How To Maintain Sideburns
When it comes to balancing facial features, sideburns are pretty important. So, to avoid doing a botched job and ending up looking like an advert for bad sideburns, we’re on hand with everything you need to know on how to maintain your sideburns.
While you may leave it to the professionals when you get your hair cut, they may require a little touch up in-between visits. Out of control sideburns and an unruly neckline are straight-up giveaways that your fresh hair cut isn’t actually all that fresh. If you follow our guide to grooming, you’ll be left with perfectly polished sideburns.
How To Trim Your Sideburns
Everyone’s hair growth pattern is different, so, there’s no rule concerning how frequently you should be trimming your sideburns. Generally speaking, if you have wide, fuller sideburns you’ll probably need to trim them less than someone who has thin and tapered sideburns. If you’re struggling to decide when is a good time to trim them, it’s when they begin to look fluffed out. Rather than letting them get out of control, it’s best to keep on top of them as it leaves less room for error.
Here are some golden rules to consider before you get too carried out with the clippers:
- Under no circumstances should you cut your sideburns higher than the point of which the top of your ear attaches to your head. It will look terrible.
- Thin, longer sideburns will make your face appear longer, while thicker ones will do the opposite and make it appear wider. If you have an oval-shaped face, cutting your sideburns a little shorter can help to achieve a more balanced look.
- Always trim your sideburns that they’re even with each other, rather than your ears. You may not have noticed it, but most people’s ears can be a little off-balance, therefore, if you use them as your guide, it may result in crooked sideburns.
Time To Bite The Bullet
Now that we’ve covered the ground rules, you’re ready to take the plunge. If you follow these simple steps, the chances are you’ll get it right.
- Ensure that your sideburns are clean and free of product.
- Neatly comb through your sideburns, ensuring that you follow the direction of growth – which is typically downwards.
- Be sure to use a guard on your trimmer so that you can choose your preferred length.
- Now that you’re all prepped, you need to hold the trimmer vertically so that it’s facing you as you trim your sideburns in a downward motion. Remember less is always more, you can take more off, but you can’t stick it back on, so go steady!
- Next up, you’ll need to comb your sideburns back and gently trim away any hairs that extend past your natural hairline.
- To finish, trim the bottom edge in a straight line. If you want extreme precision, you can always do this with a wet safety razor.
- If you’re feeling fancy, you can always pop on a little hair oil or some leave-in condition to nourish the hair and leave it looking healthy.
Once you’re done, be sure to look directly into the mirror and ensure that they’re symmetrical.
The Golden Questions
Q: How long should sideburns be?
A: Over the years, sideburn trends have wavered a lot. From virtually non-existent to unkept and wild, it can be hard to know what’s right and wrong. To keep things simple, in terms of length, sideburns look best when they rest mid-ear. However, with that said, it can vary from each individual depending on their hairstyle. Generally speaking, sideburns should always be longer than they are wide for a clean, polished appearance.
Q: Are there rules to matching haircut to sideburns?
A: If you have a neat, short haircut then your sideburns should be clean-cut and well maintained. Whereas if you have a shaggy, unkempt hairstyle, you can get away with allowing your sideburns to run a little wilder. A foolproof option is to follow the style your barber goes for during the original haircut.
Q: How often should I trim my sideburns?
A: There’s no definitive answer to this question. You simply need to maintain them to suit your personal growth pattern. Generally, when sideburns become a little fluffed up, it’s time to reach for the clippers.
Although it’s always nice to head to the barbers for a trim, if you become a dab hand at trimming your sideburns yourself, you can save yourself both time and money. Taking the time to maintain your sideburns often means that you can get away with leaving longer between your trips to the barbers.
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