Can you go short up top and long on the bottom? Of course! Here are some great men’s short haircuts with beards you can try.
When beards came back in style in the aughts, I didn’t imagine they were here to stay. Of course, they’ve always been around. But you know they’ve reached classic status when hipsters in Brooklyn and preppies in New England are both sporting them.
Today, we’re going to look at some good-looking short haircuts for men with beards.
When beards are maintained and well groomed, and when you’ve found the right style for you, they can be really complementary. In fact, I know a lot of guys who use them to give their jaw a bit more definition. This, by the way, isn’t a bad strategy.
When you’ve got all of that facial hair, though, it does take some upkeep. This is why short haircuts, as in the hair on the top of your head, are often ideal. The combination can create an attractive visual balance.
Relatedly, if you’re bald, you can still look handsome with a good beard style.
Alright, onto the haircuts.
13 Short Haircuts for Men With Beards
Here are some excellent options for shortcuts and even extra shortcuts — in no particular order:
Classic Side Part
Imagine if Cary Grant or Don Draper wore a beard. Anyone, regardless of how thick or thin your short hair is, can get a clean cut of the same length throughout. Then, from there, just part it on the side, businessman style.
It’s classic and easy and literally takes just seconds to style in the morning. This allows you to focus a little more time on beard styling, oiling, and general facial hair maintenance.
If you want your beard to be the star of the show, you can do a flat, close-to-scalp side part. It makes for a neutral look that gives more of your head silhouette to your beard.
Voluminous Side Part
You don’t need long hair to create a voluminous look. This side part of the hairstyle will take some product and blow dry unless you have thick, voluminous hair naturally.
Even then, you’ll likely want to use a little sea salt spray, wax, or pomade to ensure everything stays in place. Don’t use too much, though, since we’re not going for a helmet-head look here.
This is more of a ken-doll, pretty guy look. That being the case, it’s often best with a shorter beard that highlights your jawline. Make sure the sides of your hair are slicked back so that it can frame the volume up top.
Short Quiff
Born in the same era as the popular pompadour, a quiff is its airier and looser counterpart.
It features a lot more length and verticality at the top of your head, especially at the fringes, than it does on the sides. Style-wise, the hair is combed up, back, or to the side.
You don’t actually need a lot of hair to make a quiff happen. The reality is, so much of its volume relies on texture and spaces between hair. You can even put a modern spin on it by adding textured ends for a slightly spiky look.
French Crop
The French crop is a textured cut that’s usually around two to five centimeters all over, making it quite short but dimensional. The front lays forward over your forehead, creating short, Caesar-like bangs.
There are two vibes you can get with a French crop.
First is the previously mentioned Roman Empire look. With a beard, you definitely get a hipster meets Spartan style.
Second, you can grow your hair out just a bit past the five-centimeter mark. Do this just on the very top to create a contrast from the back and the sides. This gives it a 1920s Peaky Blinders vibe.
Either way, when worn with confidence, this cut has a lot of cool factor. Beards do, too, so they go naturally together.
High-Fade French Crop
A high-fade French crop is exactly what it sounds like. It’s still a textured, close-to-body cut with tuft bangs. However, there’s a dramatic fade starting as high as the area right above your browline.
This gives your facial hair a “floating” look. That being the case, it’s perfect for men who have a different color on their head hair than their beard hair. For example, many brunettes have red beards. Or perhaps you dye your hair.
The high-fade French crop is also a good option if you have thin hair since it’s almost like a textured buzz cut. Even better, this style is so low maintenance, making it an especially convenient option, even among other already easy-to-style shortcuts.
Crew Cut
A crew cut has short, upright hair at the top, usually with a small pomp in the front of the hairline. It’s a close cut, creating a contrast with your beard. That is unless you’re going for a 3 o’clock shadow look with your facial hair.
You can’t go wrong with a classic crew cut. Keep in mind that it originated in the ‘20s, usually associated with the Yale crew team. And it’s common in the military.
That being the case, the haircut itself has a disciplined, “good guy” aesthetic. It makes you look like a clean-cut guy who would serve your country.
With a substantial beard, it achieves this high-low look. Think business up top, party on your chin? And, of course, this style is easily a member of the low-maintenance club.
Clean Pompadour
One of the most iconic haircuts of the 1950s, style icons of the past wore this cut in a few variations. Style icons of our day sport this hairstyle, too.
Sure, a pompadour was yesteryear’s bad-boy rocker style. With short hair, though, it can look modern and clean.
The more overt the side fade is, the edgier it looks. The more gradual it is, the more classically conventional it looks.
Short-length and even medium-length hair bring a neat, sculpted quality to the vintage cut.
Short or Medium Ivy League
The Ivy League is also known as the Princeton or Harvard clip. It’s similar to a crew cut, but you’d take the longer top and add a side part to it.
If your hair is shorter than you’d like it to be, this adds visual length. This is because it sort of creates an optic trick that makes your hair look long enough to slick back into a classic, professional cut.
Of course, the top would have to be long enough that you can create a consequential part. With enough product, though, you can make this happen even if your hair is only an inch long.
Classic Taper
If the voluminous side part is a bit too boyband for you, go for the classic taper. It’s equally as handsome but a lot more neutral.
This is why, as we mention in our round-up of overall short hairstyles, it’s so popular with male celebrities. It’s traditional, with room to style, and is the perfect balance of pretty and masculine, which makes it look natural with a beard.
It’s what I like to call timeless and always relevant.
Buzz Cut
Wearing a buzz cut with your beard provides the most dramatic contrast between your head and your facial hair. That is unless you shave your head completely.
By doing this, you’re effectively replacing your head hair with your beard as the main mop on your face.
I highly recommend trying different beard styles since, with a buzz cut, it’s the star of the show.
Beachy Movement
You don’t need long hair to get that effortlessly cool beach look. It also goes perfectly with a beard since the whole point of both styles is to convey a sense of leisurely handsomeness.
I’d say you’d at least need your hair to be an inch and a half long for this. You can choose whatever you want to do with your sides. But the important thing for your barber to do is to create a choppy look. Usually, he’d execute this using both scissors and a texturizer.
From there, you can emphasize the movement by throwing some pomade in it. Add a little hair gel to get that wet look.
Presentable Bedhead
The bedhead look, which is cut very similarly to the beachy look, is another example of how much easier short hair is. Achieving this look with long hair would take a lot more work and product in the morning to get it from bedhead to presentable bedhead.
To emphasize the texture up top, I recommend going for much shorter sides — either with a fade or a hard line, if that’s your thing.
The best part about this look is that it goes well with every type of hair texture and requires little product.
Soft Spikes
Going for spikes doesn’t have to look like an aughts throwback. By applying a low, moderate fade and a shorter back than the front, you create the perfect foundation for soft spikes.
It’s slightly edgy but looks more tame and classic the shorter your hair is.
Conclusion: Give This Combo a Shot
The good thing about going for a super shortcut is that it often doesn’t matter whether you have curly hair or straight hair. The texture is the main thing, and that’s something that can be tamed or brought out with some good products.
Of course, I hope I don’t have to remind you that having a well-groomed beard is key here.
And now you know that there are several good short haircuts for men with beards.
Do you wear your hair short with your beard? What’s your favorite cut to pair your facial hair with? Let me know in the comments!
