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The outline does more for a beard than the length does. I watched two tutorials, a GQ video with Matty Conrad and a neck trim video from The Rosh Man channel, and pulled out what each says. This is a summary of the videos. We did not try the steps ourselves.
Two flags. Conrad is the founder of Victory Barber & Brand, which sells grooming gear. The Rosh Man description lists his own affiliate links for the tools he uses.
In this article
Tools for the Job
Conrad says you need a trimmer for the edges, since it has fine teeth and gets all the way to the skin. You also need an electric shaver or a razor, a soft brush and a finishing balm. He prefers an electric shaver because he gets fewer ingrown hairs on his neck.
Rosh Man keeps the neckline tutorial to a trimmer and a handheld mirror.
If you need a cordless detail trimmer, Andis lists the Slimline Pro Li with a carbon-steel T-blade, a 4 ounce body and up to 2 hours of runtime (Andis product page, read October 13, 2026). Our beard trimmer guide covers more.
Source: How to Shape Up Your Beard (4 Step Tutorial), GQ.
Quick take
The outline is three lines: the baseline under the jaw, the top line on the cheeks, and the lip line.
Where to Put the Neckline
Conrad calls the baseline the highest-impact line. It runs from the corner of the jaw straight down to the top of the Adam’s apple. He says not to take it too high at the corner of the jaw, because when you turn your head the line lifts over the jaw and becomes what he calls a chin strap. The line should also drop slightly as it goes, like the jaw does.
Rosh Man gives a simple way to find it. Look at the back of your neck and find where the hair goes from thin to dense. That is the natural line, and the biggest mistake he sees is cutting too deep or taking it too high. He makes a middle guideline first, then matches the sides to it, with the trimmer flipped upside down.
Source: Follow THIS Neck Trim Tutorial at Home (Barber Method), The Rosh Man.
Good to know
Find the natural line where hair goes from thin to dense and follow it. Do not take the neckline too high at the corner of the jaw.
The Cheek Line
Conrad says the top line can be straight or slightly curved, depending on face shape. For a narrow face, he suggests a curve. For a fuller face, he keeps it square because it looks leaner.
His trick for a curve is to stretch the skin up, punch in a straight line with the trimmer inverted, and then release. When the skin relaxes, the line has a soft bend. Then he clears the hair above the line on the cheeks.
The Lip Line
For the lip line, Conrad says to keep it slightly peaked in the center. Angle the trimmer from the center down toward the corner of the mouth on each side, rather than hammering a straight line across. He says you may not need this for the first six to eight weeks of growth.
Finish and Aftercare
After the outline, Conrad uses the shaver on the neck and cheeks for a clean edge, and a soft brush to clear the loose hair. For aftercare he suggests a moisturizing wash, and for people who outline daily, a cream aftershave balm rather than a liquid one. He says liquid aftershaves can dry out facial hair. On a short beard he says to skip beard oil, because it can raise the chance of oily skin or breakouts. A matte balm tames flyaways.
He also says that in the first weeks of regrowth you should resist shaping too soon, and that around the two-week mark is a reasonable time to start.
Pick this if…
You are growing a beard back and want a clean outline without much gear: a trimmer, a mirror, a brush and a balm are enough.
