, we suggest that diamond faces opt for a more natural beard look to avoid chiselling their features.

Heart Face Shapes

Heart face shapes can maximise the potential of either low or high cheek line heights to strengthen their weak chin and jawline. Some added growth around the chin can also aid this effect. Overall, a longer and natural beard look would be better than a boxed beard style.

Oblong Face Shapes

Boxed beards can be exploited by Oblong face shapes to chisel out their features, which widens, squares and shortens the face. Indeed, a short boxed beard style would be a great option for avoiding too much length but adding texture.

Oval Face Shapes

Oval face shapes have the luxury of few pitfalls with this beard style. It suits them wonderfully but care should be made to keep it balanced.

Round Face Shape

Round face shapes can greatly benefit from a short boxed beard style to render their face squarer. The use of a low cheek line and sharp contours can provide extra definition and strengthen their soft features.

Square Face Shapes

Square face shapes fare very well with Boxed beards. Nevertheless, we recommend avoiding a short boxed beard style and opting for softer contours to blend in the features for a fuzzier and textured finish.

Triangle Face Shapes

Triangle shaped face can try a beard look with high cheeklines to apply texture and redistribute their jawline up to their cheekbones.

What Next?

Now that you have read about how to grow a boxed beard, check out some of our related guides:

• Top 10 Best Beard Trimmers
• More Beard Styles
• Best Beard Oil To Use
• How To Grow & Trim A Beard
• Moustache Guides
• Hairstyle Guides
• Bespoke Unit Grooming Home