Goatees And Face Shape: Everything You Need To Know

It’s no secret that face shape plays a huge role in determining the style choices of fashion-conscious men. Hairstyles, sunglasses, hats, etc. 

Your choice of goatee is no different and you’re about to learn why. This article will show you exactly how to pick the right goatee for your face shape like a consummate professional. 

We’ll talk through some of the common face shapes that other grooming blogs tend to hold as gospel. But if you were to take one thing away from it all I want it to be this; most men do not fall into a specific “face shape category”. 

We’ll talk more about that later. Focus more on the underlying concepts and principles, and less on trying to label your face a certain “shape”. 

Trust me, after this blog post you’ll have a much better idea of how to use the structure of your face to select a glorious goatee style best suited to it. 

2 Important Features Of Face Shape For Goatee Choice

The two most important elements of face shape for choosing a goatee style are as follows: 

• Length of the face 
• Strength of the chin

Before you move on to labeling your face a “square” or an “oval”, which might not be as helpful, just ask yourself those two things. 

1. Assess the length of your face

Are you able to say with certainty that you have a “long” face? This may be obvious, and it’s quite heavily dependent on the length of the chin. 

The reason this is important is that “goatee” is an umbrella term used to define any style where there is hair on the chin but not on the cheeks. Having hair so concentrated and focused on the chin does have the effect of elongating the chin. 

Cheek hair would have the effect of broadening the face out and balancing the chin hair. But with goatees, there’s simply no cheek hair to do it. 

So if you’ve already got a longer face, you’d have to be more careful about the style of goatee you choose. More specifically, you should be careful about the length and the pointiness of the goatee you choose. 

Men with longer faces would do well to choose a goatee that is short – even stubble. Whereas men with “shorter” faces usually look better with longer, pointier goatees. 

As a rule-of-thumb, a good aim would be to make your face look more oval-shaped overall. This is generally considered the most desirable outcome. 

2. Assess the strength of your chin

The choice of goatee style can be important for men with weak chins. Strength of the chin is different to length of the face. That’s because a man with a “long face” can still have a weak chin. It’s just that most of the length is above the level of the chin. 

The beauty of facial hair is that it can add depth and fullness to parts of the face we want to strengthen. Plus, it does this in the easiest and quickest way imaginable. It’s an easy win. 

Even if all you want to do is camouflage and cover it with hair, facial hair is a great option. 

Having a thicker, longer goatee adds depth and fullness to the chin, making it look instantly stronger and sturdier. 

How To Find Out Your Face Shape

It would be perfectly reasonable to just look at the diagram above and pick one which best resembles your face. It’s important not to overthink things. 

But if you wanted to get fancy with it, here’s how you use facial measurements to give you a more precise answer. It’s based on a FashionBeans article (source).

Using a tape measure, record the following measurements: 

1. Cheekbone distance: The distance between the highest point of your cheekbones
2. Jawline length: The length of your jawline – measure from the tip of the chin to one earlobe, then multiply it by two
3. Forehead to chin: The distance between the top of your forehead and the tip of your chin
4. Forehead length: The distance between the outer edge of one eyebrow and the out edge of the other

After you’ve got these lengths, you’ll be able to fit yourself into a shape category. To make it easy, I’ve split them into “long” and “short/ round” shapes. At the end of the day, that’s what really matters when choosing a goatee style. 

There are other shapes sometimes mentioned which I haven’t listed below, such as “diamond” and “heart” shapes. 

But these are quite niche and not as helpful, in my opinion. The vast majority of people do fall into one of the more broad categories I’ve mentioned. It’s always best not to overcomplicate things.

Long Shapes

Rectangle – This is quite an easy one to spot. Men with rectangular faces have to be particularly careful about their goatee selection. The Forehead-To-Chin measurement is longest, with the other three measurements quite similar. 

Triangular – The jawline length is greater than the cheekbone distance. The cheekbone distance is greater than the forehead length. 

Oval – Typically considered the most “desirable” face shape, in theory it shouldn’t fall into either category. Men who are blessed with this face shape usually have the benefit of choosing whatever goatee style they want. The Forehead-t0-chin measurement is greater than the cheekbone distance. The forehead length is greater than the jawline length.

Short Or Round Shapes

Round – This is another easy one to spot. A typical feature is that the jawline isn’t as defined. The cheekbone distance and forehead-to-chin distance are similar in length. They are longer than the forehead distance and the jawline length. 

Square – This can be hard to differentiate from a round face. But unlike the round face, the four measurements are quite equal. 

You may have found it helpful to find out what face shape category you fall into. If not, don’t worry. Simple using the two factors I listed above – length of face and strength of chin – you’ll be able to select a very solid goatee for yourself. 

Now it’s time to decide which goatee style is best suited for your face shape. 

Goatees For Short/Round Face Shapes And Weak Chins

After hours of meditative thought and furious beard stroking, you may have determined that your face shape falls into this category. If you have, you’re actually at an advantage here. 

Goatees work great for people lucky enough to be in this category. They can contour the face very nicely, giving it structure and definition. They can also add depth, fullness, and length to the chin. 

Here are some great styles for you to try out. Enjoy. 

1. Goatee With Chinstrap

This is a fantastic hybrid style. The chinstrap is a strip of hair that runs from earlobe to earlobe, along the length of the jawline. When worn on its own, it doesn’t have the best reputation. 

However, when combined with a goatee it can look fantastic. Of course, it has the benefits of adding length to the face and chin. But the added chinstrap also has the benefit of contouring and adding definition to the jawline. 

For men within this category, this may be a dream come true. The style is becoming increasingly popular and for good reason. 

I’ve written a full article on the goatee with chinstrap if you’re interested. 

 2. The Full Goatee

This is vintage. An absolute classic that grew popular in the 1990s and doesn’t seem to have slowed down since. It could be argued that this style is what most people think of when they hear the term “goatee”. 

It’s very simple – a chin beard and mustache connected and encircling the mouth. There’s no hair on the cheeks and the neckline is well-defined. 

The style is also fairly simple to trim and maintain. The most important considerations are ensuring that the goatee sides have a natural curve and that the overall shape is symmetrical. Compared with the Goatee With Chinstrap, there’s quite a lot less to do. 

 3. The Van Dyke

This should always be considered a goatee variant because it fully meets the criteria – a style with hair on the chin but not on the cheeks. 

It oozes sophistication and works incredibly well for more formal occasions. It’s an attention-grabbing, head-turning piece for the more dapper of gentlemen. 

The defining features of this style are a mustache curled into a Handlebar, and a chin beard trimmed into a pointed shape. The chin beard is usually sculpted into a downward-facing triangle. 

The pointed chin beard is phenomenal for adding length to the chin, as you’d expect. But it’s the Handlebar mustache that really makes the style pop. It isn’t as common, although is certainly increasing in popularity. 

Here’s a full article on the Van Dyke vs the goatee if you wanted to check it out. 

 4. The Long Goatee

It would be foolish to not include this goatee style as a recommendation for long face shapes. 

The Long Goatee does exactly what it says on the tin – it lengthens. The easiest way to elongate the face is to simply grow the goatee longer. Grow it long, letting it flow majestically downward like an intensely masculine waterfall. 

A Long Goatee does come with additional maintenance requirements such as oiling, brushing, and combing if it’s long enough. This doesn’t bother men very much. 

A lot of beardsmen tend to enjoy grooming their beard, nurturing it as though it were a beloved pet. 

This is definitely one to consider if you’re truly in it for the long haul. 

Best Goatees For Long Face Shapes

If you’ve determined that you have a longer face shape, the goatee style you choose should reflect that. 

In general, the main risk you run is that you elongate the chin further by adding a long or pointed goatee. Because of this, the less goatee hair you have in terms of both length and distribution, the better. Goatees are generally more suited to rounder or shorter faces. 

Having said that, here are two goatee styles you could make work. 

1. Stubble Goatee

This isn’t to be confused with the goatee with stubble which consists of a goatee of any length, together with stubble on the cheeks. 

The Stubble Goatee is generally a Full Goatee with a connected mustache and chin beard encircling the mouth. What differentiates this style is, as the name would suggest, the length of the hair. 

The goatee is of stubble length, which generally refers to facial hair that is less than 5mm long. Stubble goatees are extremely popular and very modern. 

In fact, a lot of the goatees worn by celebrities such as athletes and actors would technically be classed as “stubble” in terms of length. 

The goatee length works for long face shapes because it does very little to alter the shape of the face. The hair is just too short to make a significant difference. However, it still has the contouring and stylistic benefits of a goatee. 

2. Chin Puff

A Chin Puff is a neat little beard style that consists of a strip of hair on the chin. It works for men with long faces even though you may initially think it would elongate the chin. 

The reason it doesn’t elongate the face is that it isn’t pointy. It’s simply a strip between the soul patch (the small patch of hair immediately below the lower lip) and the tip of the chin. 

Although it usually stands alone, the chin puff can work well with a mustache like in the picture above. That one may look similar to a Van Dyke because of the Handlebar, but it’s the chin beard that differentiates it here. 

The Chin Puff is worth considering, particularly if you’d prefer a more traditional style. 

Conclusion

Selecting a goatee style to suit your specific face shape shouldn’t take up too much of your time. Once again, overthinking can be painful when it comes to facial hair grooming. In some ways, it takes away the fun of it. 

Hopefully, this article has made it much simpler. Always keep it simple, and remember that experimentation is key when it comes to goatees. Try out different styles and different lengths until you find one you absolutely love. Don’t stop until you reach that point. 

There’s a goatee style that’s perfect your face out there – it’s just a matter of finding it.