How To Easily Get The Bald With Stubble Look

The bald with stubble style has become an increasingly popular way for bald men to accentuate their features. 

The look typically consists of a fully shaved head with a classic stubble beard.

You’re about to learn exactly why all bald men should consider growing stubble.

Then, we’ll talk through exactly how to style the bald with stubble look step-by-step. 

By the way, to see a list of my most recommended stubble grooming tools and products, check this article out too.

3 Reasons Why Bald Men Should Consider Stubble

The reasons listed below should help you decide whether or not you should take the leap into this style. Not all of them may resonate, but there’s a very high chance at least one of them will. 

1. It exudes self-confidence and masculinity

Going bald has stereotypically been thought of as a phenomenon that men dread.

The Western media has often portrayed strong, masculine figures with long, luscious locks. Fear of losing these locks in a Samson-esque fashion birthed every combover and cover-up you can think of. 

But things have changed. Extremely strong, highly masculine figures have taken ownership of the look.

Now let’s talk about stubble. Stubble beards have long been associated with a certain “neat ruggedness” when groomed properly.

2. It creates a striking contrast

There’s something quite attention-grabbing about having hair on the face but none on the scalp. It’s outside of the norm and stands out. 

Being different is bold, and being bold is attractive. If you are looking for a style that will help you stand out from the crowd, this may be perfect for you. 

3. It diverts attention

Although baldness is beautiful, it would be naive to believe that all men feel the same way. Some feel very self-conscious about their shedding locks and that should be appreciated. 

These men may be looking for a way to divert attention away from their baldness, stubble can be a helpful distraction tactic.

Having a stubble beard can draw attention away from a bald head and to the face, especially if it’s immaculately trimmed and groomed. 

How to grow and trim the bald with stubble look

It’s time to get to work. We’re going to teach you exactly how to craft a classic stubble beard to perfectly complement a wonderful bald head. 

Step 1: Grow out or trim down your stubble beard

You’ll need to decide what length of stubble you’d like. Broadly speaking, you can divide the lengths into light (1-2mm), medium (3mm) or heavy (4-5mm).

Before trimming down to this length and styling it, it’s important to start off with a workable length. This is approximately 2mm longer than the stubble length you want to end up with. 

Trimming down from this length will allow you to have more control.

If you aren’t sure what length you want to end up with, grow out your beard for around 12 – 14 days. This should give you around 6mm of beard length to work with.

Then, we can trim down gradually and see what length you prefer. 

If you already have a longer beard and want to trim it down to stubble, that’s easy. Just grab your beard trimmer and trim down to a length approximately 2mm longer than you want to end up with. Or, down to 6mm so we can start from there. 

Step 2: Trim your entire beard down

It’s now time to trim down to your stubble length of choice. 

You’ll need a beard trimmer. The reason I recommend the Philips Norelco Oneblade QP6520/70 is because it’s simple to use, yet effective. Its premium dual-edged blades cut effortlessly through even coarse hairs and allow you to edge in both directions.

Click here to check it out on Amazon.

The trimmer head follows the contours of the face, minimizing irritation and cuts. It also comes with a wide range of settings between 0.4 – 10mm, allowing for very intricate control. 

When determining how long you want your stubble to be, it’s useful to differentiate it into light (1-2mm), medium (3mm) and heavy (4-5mm). 

What you choose is down to personal preference, and also circumstance. For instance, heavy stubble may not be suitable for your particular workplace. Or you may just prefer the look of very short stubble. 

Heavy stubble works well with a bald head, giving the face a nice balance and providing an attention-grabbing contrast. But to be honest, any stubble length will work very well. 

Grab your beard trimmer. Trim down in small increments of 0.5 – 1mm and assess each time. You may know exactly what length you want to trim down to, or you may need to use this process to determine what works best for you. 

Some useful tips for when you’re trimming down your beard: 

1. Vary the angle. Go up, down, left and right. Beard hairs are notorious for growing in different directions, so going at them from multiple directions is necessary to catch as many of them as possible. 
2. Trimming against the grain will give you a more even trim.

Step 3: Blend the stubble into the bald head

This step is only relevant if you did shave your head and you’re now left with hard lines at the top of the sideburns. 

The hard lines can be quite obvious, so you’ll want to fade (taper) the edges, blending the sideburns nicely into your beautiful bald head. 

It’s important you do this very gradually because you cannot risk trimming your sideburns down too short. 

Take your beard trimmer, and trim with the grain (down your sideburns from top to bottom). You shouldn’t have to go further than halfway down your sideburns. Reduce the length settings in 0.5mm increments, and stop when you’ve achieved the length you want. 

What you want is a very gradual, faded transition from around the middle of your sideburns into the bald head. 

Step 4: Define the neckline

The neckline is the border between the neck hair and the neck. The neckline should be well-defined, with no stray hair or stubble beneath it. Not doing this can leave you with a very unkempt-looking stubble beard. 

We’ve discussed how to trim a stubble neckline here, but to summarize: 

1. Tilt your head up and assess your neck stubble. 
2. Find your Adam’s apple
3. Place your second and third fingers horizontally on top of your Adam’s apple. 
4. Mark out the point immediately above your second finger. This point will become the lowest point of the neckline you’re about to trim. 
5. In your head, visualize a U-shaped curve running from one earlobe to the other, passing through this mark (the lowest point) that you just plotted out. 
6. Keep the curve looking natural, but slant it upwards in each direction to allow it to follow the angle of the jaw. 
7. Use the naked blade of your trimmer to outline this curve you’ve just visualized. Then trim everything underneath it. 

You’ve just trimmed a glorious neckline. A well-defined beard is an essential component of the bald with stubble look. 

Step 5: Define the cheek lines

The cheek line is the border between your cheek hair and your cheek skin. In other words, the upper border of your beard. 

Stray or scraggly hairs above these lines can also look very unkempt. Having said this, some men do prefer it because it looks more “laid back” and natural. 

If you do want to sharpen up those cheek lines, follow these steps. In general, it’s important to stay true to the contours and angles your natural cheek line already follows and just accentuate it. 

Your cheek line may naturally be more straight, or more rounded. Both work well, and the aim is just to make them more prominent.

Straight lines generally suit rounder faces, whereas curved lines generally suit more angular faces. 

1. Visualize a line running from the corner of your mouth, up diagonally to the bottom corner of your sideburn. 
2. Using this line as a guide, trim any stray hairs above your natural cheek line using the naked blade of your trimmer. 
3. If you can’t properly see your natural cheek line due to the excess hair, just trim the diagonal line that you visualized. 
4. Dip downwards into the beard to give it a slight curve if you wish to, taking your face shape into consideration. 

Conclusion

The bald with stubble look can be sleek and sophisticated, yet simple. It’s versatile enough to work in just about any setting and is becoming a very popular way for bald men to differentiate themselves aesthetically.