Bald is beautiful. To deny that in this day and age would be to fly in the face of a well-established, modern grooming trend. Combining a bald head with a goatee, however, is a classic combo that refuses to age. You’re about to learn the best goatees for bald heads.
Bald and bearded is usually a pretty surefire way to impress. A clean scalp juxtaposed against a full beard often grabs attention while remaining subtle and understated.
But why goatees? What makes a goatee such a phenomenal choice for a bald-headed man? Well, that’s one of the questions I’ll be answering in this post.
But first, I’m going to list off the best of them. If you’ve read any of my other goatee articles, you’ll know that there are many different goatee styles available to choose from.
Let’s get to it.
Best Goatees Styles For Bald Heads
The term “goatee” means different things to different people. You probably have an image of what you believe a “goatee” truly looks like. Trust me – no matter what it may be, many people will disagree.
It’s actually quite a controversial topic, which is what makes it so interesting.
For the sake of keeping things simple, let’s define it as any style in which there is hair on the chin and not on the cheeks. Simple, right?
1. The Full Goatee
Let’s start with the most common style that people associate with the term “goatee”.
It consists of hair on the chin (of course), as well as a mustache. The two components are connected and result in a full, short beard style encircling the mouth.
Interestingly, the traditional definition of a goatee didn’t include a mustache. It simply consisted of hair on the chin and nowhere else.
But things change. Since the early ‘90s, “goatees” have frequently incorporated a mustache and that’s why they feature so prominently in this list.
Back to the topic at hand, however, the style works tremendously well for bald men.
The Full Goatee can elongate the face, balancing out the rounded bald scalp and resulting in a more desirable, oval-shaped head overall.
It’s relatively easy to maintain. Maintaining symmetry is important as well as neatly sculpted borders.
Overall, it’s definitely one to consider.
If you’re looking for a less common style, however, keep reading.
2. The Goatee With Soul Patch
This one is a very slight variation on the last. The only adjustment you’d need to make is the addition of a well-defined soul patch.
The soul patch a small patch of hair that lies immediately beneath the lower lip. It grew popular back in the ‘40s among pioneers and followers of the beatnik generation.
You may be wondering why a Full Goatee with some hair beneath the lower lip is any different to this.
Well, in this style the soul patch is neatly defined. Stray hairs on either side of it are swiftly trimmed or shaved off, and the patch itself is carved into a shape of your choice.
It could be a circle, downward-facing triangle, or a strip. Whatever the shape, it needs to look intentional.
It’s a nice little variation to experiment with without having to get too adventurous. There’s no doubt that it’s one of the best and yet simplest goatees for bald guys out there.
3. The Short Extended Goatee
An extended goatee is essentially a Full Goatee with the bottom edges tailing backward along part of the jawline.
It doesn’t extend all the way along the jawline, however, as that would be a goatee with chinstrap. Although the semantics might seem a little bit excessive, it’s important to differentiate between them in order to get a full understanding.
The extended goatee is frequently coupled with a no sideburns look. However, as a bald man, you may or may not have sideburns to contend with. You may be rocking the bare on the top and short on the sides look.
It is generally accepted that beards go best with a clean-shaven head. There’s just something about a man with enough confidence to bare his scalp completely and also rock a solid goatee.
But regardless of how you’ve embraced your baldness, the short extended goatee is a great way to elongate the face, as well as define and contour the jawline.
4. The Thin Strip Goatee
The thin strip or “pencil” goatee is a style that’s generally favored by younger men. As the name would suggest, it’s a thin strip of hair that encircles the mouth.
It’s essentially a connected chin beard plus mustache, but unlike the Full Goatee, it’s sculpted into a narrow track. The style may or may not include a soul patch.
It’s a little bit harder to maintain than your average goatee, simply because the borders are everything. Symmetry and sharp borders are usually taken very seriously by men who adopt this style.
You’ll see it peppered across your TV screen, often favored by musicians, athletes, and other celebrities. It’s a modern goatee style if there ever was one.
It’s a sharp, neat goatee style for bald men to adopt. Combined with a clean-shaven head it can look ultra-sleek, and ultra-suave.
5. The Anchor Goatee
As the name would suggest, yes, this glorious goatee variant includes a chin beard defiantly sculpted into the shape of an anchor.
The way this is done is by allowing the soul patch to run seamlessly into the chin beard, and allowing the bottom edges to tail back along the jawline (like an extended goatee).
Although you may be more used to seeing a Tony Stark-esque anchor beard consisting of both a mustache and a chin beard, this isn’t always the case.
You could simply have an anchor-shaped chin beard with no mustache whatsoever. Both of these options are very reasonable and very effective.
The reason it works well for bald men is that it’s quite striking. It isn’t as common as your regular goatee styles and does a good job of grabbing attention.
It’s no secret that some men haven’t embraced baldness as well as others have. In fact, some men make their baldness an actual obsession with a constant quest for new ways to hide or distract from their fledgling follicles.
Although I’d have to disagree with this approach, it’s entirely down to personal wishes. If this refers to you, adopting a more unique style such as this one would be a good way to go.
If this isn’t you at all and you happen to be proud and balded, the style could also definitely work for you. A unique shape is never something to shy away from, as long as you’re willing to put in a bit of extra trimming work.
6. The Handlebar Goatee
Ah, what a glorious hybrid style. It consists of a handlebar mustache and a Full Goatee. A handlebar mustache is one where the edges are curled upward. Yes, when done correctly it should indeed resemble the handlebars of a motorcycle.
It’s important to differentiate between this and the Van Dyke. The Van Dyke also consists of a chin beard and a handlebar mustache, but unlike this style the two components are not connected.
In a Van Dyke, the chin beard is also frequently sculpted into a shape such as a downward-facing triangle.
A standard handlebar goatee can simply be thought of as a Full Goatee with a mustache that’s styled and curled upward.
It’s another great example of how to stand out as a bald man. We may have established that bald is indeed beautiful. However, a basic, bald head can look a little bland. Supplementing it with an interesting goatee style is a good way to stand out from the crowd.
A handlebar could do just that. There’s a slightly increased maintenance requirement because a handlebar does usually require some styling wax to keep it in place. It’s quite hard to achieve this without a product that allows for a degree of hold.
But ultimately, with a total lack of styling needs on the scalp you can afford to spend a little more time on the facial rug. That’s another great thing about baldness.
7. The Long And Full
A long goatee can look very distinguished indeed. An obvious benefit would, of course, be to elongate what may otherwise be a round and bald head.
The term “long” does mean different things to different people. One man’s “long” is another man’s “short”. This is down to personal opinion.
But the definition doesn’t mean a whole lot. What matters more is that you’re aware of the fact that a full goatee can extend downwards to produce an almost rectangular shape.
It’s an elegant, sophisticated variation of the goatee.
As with any medium to long beard, there are some additional grooming requirements you may need to adopt. Brushing with a boar bristle beard brush would do you the world of good, as would peppering it with beard oil daily.
Hygiene will also become even more of a priority, as longer beards are more likely to retain dirt, grime, and odours.
But if you’re willing to tolerate the increased maintenance requirements of a longer goatee, it does complement a bald head extremely well.
It’s intensely rugged and masculine, much like baldness is.
8. The Traditional Tuft
The classic, original beast. A simple tuft of hair laying defiantly upon the chin. There’s no mustache – to do include one wouldn’t be acceptable here.
There’s no hair on the cheeks (of course), and none above the upper lip. Neck stubble is also swiftly removed.
It’s chin, and chin only.
This really is the most traditional and purest example of the goatee in all its glory. However, it really isn’t as common as it was several decades ago. The Full Goatee and its many variants have all taken centre stage instead.
Having said this, as a bald man looking for a goatee style you’d be remiss not to pay close attention to it. It does work for a bald head and it has the benefit of being very easy to maintain.
The simple tuft adds a lot of a flair while remaining true to the purist concept of the goatee.
Why Are Goatees So Great For Bald Men?
I’ve managed to narrow it down to three key reasons, although there are certainly more that could be included. These four principles, however, should be able to sway you if you’re on the fence at all.
1. It can make you look younger
Baldness, when embraced, can look dazzling in more ways than one. However, it does have one significant downside; it gives away your age.
This only refers to bald men who are somewhat involuntarily bald and not men who have a full head of hair and choose to shave it. It’s usually pretty easy to tell the two apart.
Yes, baldness can unfortunately make you look older than you actually might be. Although some men are able to accept the aging process with poise and a stoic sense of reality, other men may find this hard to tolerate.
The addition of a neatly-sculpted goatee can definitely make a bald man look younger. The modern notion of a goatee is very much a young man’s style adopted by current and trending celebrities worldwide.
If you’re looking for a way to shed some years off the face, growing a goatee may not be a bad idea.
2. It adds balance to the face
Having a bald head does draw attention – in my opinion, usually for positive reasons. It does make you stand out, somewhat.
One reason for this is that there is just so much skin on show.
Over the years, people have gotten used to the notion of a typical human face and head. Having hair on the scalp and less hair on the face is a dynamic we’ve become accustomed to seeing.
Having a clean-shaven head can throw off this balance that we expect to see. One simple way to regain a sense of balance between the scalp and the face is to grow a neat little goatee.
A small beard style such as this one adds just enough to counterbalance the bare scalp without tipping the balance over to the other side.
3. It can shape the face
One of the benefits of having hair on the scalp is that we’re able to mould it in a way that best suits our facial structure.
There’s a reason that hair stylists pay such close attention to face shape when choosing what style to go for. Changing the hair is such an easy way to change the shape of the head and face without having to change the structure of the face itself.
Unfortunately, bald men do not have this liberty. Not only do they not have scalp hair to experiment with – the total lack of hair on the scalp can often make their head shape look completely different to what it did with hair.
Goatees can do for bald men what their scalp hair used to be able to do for them. Shape the face.
They have the benefit of being incredibly versatile and suit many different face shapes. They can elongate round and square-shaped faces. Oval-shaped faces have the advantage of suiting many different beard styles – the goatee being one of them.
The bald men who should probably avoid goatees are the ones with structurally longer faces, such as oblong or rectangular-shaped ones. Styles such as the goatee that focus on adding volume to the chin would only act to elongate the face even further.
Do Goatees Suit A Clean-Shaven Head?
A question that all balding men will face at a certain point in their journey is whether or not they should go full bald.
Male-pattern baldness typically doesn’t affect the hair on the sides. The pattern that usually results is a track of baldness across the middle of the scalp with the sides left in place.
Although this hair on the sides is a way to cling onto what was left of a previously full, luscious head of hair, shaving it all off does have its benefits.
One benefit is that it exudes confidence. Embracing baldness in such a way is quite contrarian, and does make you stand out.
But another reason you may want to consider shaving everything off is that facial hair just works so much better with a clean-shaven head. Hair on the chin with none on the top and sides just works. It’s more balanced, more confident, more sophisticated.
Conclusion
Baldness and goatees isn’t a new concept. It’s a proven concept that’s stood the test of time.
However, hopefully this article has shown you that the combination can take many different forms. There’s so much scope for experimentation – that’s what makes it so much fun.
Find a specific variant that works well for you and hone it to perfection.
Ready Sleek founder. Obsessed with casual style and the minimalist approach to building a highly functional wardrobe. Also a fan of classic, vintage hairstyles.
