Why people tie their beards [Insider tips and tricks]

Have you been noticing a huge variety of different beard styles? It can take a long time before a beard is long enough to tie completely towards the front. One of my friends regularly ties his beard, and I think it looks brilliant. I am yet to tie my beard to the front of my face because it is just a little too short. Once it gets longer, I will start tying it to see how it feels to wear it throughout the day.

Men tie their beards for various reasons, including religious reasons, fashion, to keep out of the way, and more. You can tie your beard with a hairband, elastic band and natural string. Be careful not to tie it too tight as it could cause damage to your beard hairs

I asked the subscribers on my YouTube channel if they tie their beards. A massive 94% said that they do not tie their beard.

This is what people had to say:

My beard is a foot long now, and I’m noticing it getting in the way at times, there’s one machine at the gym where I put it under my shirt otherwise hairs get pulled into a crease of my skin at my shoulder. If I end up tying it up again I’ll tie it up as a pony tail or braid instead of making a dense ball that tucked under my chin like when I hid the length of my goatee.

– Stephen Shelton (YouTube Subscriber)

For others they do not tie their beard as a feel like it risks damaging the beard hair:

The reason I don’t: the damage to your beard

Beards Bronx

Here are all of the reasons people tie their beards, and you may want to consider tying your beard.

Religious reasons

You may have seen Sikhs with a thin cloth over their beards or beards that have been tied up and tucked under the chin. Many Sikhs tie their beards simply because their religion dictates that they cannot cut their hair. Sikhism is the fifth-largest religion globally, and males in this religion grow a beard as a sign of freedom and respect to their God. Sikhs consider the beard an integral part of nobility and dignity and a respectful token towards manhood.

In the Jewish faith is a mystical and spiritual expression of the soul. For Jews, the beard symbolises God’s divine attributes of mercy and compassion. By growing a beard, a person of Jewish faith can tap into spiritual energy and elicit divine mercy upon themselves.

Beards are based on Jewish traditions and rituals that are over 4000 years old. Beards in the Jewish faith are grown because of the biblical prohibition of applying a razor to the face.

In modern times, the electric razor allows Jewish men to shave as the razor does not directly contact the skin. The people with long beards in the Jewish religion likely follow the mystical and spiritual tradition of not grooming their beards.

Still, quite often, they may tuck them in on themselves so that they look presentable in a professional setting. Others do not follow the mystical element of Judaism and so bring their beards to keep them short.

For fashion

Other people tie their beards to the front simply because they like the way it looks. There are also several ways that you can tie up your beard. You can decide to have a single ponytail that extends from the chin. Or you can use multiple ties aggressively down the beard.

Check out this YouTube video that shows you exactly how you can tie up your beard:

Regardless of how you decide to tie your beard, as long as you are happy with how it looks, it is ultimately all that matters. No matter what happens, people will always have an opinion on how you decide to grow style your beard and, in my experience, it is better to not listen to them for as long as possible.

To keep it out of the way

Social norms dictate that you should keep your beard away from other people’s food and faces. By tying up your beard with multiple hair bands and rolling it closer towards your face, you can ensure that you keep your beard out of the way.

Keeping your beard out of the way is important in industrial settings and food preparation areas if it is particularly long.

Tying your beard is a simple and practical way of keeping your beard from dangling into dangerous or unhygienic areas.

To put it in a beard net

Many people have to wear a beard net for their career. It can be difficult to cram all of the hairs into a beard net without using something to hold the beard hairs together first.

By tying a beard before using a beard net, you can make sure that it doesn’t escape throughout the day and during your mouth and chin movements.

I would recommend tying in two places, firstly tying it as tight as possible under the chin and then a beard hairband at the end of the growth. You can then roll the beard backwards into itself and nestle it safely into a beard net.

To stop it looking thin

As a beard gets longer, it gets much harder to make it look full and thick. Some people also find that the strongest part of growth is at the front section, and the sides struggle to keep up with the increasing length at the front of the face.

One easy way of making your beard look thick and fuller is to pull the hair together and hold it in place with a hair tie. You should then pull out the sides of the ponytail to provide some volume at the sides of your beard – just underneath the jaw.

This action will give you the effect of a much denser beard on the sides and, even though it is pulled together, people will not notice faith then it has become towards the end. You are maximising the amount of thickness and density by pulling it together.

If you want to know more about why your beard looks so thin, check out my other article – click here.

To add beads

There is no need to keep your beard free of ornaments and decoration. Some people like to add small metallic and wooden beads to their beards. The Vikings and the people of Nordic heritage have been known to do this relatively frequently.

Adding a bead into your beard is very easy. Firstly you need to collect your hair in a small tube. By compressing your hair into a small tube, you can pass the bead over a load of hair easily.

Removing the tube will push at the hair and hold the bead into place. Some beads will need to be held in place because of their weight and size.

To stop the beard from forking

A forked beard is a long beard that splits in the middle – either naturally or by design. The beard can also be called a french fork because French forks only had two prongs. There are also comments online that state that it is called a French fork because it was popular in France for many years, centuries ago.

Besides being a style that you can aim for, a forked or split beard is often something people find their beard does naturally as it grows longer than about 14 inches. There are many reasons why beards grow the way they do on certain people, and they all come down to one thing – genetics.

There are some theories for why a beard splits in the middle, including:

• slower hair growth on the chin
• genetics
• bias in brushing your hair
• more or less heat on the side

None of these has been proven to create a forked beard or make beard forking worse. Nonetheless, you can tie your beard in the middle to stop your beard from forking and keep the two sides together.

How about grabbing some hair ties or elastic bands and creating a ponytail from your beard to stop the beard from forking? It doesn’t need to stay in all day – just while it is drying if you don’t want to venture into the world with one.

I’ve also seen men with really long beards use multiple bands regularly spaced on their beards from their chin to the tip of their hair. It may not be suitable for an office environment, but perhaps you can use this look on the weekend?

What you can use to tie your beard

You can use several things to tie your beard to the front, including a hair tie, elastic band, natural string, and hair clips. Let’s take a quick look at each one of them and whether or not it is the right option for your beard.

Hair tie

Hair ties are the most obvious choice for any bearded person looking to hold their beard together at the front of their face.

Hair ties are a perfect match for your beard tying adventure because they have been specifically designed to be kind on hair and have enough flexibility and elasticity to hold the hair in place without causing too much stress on the hair.

It would help if you looked for hair ties that do not have metallic parts which can rub against your beard and increase the damage and risk of breakage.

Elastic band

Small elastic bands can be used to hold your beard hair in place. There are some worries that elastic bands are bad for your beard because of the amount of friction they impart on beard hairs.

Are rubber bands bad for your beard?

Rubber bands are not necessarily bad for your beard as long as you do not put your beard hairs under too much tension. The rubber band has enough given in it to flex with your beard and is unlikely to have enough frictional strength to lift the hairs’ cuticles.

Continual use of rubber bands could cause certain parts of your beard to pull out if you use too much force and feel as if your beard is tight as you talk or move your jaw and face.

Natural string

A natural string can help you tie your beard as well.

Using a hemp-based string with some elasticity will provide your beard with a soft cushion and strong hold. The elasticity is important so that your beard can flex and move with your jaw and face movements.

Hair clips can help

Not all beards are long enough to collect the hair from the outermost parts of the jaw and bring it together with the hair from the chin. You have to have a particularly long beard for this to work well.

Using your favourite method of holding your beard, you can tie your chin to the front whilst providing a flat look by using hair clips to hold the beard hairs close to your jaw along the sides.

This combination of hair tying and using hair clips can be a winning formula for people who do not have a Wizard length beard.

How to tie your beard

There are several ways to tie your beard, and George Bruno, on his YouTube channel, goes through the best way to use beard ties, rings, clips, and rubber bands.

Tie it in a knot

here is how you can tie your beard in a knot to keep it safe and secure throughout the day.

Summary

In this article, we have gone over all of the reasons people may wish to tie their beards to the front of their faces. Only 6% of respondents to my online poll said that they tie their beards regularly.

You can tie your beard in many different ways and for a variety of different reasons. If your beard is long enough to tie and you have not tried it yet, I recommend giving it a go!

You can use hair bands, small elastic bands, and hair clips to hold your beard throughout the day. Backing up this physical hold with some hairspray or other beard hold product can help your beard look flatter and more controlled for longer.