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The 2-Inch Beard: Length, Styles, Guard, Trimmer

August 5, 2023
The 2-Inch Beard: Length, Styles, Guard, Trimmer

It’s a serious length. Once you get to this point, you’re really not messing around. When you get this far, there’s a good chance you probably know what you’re doing. Here’s what you need to know about the 2-inch beard. 

It’s a length where you constantly worry about messing it up. 

One slip of the wrist and those scissors are potentially snipping through weeks and weeks of growth. 

But with the right habits and techniques, you can nurture that beard through the 2-inch beard and beyond. 

You need to know what it looks like, what styles you can rock with this length, and how to maintain it. 

Anyway, enough chat. Let’s get to it. 

How Long Does It Take To Grow A 2-Inch Beard? 

Given that the average rate of beard growth is around ½ inch per month, you could estimate that it would take around 4 months to grow a 2-inch beard

The 2-inch beard is 50mm long and would be considered either a medium-length beard or a long beard depending on who you ask. 

Of course, the rate of beard growth varies a lot among men. Some men will reach this glorious landmark before others. 

If you take a little longer don’t stress about it. 

Focus more on adopting good beard grooming habits as you progress toward the length. 

Longer beards such as this do carry with them some additional maintenance requirements you need to keep up with. I’ll be talking through them a bit later on. 

But first, let’s talk through some awesome styles a man can pull off with 2-inches worth of facial hair.

3 Fantastic 2-Inch Beard Styles 

The beauty of having 4 months’ growth to play with is that you’ve got options. Having length gives you options. 

When you’re dealing with heavy stubble, for instance, you don’t have a huge number of styles to choose from. 

But with a 2-inch beard, you’ve got quite the selection. Here are a few you should consider: 

1. Natural And Full 2-Inch Beard

From Shutterstock

Here’s one that’s hard to ignore. 

It’s about as simple as a 2-inch beard can get, with minimal styling and a focus on simplicity. 

The mustache blends neatly and subtly into the rest of the beard without any fancy stuff. 

That’s not to say that it doesn’t need to be sculpted and kept neat. Nor does it mean that it doesn’t look bold or attention-grabbing. 

The beard is brushed downward and the bottom is often rounded off. It’s this neatly-sculpted, simple finish that gives it a lot of character. 

2. A 2-Inch Van Dyke

goatee and van dyke
From 123RF

Here’s one that definitely draws attention. It’s bold, it’s in-your-face, and it’s fun. 

The Van Dyke is a variation of the goatee. As with any other goatee style, there is hair on the chin but not on the cheeks. 

It’s a disconnected goatee style because the chin beard and mustache are not attached to each other. 

What sets it apart from other goatee styles is mainly the mustache. It’s almost always curled upward into a Handlebar. 

Handlebars and goatees work so well together. 

The chin beard is usually left pointed. 

It’s a beard style that’s great to style out of 2 inches of length. There’s enough there to get some serious length at the chin and some serious curling of the Handlebar mustache. 

Plus, goatee styles are great for men with 2-inch beards that are quite patchy at the cheeks. 

Patchy cheek hair is a common problem. After four months of growth, there’s a good chance that many men would have filled their patchiness out. 

But unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. 

If you do find that cheek patchiness is a problem, consider styling a goatee style such as the Van Dyke. It completely removes the need for thick cheek hair by removing the cheek hair altogether. 

That thin, wispy hair is simply shaved off. 

3. Full Beard With Handlebar

From 123RF

Why not blend the two styles above? 

It’s a fuller beard style than a goatee variation like the Van Dyke, with lush hair on the cheeks as well. 

For men blessed with thick growth on the cheeks, this may be a very appealing alternative. 

As you probably noticed, it sets itself apart from a regular natural and full beard with the addition of a Handlebar. 

It’s probably the highest maintenance option out of all three styles because you’ve got the maintenance requirements of a full beard with the styling requirements of a Handlebar. 

Unlike the Van Dyke, you don’t have the benefit of there being no hair to worry about on the cheeks. 

The Van Dyke may be bolder and more attention-grabbing. This style is a better option looking for a way to stand out in a subtler way.  

Maintenance Tips For The 2-Inch Beard

No matter what style you go for, maintenance and proper grooming habits are key to nurturing an impressive 2-inch beard. 

It may not be ultra-long, but it’s definitely long enough to benefit from a rigorous and well thought out grooming regimen. 

Here are some maintenance tips that will always serve you well. 

1. Oil Is Your Friend

Let’s talk about beard oil first. 

This is artificial oil often containing argan oil or jojoba oil, designed to nurture and nourish beard hair by moisturizing and softening it together with the underlying skin. 

You can get scented or unscented beard oils, depending on your preference. Scented ones are great because of the variety of aromas you could potentially switch between when you’re looking for a change. 

Even men with heavy stubble would benefit from beard oil. When you’ve got a medium-long beard you really need to be using it. 

How much beard oil you should be using does depend on beard length. 

A small amount of evenly-distributed oil will give the beard a nice, healthy-looking shine. 

2. Wash But Don’t Overwash

This leads on nicely from the last point. 

Beard hygiene is crucial, particularly when you’ve got a whole 2 inches worth of hair to groom. There’s a surprising amount of grime that can accumulate. 

In men who generally produce more oil, or simply work around strong odors (eg. chefs, mechanics), this is even more important. 

However, overwashing your beard risks drying it out. As I mentioned earlier, you want to strike a fine balance here and not remove too much of those natural oils. 

Wash your beard with water only at least once a day. 

But don’t shampoo it more than once or twice a week. It’ll dry out the beard and over time will cause it to look weak and lifeless. 

Remember, although it may be tempting, don’t use hair shampoo on your beard. Although it may look and feel the same, it isn’t. 

It’s often harsh – too harsh for beard hair and facial skin. 

3. Boar Bristles Are Essential

Once you’ve got 3-4 weeks worth of growth, start brushing. Brush with purpose and enthusiasm. You’ll be much better off for it. 

What we’re talking about here are boar bristle beard brushes. Nothing synthetic – these will do more harm than good. 

Boar bristles are pretty similar in texture to beard hair and will move easily through it without much tugging at all. 

Brush daily – starting doing this early

Here’s what it’ll do. 

It’ll train the beard to grow the way you want it to. Beard hair often grows in different directions and it’ll feel difficult to tame. 

But brushing downward and to the chin will, over time, train the beard to grow the way you want it to. It’ll look neater, flatter, and straighter. 

It’s also great for distributing those natural oils across the beard, preventing it from accumulating in parts and causing clumping/greasiness. 

4. It’s Long Enough To Comb

Buying a comb when the beard isn’t long enough to benefit from one is a common reason for wasting money early on. 

Wait until you have around 8 weeks’ worth of growth before getting one. 

So, a 2-inch beard would definitely be long enough to benefit from it. 

The reason for this is that the deeper parts of the beard will start to tangle. These can be difficult to deal with by brushing because the bristles of a brush aren’t as long as the teeth of a comb. 

Comb teeth are better suited to digging into the depths of the beard and detangling those tangles. 

Combs are also better than brushes at styling. As your beard gets longer, your style choices get wider. 

Styles such as the ones I listed earlier will need a comb running through them regularly to keep them in place. 

Combs are better for this.

Plus, they’re handy. Combs are great tools to carry around with you on the go. As your beard grows longer, you’ll want a grooming tool that’s portable and easy to carry to work or out to a restaurant, etc. 

If you’ve got a few hairs sticking out and refusing to fall in line, running a comb through it whenever you get a free moment is a good way to stay looking presentable. 

5. Find Your Ideal Styling Product

There are so many styling products out there right now and it can be overwhelming to get to grips with all of them. 

They aren’t all the same, but they all try to achieve the same thing (more or less). 

What they’re designed for is to give your beard a bit of extra support. Yes, brushing, combing, and oiling will help to keep the beard looking tidy. 

But once you’ve got 2 inches of growth, there’s a good chance you may need some product to really keep things in place throughout the day. 

The product you choose will depend on how complicated the style you’re looking to achieve is, as well as how stubborn and untidy your beard is to begin with. 

More complex styles and coarser, untidier beards may need a product with a stronger level of hold. 

Beard wax has a strong level of hold but can feel quite heavy when applied. 

Beard balm, on the other hand, is lighter and more comfortable to apply. It may not have as much hold as beard wax, but it is often enough for simply keeping stray hairs flat. 

Beard butter has a creamier and more moisturizing consistency. Again, it’s quite light and not as overbearing as beard wax. 

It’s worth considering these facts when choosing a product for yourself. 

Try stuff out, but don’t go crazy with it. It can be easy to get carried away with products. It’s more important to really get to grips with proper brushing and combing technique, with products simply being used as a supplement to this. 

Do 2-Inch Beard Trimmer Guards Exist? 

If you want a 2-inch beard trimmer you’ll need a #16 clipper guard. 

Most hair clippers will not come with a #16 guard because it’s so long. However, there are clip-on guards you can buy that will fit onto commonly used hair clippers. 

Here’s a #16 clipper guard (Amazon Link) that fits full-size Wahl clippers. If you’ve got one, you’re in business. 

If you’ve got a different brand of hair clippers, it’s worth browsing the net to find one that might fit your specific brand. 

Make sure it will fit before you buy, however. 

It’s worth mentioning that most “beard trimmers” will not allow you to trim this long. Beard trimmers are better for trimming and edging short beards. 

You’ll need a pair of hair clippers to really get the job done. 

Conclusion

There you have it. Hopefully, everything you could possibly want to know about this glorious beard length. 

You’ve learned what it looks like, what you can do with it, and how to groom it in the most effective way possible. 

Enjoy.