The 9mm Beard: All Your Questions Answered

As part of my series on choosing the right facial hair length, I thought I’d discuss this relatively common one. The 9mm beard is often a practical choice for the everyday gentleman.

It’s relatively straightforward to maintain but does come with some important considerations. 

My favorite trimmers of the moment come with a 9mm size setting or attachment. That makes this length a convenient choice indeed. 

For instance, the Brio Beardscape has proven to be a widespread favorite among beard enthusiasts. I’ll talk more about it later. But just know that it comes with a 9mm size guard and therefore can be called a “9mm beard trimmer”. Click here to check it out on Amazon.

Plus, you can check out my most recommended beard trimming and grooming tools of the year in this article.

I’m about to go through what a 9mm beard looks like and how long it takes to achieve, before teaching you how to trim and maintain it. 

What Does A 9mm Beard Look Like?

It is technically considered a “short beard”, and long enough to be considered substantial as opposed to stubble. 

At this length, you may notice that the patchiness of the early short beard has started to fill itself out. On the other hand, you may still find it’s still too short to really be considered out of the “awkward phase”.

If so, it’s probably a better idea to grow it out a couple of millimeters longer to see if this helps. 

A beard where the average length is 9mm looks like the picture below. As you can see, this classic 9mm beard style is a solid choice for men looking to dip their toes into beardedness but aren’t keen to go full-on yet. 

How Long Does It Take To Grow A 9mm Beard?

On average, it takes around 3 to 4 weeks. Of course, the rate of growth may vary from one man to another. But this is usually what I see. 

If you’re looking to trim down to 9mm, grow your beard out for 5 weeks to be safe.

This way, you can confidently attach your 9mm size guard and start trimming down, knowing there’s enough length there to work with. 

There isn’t ever a good way of estimating your average facial hair length at any given time. The best course of action is usually to make an educated guess and see whether you’re able to catch hairs with a specific size guard. 

Benefits Of The 9mm Beard

It may sound unusual to list benefits for such a specific facial hair length, but I stand by them after having adopted this length myself for a while. 

1. It usually looks full and doesn’t itch much

For me, the 10mm mark is usually the point at which the “awkward phase” truly takes effect. Patchiness and itchiness take hold for a short while. 

This is often a point where men reach for their electric shaver and undo all their work. They just don’t think it’s worth it. 

But I find that at the 9mm mark is just before that point. It’s in a sweet spot where the hair is long enough to flesh out bare patches, but not as prickly or itchy. 

2. It’s versatile

At this length, there aren’t many events, occasions, meetings, or other contexts you couldn’t slip in and out of without drawing much attention. 

Although I’m a huge fan and occasional wearer of the long beard, I’d be lying if I said it was considered “acceptable” absolutely everywhere. I think it should be, but unfortunately, not everyone does. 

For example, a long beard wouldn’t exactly be welcomed in the military or an investment bank.

Also, there are those professions where a long beard may be considered unsafe, such as firefighting. 

To cut a long story short, this length is simple enough for you to not have to worry about what your job interviewer might think of it.

It’s also long enough for you to be able to style it in more ways than you might initially think possible. Importantly, it’s also long enough to actually be considered a real beard. 

An Excellent 9mm Beard Trimmer

I did mention it earlier, but it’s worth discussing in a little more detail, considering this may be what a lot of you are actually looking for. 

The Brio Beardscape is a powerful machine with five speed settings, a beautiful LCD, and exceptionally comfortable ceramic blades. It just happens to come with a 9mm size guard, which is fantastic. 

If you’re interested, click here to take a deeper look on Amazon.

There are enough size guards for you to be able to vary the length in different parts of your beard if you so wish. 

Let’s talk through how you can use a trimmer such as this to trim the perfect, classic 9mm beard style. 

The 9mm Beard Trim In 4 Simple Steps

This is a step-by-step routine for trimming a basic 9mm beard with hair on the chin, cheeks, and mustache. 

The main priority is keeping it neat, with an even trim and carefully defined borders.

Any fancy stuff you want to do should wait until you have these core principles down. 

1. Grow it out longer

Like I mentioned earlier, you should be confident that you have enough length to trim down to 9mm from. 

5 weeks is a safe bet, as you’ll most likely have at least 10mm worth of beard hair to work with by this point. 

2. Trim it down to 9mm

Attach the 9mm size guard to your beard trimmer. If your trimmer doesn’t come with this length, choose the closest one you have that’s shorter. 

Start trimming all over. Begin with the chin and the mustache areas because they’re usually thicker. This way you have the option of leaving the hair a little longer over the cheeks to make the beard look more even overall. 

Keep the skin gently taut to avoid nicks and cuts, as well as to ensure you catch those trickier hairs. 

Vary the angle of the trimmer to make sure you’re going up, down, left, and right. Unfortunately, beard hairs tend to grow in all sorts of directions. You’ll want to “attack from every angle”, so to speak. 

3. Define the borders

Defining a proper neckline is essential. At this beard length, neck stubble is noticeable, and rarely appreciated. It can look very shabby indeed. 

The neckline refers to the border between the beard and the neck skin. You want to set one which isn’t too high and isn’t too low. 

1. Visualize a curve that runs from earlobe to earlobe, passing through a point two-finger widths above your Adam’s Apple. 
2. Make sure it slants upwards in either direction so that it roughly follows the angle of the jawline. 
3. Trim this line using the naked blade of your trimmer, and then everything underneath it. 
4. Go over it again with a razor or shaver to make sure you don’t leave any neck stubble behind. 

The cheek line is the border between your cheek hair and your cheek skin. To keep it simple, just follow your natural cheek line and shave any stray hairs that lie above it. 

4. Moisturize

As with any trimming or shaving session, it should always end with rubbing on some moisturizer. This should soothe any irritation you’ve caused with those blades. 

Good skin is an essential aspect of beard grooming – never forget. 

If you wanted to take it to the next level, apply some beard oil for extra nourishment and an irresistible scent. 

Honest Amish is my favorite beard oil at the moment. Click here to check it out on Amazon.

Conclusion

Although it isn’t particularly difficult, grooming this beard length still requires some effort. But the results usually more than compensate for it. 

Hopefully, you’ve got a much better understanding of it. What it looks like, how long it’ll take, how to maintain it, and more.