How to Cut & Maintain an Italian Beard at Home

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Barber Jacob Joseph shares tips on achieving this popular style

Co-authored by Jacob Joseph and Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: January 26, 2026 Fact Checked

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How to Cut an Italian Beard

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Maintenance Tips

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Face Shape Modifications

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Style Variations

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Video

You don't have to be Italian to enjoy the Italian beard style. You also don't have to be a barber or a TikTok influencer to copy this facial hair trend! We're about to show you how you can achieve this look at home with just a few hair tools. Keep reading to learn how to cut and maintain your beard in the Italian style, with beard care tips from professional barbers, a facial hair specialist, and a licensed cosmetologist.

What is the Italian beard style?

Barber Jacob Joseph says that an Italian beard fade is a style with a disconnected mustache and a short, faded beard. This style has gone viral on TikTok and Instagram. The bulk of the facial hair is at the bottom of the beard, where the edges are trimmed close to the jaw. The neck is shaved below the Adam's apple.

Section 1 of 4:

How to Cut the Italian Beard Style

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Cut a guideline from the corner of your lips to your earlobe. Joseph says that an Italian beard fade starts with shaving everything above a line going toward your ears.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Jacob Joseph
Barber and Barbershop Owner

Expert Interview} Using electric trimmers or clippers without a guard, shave the line upward, against the grain of hair growth. This is what you'll use to create the Italian beard style's signature fade.^{[2]
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- For a straighter and more accurate line, press a comb against your cheek from your lips to your earlobe and shave above it.
Meet the wikiHow Experts

Jacob Joseph is a professional barber and the owner of The Barber Lounge in Turlock, CA. He also has over 700K followers across his social media accounts.

Woody Lovell is a professional barber with over 20 years of experience in the male grooming industry. He's also the founder of The Barbershop Club and a line of quality grooming products.

Marlon Rivas is a facial hair expert with over 15 years of experience managing and providing barber services. He owns MGX Professional Men's Grooming and founded Busystyle.com.

Timmy Yanchun is a professional barber who's been cutting hair since the age of 13. He's opened 6 barbershops and is the co-founder of a men's grooming company called Svelte Barbershop + Essentials.

Mark LoBiondo is a licensed cosmetologist with more than 9 years of experience. He specializes in providing barber services reminiscent of a classic neighborhood barbershop experience.
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Open the lever on the clippers and shave 0.5 cm (0.20 in) from the top of the line. Shave in small strokes in an upward direction all the way along the guideline you created in the first step. Take care not to shave too much, so you can create a gradual fade.^{[3]
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- Joseph says the goal for this look is to fade the beard all the way down.^{[4]
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  Jacob Joseph
  Barber and Barbershop Owner
  
  Expert Interview}
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Keep the clippers 0.5 cm (0.20 in) from the top edge of the guideline, like you did in the previous step. Continue shaving in small, upward strokes.^{[5]
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Position the guard 0.5 cm (0.20 in) down from where you shaved in the previous two steps. Turn the clippers on and shave up from that new invisible line across your cheek. Shave downward for a few strokes, as well, to catch any extra-long hairs you might have missed on the first pass.^{[6]
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EXPERT TIP

Woody Lovell
Professional Barber
Woody Lovell is the Founder of The Barbershop Club, a gentleman's barbershop-as-social club rooted in 1990's traditional barbering based in the Hotel Normandie in Los Angeles, California. He is also the Founder of his own line of quality grooming products. He has over 20 years of experience in the male grooming industry and has consulted clients including professional athletes, musicians, and A-list actors throughout the Los Angeles area.

Woody Lovell
Professional Barber

Keep your face neutral when shaving your beard. The number one common mistake that men make when grooming their beards is making funny facial expressions. Avoid pursing or stretching your lips so you don't accidentally shave your hair at a weird angle.
Shave upward from the line you cut in the previous step. Pay special attention to any small patches where your hair is still thick and dark.^{[7]
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This step will clean up any remaining long hairs. It will also create a seamless gradation of hair from your cheek to your jaw.^{[8]
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Disconnect the mustache from the beard and trim it. Joseph says that this style is disconnected, meaning there’s a separation between the mustache and the beard, almost like a goatee.^{[9]
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Expert Source

Jacob Joseph
Barber and Barbershop Owner

Expert Interview} Use trimmers to shave the hair connecting the mustache ends to the rest of your facial hair, then line the ends up with the corners of your mouth. Next, trim the top and bottom edges of your mustache so they don't go into your nostrils or over your upper lip.^{[10]
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- Facial hair expert Marlon Rivas says keeping the hair of your mustache neat will give it "a much more groomed appearance."^{[11]
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  Marlon Rivas
  Facial Hair Specialist
  
  Expert Interview}
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Trim your soul patch and line up your beard on your neck. Take the trimmers to the hair on your chin and trim away the extra hair growth around your soul patch. But leave some of the soul patch, advises Joseph.^{[12]
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Jacob Joseph
Barber and Barbershop Owner

Expert Interview}
- Joseph recommends placing the bottom of your beard about ¹⁄₂ in (1.3 cm) below your jawbone—or a finger’s width.^{[13]
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  Jacob Joseph
  Barber and Barbershop Owner
  
  Expert Interview}
- To line up your beard on your neck, Rivas says to lift your chin and look for the "biggest, deepest curve of your neck," right around your Adam's apple. Then shave below that with trimmers or an electric razor.^{[14]
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  Marlon Rivas
  Facial Hair Specialist
  
  Expert Interview}
For a cleaner look, clean up any remaining stubble and hairs above the fade on your cheeks with your electric razor. Take the razor all the way up to your sideburns.^{[15]
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Section 2 of 4:

How to Maintain the Italian Beard Style

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Trim your Italian beard at least once a week. Since this style is so short, it will look noticeably longer if you let it grow out for more than a few days. With that in mind, trim the edges and clean up your fade at least once a week or whenever you notice it getting too long for your liking.^{[16]
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Research source} If you want to reduce the stubble above your cheeks and on your neck, you may need to shave those areas every 1-2 days.
- Joseph says a #4 guard will give you a good length for an Italian beard fade.^{[17]
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  Jacob Joseph
  Barber and Barbershop Owner
  
  Expert Interview}
Beard oil moisturizes your skin and nourishes your facial hair. Professional barber Timmy Yanchun recommends massaging the product into your beard "from the root of the hair to the tip," and applying it any time your beard feels dry to the touch.^{[18]
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Timmy Yanchun
Professional Barber

Expert Interview}
Licensed cosmetologist Mark LoBiondo suggests applying shampoo and conditioner to your beard hair to keep it clean and soft. But don't overdo it—once weekly is frequent enough!^{[19]
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Mark LoBiondo
Licensed Cosmetologist

Expert Interview}

Section 3 of 4:

Which face shape looks best with an Italian beard?

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The Italian beard looks best on oval shapes. But that doesn't mean you can't wear this style if you have a heart, square, or round face shape!^{[20]
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Michael DiGregorio
Barber & Men's Grooming Expert

Expert Interview} Here's how to modify the Italian beard to complement the planes of your cheeks and jaw.^{[21]
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- Round or square: Grow your beard out longer at the chin. This will give the illusion of length to your face.
- Heart-shaped: Leave the facial hair on your cheeks slightly longer than normal to balance out your longer chin.
- Diamond: Grow out the edges of your beard and round them out with your trimmers.

Section 4 of 4:

Italian Beard Style Variations

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Shave all the facial hair off your cheeks, so that the only hair on your face is your mustache, your soul patch, and a small, short beard on your chin.^{[22]
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Expert Source

Michael DiGregorio
Barber & Men's Grooming Expert

Expert Interview} Don't forget to clean up the hair on either side of your soul patch and disconnect your mustache ends from your chin beard.^{[23]
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Instead of fading the facial hair on your cheeks, just trim it down to the guideline and leave it full the rest of the way down to your jaw. In this variation, your mustache ends should connect to your beard.^{[24]
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Michael DiGregorio
Barber & Men's Grooming Expert

Expert Interview} To keep your beard looking clean and precise, make sure to line up the bottom of it and shave off any stray hairs above the guideline.
Cut a traditional Italian beard, but make it your own by styling your mustache in whatever way you prefer. You might, for example, grow it out into an English mustache or curl the ends in the Van Dyke style.