The Anchor Beard: How to Grow One + Styles to Try

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Pro barbers explain how to shave and shape the iconic anchor beard

Co-authored by Michael DiGregorio and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: May 28, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Trimming an Anchor Beard
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• Styles
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• Maintenance
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• Who should get one?
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• Video

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The anchor beard is a classic style that looks great on just about any guy, and it’s pretty easy to carve out a crisp “anchor” shape in just a few minutes. We spoke to professional barbers and men’s grooming specialists to find out the right way to shave an anchor beard, plus we’ll show you all of the great anchor beard styles you have to choose from.

What is an anchor beard?

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An anchor beard is a sculpted style that combines a goatee or chinstrap beard, a soul patch, and a detached mustache, resembling a boat’s anchor. To trim one, shave your cheeks clean, leaving a chin beard that carves out your jaw line and does not connect to your sideburns. Leave your mustache and soul patch full.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

How to Trim an Anchor Beard

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   Let your facial hair grow out for at least 3-6 weeks. If you’re starting from a clean-shaven face, you’ll need more time to grow out your beard than someone who’s already got growth. Barber and men’s grooming expert Michael DiGregorio says to “grow your beard without touching it for three to six weeks” before trying to shape or style it.

   • Licensed cosmetologist Mark LoBiondo adds, “Don’t get it trimmed or shaped until it grows longer than you want it.”

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Michael DiGregorio is a barber and men’s grooming specialist with expertise in barbering, men's hair and style, fine fragrance, styling tips, and more.

   Mark LoBiondo is a licensed cosmetologist with over 9 years of experience and the owner of Markdaniel Barbershop.

   Juan Sabino is a professional barber with over 20 years of male grooming experience and over 8 years of professional barber experience.

   Marlon Rivas is a facial hair specialist with over 15 years of experience and the owner of MGX Professional Men's Grooming.

   Woody Lovell is a professional barber with over 20 years of experience and is the founder of The Barbershop Club.
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   Trim your facial hair and define the anchor beard shape. Grab a quality beard trimmer and buzz your mustache, soul patch, and chin hair down to the length you want your anchor beard to be. The exact length is totally up to you, but a 4mm or 6mm trimmer attachment is a good place to start (you can always go shorter if you need to). Then, trim your cheeks and jawline down to stubble to prep for shaving, being careful to leave a clean outline around your chin to make that iconic anchor silhouette, advises DiGregorio.

   • Outline your anchor beard slowly and check for symmetry as you go. A common mistake for first-timers is accidentally trimming too much hair off to try to make things look even.
   • For a smooth shave, professional barber Juan Sabino says to get your stubble “as short as you can to where it’s almost like a 5 o’clock shadow.”
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   Wash your face with warm water and put shaving cream on your cheeks and jaw. A quick face wash softens your hair, which helps prevent clogged razor blades or tugging while you’re shaving. Then, lather up the non-anchor parts of your beard (jaw and cheeks) with a hydrating shaving cream.

   • Or, Sabino adds, “You can actually just wash your face with soap and make sure you lather your face [because] and that will cause the hair to soften up. That's the goal when shaving—to soften up the hair on your face so that the blade glides over it very smoothly and easily.”
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   Shave your cheeks and jaw clean. Use short, light strokes and rinse your blades often to avoid clogging them. Facial hair specialist Marlon Rivas says to shave “with the grain of the growth pattern. [That’s] the most effective thing you can do for comfort and closeness in your shave.”
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   Use a razor or precision trimmer to get clean edges along your anchor. A precision trimmer is easier to outline with than a razor and will give you crisper lines, but either tool will work. Get rid of any straggly hairs or stubble around the outline of your anchor, working very slowly to avoid throwing off the shape.

   • If you’re using a razor, professional barber Woody Lovell says, “A small and sharp razor would work best” since the chin beard is small and mistakes will be more obvious.
   • Keep the line of your jaw strip crisp, allow the chin to come to a soft point, and remove any hair that connects your beard to your mustache. Now you’ve got an anchor beard!
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   Rinse your face and moisturize. “When you're completely done, splash cold water back on your face to close up the pores and give you an even closer-looking shave,” Rivas says. Then, gently pat your face dry and put on a soothing facial moisturizer or aftershave balm to help your skin recover from the razor and prevent razor burn and bumps.
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Section 2 of 4:

Anchor Beard Styles

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   Anchor goatee The anchor goatee is a classic look—a pointed chin beard that traces the jawline with a separate mustache, confirms DiGregorio. The cheeks are clean and the goatee doesn’t extend too far up the jawline, keeping the focus on your chin and upper lip. It’s a sharp and defined look!
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   Short anchor beard The short anchor beard keeps your chin hair short and tidy but still gives you the iconic anchor-shaped outline. It’s a clean, lower-maintenance version of the anchor beard that’s perfect for guys who want a faster beard care routine or who need to look professional.
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   Long anchor beard Longer hair on the chin makes for a stronger point and a more dramatic silhouette than a shorter anchor beard. It’s also great for folks with rounder faces since it can elongate your features. Since the hair is longer, you’ll have to trim it more often to keep it from looking scraggly.
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   Anchor beard with stubble Let your jawline and cheeks grow a bit of stubble to soften the look of an anchor beard. This blend of styles makes the anchor look less severe and is great for an easy, everyday look that doesn’t look too sculpted.
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   Van Dyke beard Technically, the Van Dyke is a different style from the anchor beard, but they look so similar that they often get confused. A Van Dyke beard comes to a pointier point at the chin, while the anchor beard is rounder and less defined. The Van Dyke makes more of a statement than an anchor beard, but takes more maintenance to keep the chin pointed.
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Section 3 of 4:

Anchor Beard Maintenance

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1. 
   Keep your cheeks smooth and clean up your jawline every few days. Maintaining clean edges will make your anchor seem bold and well-groomed, so plan to shave your cheeks and define your jawline strip every couple of days (or even daily if your hair grows fast). Get rid of any hair growing in that connects to your mustache as well.

   • Once you’ve mastered maintaining the perfect anchor shape, you can experiment with growing your beard longer, trimming it shorter, or letting your stubble grow for a more casual look.
   • DiGregorio says to try to keep as much mustache length as you can, but the ends can get damaged over time. He suggests twisting the hair (as though you’re styling it), then trimming the dead ends off at an angle and trimming neatly under the lip.
   • DiGregorio also recommends shaving with a straight razor to create a distinct separation between the mustache and the goatee.

Section 4 of 4:

Who looks good with an anchor beard?

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1. 
   The anchor beard is a versatile look that flatters most face shapes. An anchor beard can give a softer jawline more definition and add length and angles to round or short faces. It works especially well for heart-shaped, square, and oblong face shapes, and the sculpted outline is flattering for faces with naturally strong features.

   • However, since an anchor beard requires regular maintenance to look crisp, it’s best for guys who don’t mind spending a bit more time on their beard care.
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