How To Trim A Goatee Neckline: Under Chin Technique

A well-positioned neckline could make or break a goatee. Perhaps that’s a little dramatic, but you’ll soon see my point. You’re about to learn how to trim a goatee neckline like a total professional. 

Too high and you’ve got a double-chin effect going on. Too low and you’re rocking some untidy neck stubble. It’s a fine balance, and it’s more of an art than a science. 

Having said that, there are tried and tested techniques used to carve out a neckline. The beauty of a goatee neckline is that it is narrow. It only extends partially across the neck, and so it isn’t as hard to get right. 

But knowing how to trim a goatee under the chin is a major facet of the style itself. It’s time to delve deep into the method. 

How To Trim A Goatee Neckline Under The Chin

As with any grooming habit, there is definitely more than one way to do this.

It’s just what works well for me. A simple, step-by-step routine to help you trim a solid full goatee, with a very solid neckline. 

1. Exfoliate

Always start a trimming session by rubbing down with an exfoliating scrub. It doesn’t take long but definitely makes a significant impact. 

What it does is remove dirt and dead cells from the skin. Doing this allows the trimmer blade to mow through the hair unobstructed, reducing irritation and producing a more even cut. 

The neck is a particularly important area to exfoliate because shaving it can cause significant irritation. Exfoliating minimizes this. 

2. Trim the whole beard down 

Although not all of this hair will ultimately remain, you’ll want to trim everything you’ve got down to the same length.

Doing this makes it much easier to carve out the goatee outline and neckline later on. 

An electric trimmer is required to do this properly. Trimming with scissors is no fun and is also quite impractical for this purpose. 

If you don’t already have a trimmer, the Philips Norelco Oneblade QP6520/70 is worth looking into. Check it out on Amazon here.

But anyway, back to the tutorial. 

Decide on what length you want your goatee to eventually be. This is the length to which you’re going to trim everything down to. Even the parts you’ll eventually shave off, like the cheeks and the neck. 

The length is down to personal preference, of course. Goatees often work very well with lengths of up to 10mm, although longer goatees most certainly work as well. 

Set your trimmer’s adjustable length to your length of choice, and start trimming. Vary the angle of the blade, keep the skin taut, and try to produce an even cut. 

Focus more on the goatee area, as this is the part that will ultimately remain. Don’t forget the neck area, either. Your future neckline needs trimming too. 

3. Trim the goatee outline

This is done using the naked blade of the trimmer. In other words, the blade with no guards or combs attached to it. This will trim down to very short stubble. 

Visualize the sides of your goatee first. They should be a natural extension of the mustache downward. Following the natural curve of the mustache allows for very natural-looking sides. 

Trim this outline and all the hair surrounding it on the cheeks. The cheek hair must go. 

This would be a good time to neaten up the mustache, so trim any stray hairs creeping over the border of the upper lip. 

Define the soul patch beneath the lower lip if you wish to keep it. Alternatively, trim it off. Both options work very well with this style. 

4. Define and trim your goatee neckline

You’ve trimmed the goatee outline as well as your cheek hair. The style should be looking very much like a goatee by this point. 

However, tilt your head up and take a peek at your neck. You most likely see a layer of neck stubble staring right back at you. This needs to go, and in doing so, you’ll be trimming a very fine neckline for yourself. 

The most commonly asked question is how far under the chin your goatee should extend. To trim an impressive goatee neckline, follow these steps: 

• Visualize the sides of your goatee extending down your neck. This determines the width of your neckline. 
• The height of your neckline should be approximately two finger-widths above your Adam’s Apple. 
• Using the naked blade of your trimmer, trim this line and all of the neck stubble beneath it. 
• Trim any hair to the sides of your goatee neckline as well. 

5. Shave for smooth perfection

By this point, your work is pretty much done. You could quite comfortably leave it at that. 

However, trimming using just the blade of your trimmer will still leave very short stubble. It isn’t as ultra-smooth as shaving. 

Shaving over these areas is a great way to sharpen up borders and create a very sharp-looking goatee. 

This is particularly important on the neck, as neck stubble can ruin a perfectly good neckline. 

You can either use a manual razor with some shaving gel, or an electric shaver. Either way, it’s important to be gentle.

Use single strokes to avoid going over the same areas twice. Keep the skin gently taut to minimize nicks and cuts. 

Use the edge of your razor blade to sharpen up the edges of your goatee and neckline. This can really enhance the overall appearance. 

6. Moisturize

After shaving, you’ll most likely notice that your skin is a little angry. The best way to soothe it would be to apply a generous quantity of moisturizing cream. 

Don’t be shy, really lay it on there. Pay close attention to the neck at this point, as neck skin can become particularly irritated after shaving. 

By this point, you’re done. Stand defiantly in front of the mirror and admire your glorious work. 

Other Goatee Necklines To Know

1. The Extended Goatee Neckline

This style is essentially a Full Goatee with the bottom edges of the sides tailing back partially across the jawline. Think of it as the start of a chinstrap. 

Men often wonder how wide their neckline should be considering the sides seem to track backwards as they reach the jawline. 

The simplest way to tackle this problem is to simply have the neckline be as wide as the widest part of the goatee.

Yes, this will therefore very much depend on how far back the extended goatee extends backward along the jawline. 

2. The Long Goatee Neckline

A “long goatee” is a difficult beard to define. One man’s “long” is another man’s “medium” and is another man’s “short”. 

But no matter how long your goatee is, the neckline should always be trimmed. The longer it is, the less important it will be. However, it is still important. 

But with long goatees, you can afford to have the neckline be a little lower because it simply isn’t as visible.

Having said this, neck stubble will always be visible from certain angles unless your goatee is very long. For most people, this doesn’t apply. 

Keep it neat regardless of how long the chin beard in front of it is. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Neck Stubble Ever Acceptable? 

The “neckbeard” is a derogatory term for a beard consisting of a lot of hair on the neck. It’s generally associated with untidy, unkempt, and socially awkward men. 

Neck stubble is quite easy to miss. A few days after you trim your goatee you may feel as though you want to rest on your laurels.

It’s easy to let things slide. The goatee itself may look perfectly fine, but tilt your head up and you may find neck stubble starting to rear its ugly head. 

The reason it leaves such a bad impression is that it can make a facial hairstyle look very unintentional. A beard should be well-groomed and well-nourished in order for it to look intentional. 

Removing neck stubble and defining a proper neckline is an important aspect of it. The shorter a beard is, the less acceptable neck stubble becomes. This is simply because it becomes more visible. 

Does Goatee Length Make A Difference To The Neckline?

Not necessarily. With stubble and short beards it’s more important to have a tight neckline wrapped around the jawline. Not too high, and not too low. 

Remember, two finger-widths above the Adam’s Apple and you’ll most likely be absolutely fine. 

But if the goatee was longer, you could probably afford to lower the neckline a little. For one, the neckline itself would be less noticeable hiding behind the long chin beard. 

A longer goatee also tends to look more natural with a lower neckline. However, it still needs to be well-defined and neatly trimmed.

Help – My Goatee Neckline Is Too High

This can sometimes be difficult to assess yourself. It’s worth getting a second opinion if you’re unsure. 

A good self-assessment would be to stand in front of the mirror and look at your side profile.

Open your mouth wide, and check where the neckline comes up to. If it actually comes up above your chin, your neckline is too high. 

That’s not to say that your neckline is perfect if it doesn’t fail this test. It just means that it isn’t too high by definition. It still may not be at its optimal position. 

If you do notice that your goatee neckline does fail this test, you’ve always got the option of trimming it all off and starting over. The difficulty with this look is that it can create an awkward “double-chin” appearance. 

However, you could always just wait it out. Your neck hair will eventually regrow, and you’ll be able to trim a more appropriate neckline. 

The problem with trimming your neckline too high is that there’s really not much that can be done about it.

Unfortunately, you’re left with the difficult problem of trying to regain hair that you’ve just shaved off. 

A neckline that’s too low is much easier to fix. Simply trim higher. But a high neckline is something you’d either have to live with for a while or remove. It depends on how much it bothers you, really. 

Conclusion

Trimming a solid goatee neckline isn’t rocket science, as you’ve probably already figured out.

But I do strongly feel that having a step-by-step routine will help take the guesswork out of achieving it. 

It turns it into less of an art and more of a science. Knowing what to trim, where to trim, and in what order can make a significant difference. 

Maintaining a neckline at the right height should eventually become second nature.

It’s something that can be easy to neglect until you’ve seen what a well-positioned neckline can do to the overall aesthetic of a goatee. 

Once you’ve done it properly, you’ll never want to let it go. Hope you found all of that useful. Thanks for sticking around until the end.