Beard Grooming Tips: How To Clean Up & Color Your Beard, But Keep It Looking Natural

This past year has been all about DIY. Many of us have been cooking more, cutting hair at home, painting our own nails … the list goes on. 

Now, one bride-to-be wants to know how her fiancé can properly groom his own beard at home before their wedding, but still look natural and like himself. OG "Queer Eye" grooming expert Kyan Douglas to the rescue.

Question: "My fiancé Jacob has had facial hair since we met. We both agree he should clean up his beard for our wedding, but we still want him to look like himself. How can he groom his beard to still look natural?"
– Abigail, viewer, via Facebook

Rachael Ray Show

Answer: "You can see a part where his beard starts to curl a little bit there at his chin," Kyan explains. "I would recommend that he use a clipper and a guard on a dry beard and bring that up. I'm going to recommend that he do this about a month before his wedding. I think if you're going to change the length of your beard or really change the shape of your beard, you should do it before you have any big event so he can get used to it and so his fiancée can get used to it. That way, it's not such a shock at the wedding. [And] I think he ought to try coloring his beard."

HOW TO PROPERLY GROOM A BEARD & KEEP IT LOOKING NATURAL

Here's what Kyan uses to groom his beard:

• Mustache & Beard Dye (Kyan uses Just For Men)
• Wide toothed comb (Kyan prefers a plastic comb for his beard and a wooden one for his hair)
• Trimmer with guard (Kyan likes Wahl brand)
• Razor (Kyan uses Gillette triple blade)
• Shaving cream (Kyan recommends a cream rather than a foam)
• Exfoliator (Kyan likes to use Cetaphil Extra Gentle Daily Scrub before shaving)

1. First, use your trimmer on a dry beard. Kyan starts with his mustache and then establishes the perimeter of his beard on his neck. For this, he uses his trimmer without a guard.

Trimmer vs. razor: "If I haven't shaved in a while and I have longer hair on my neck, I take off the guard and you want to use a trimmer on your neck first and then follow up with a shave," the grooming expert explains. "If you try and shave your neck with longer hair, it's going to be a disaster. You're going to get a lot of rash on your neck. It will hurt and it won't look good."

Choosing a cheek line: "It's really up to the guy," Kyan says. "What I do is I follow my sideburn down and then I sort of go from my sideburn to my lower lip — and I shave above that. But it's different for every guy and every face."

2. Add a long trimmer guard to clean up the underside of the beard beneath the chin & give it shape. 

3. If you choose to dye your beard and/or mustache, apply the color according to the kit instructions & use a coarse wide toothed comb to comb in the color. Kyan doesn't cover every gray — and that's what makes his look super natural.

"The thing about combing in the color is it's not such a perfect application," the grooming pro explains, "so as it grows out, it kind of looks even better."

How to choose your beard dye color: "My beard is a dark brown," Kyan says. "I go one shade lighter, so I use a medium brown. The color tends to grab a little bit more on gray beards. You can always go darker later, but you can't take that color out."