What Goatee Styles For Older Guys Are Preferable in 2024? The goatee is one of the quintessential beard styles for guys throughout the centuries. Yes, it’s still in style and it looks better than ever.
If you’re the kind of guy who can’t grow a full beard or prefers not to have hairy cheeks, then the goatee is the perfect fit for you.
If you have trouble with patchy beards or sides, then you can definitely rock some moustache and chin action. If it looks good on Brad Pitt, it’s good enough for us regular folk. You can also check out this article on Are Grey Beards Attractive in 2024?
A goatee actually has two definitions. Before the 1990s, it used to only refer to chin hair like what we would call a soul patch today.
It gets its name from looking like goat hair. However, as time went on the word became more associated with the combination of moustache and chin hair with clean-shaven cheeks.
The goatee has been popular for more than you would think, way way more. The style has been adopted ever since ancient times of Greece and Rome, and it has appeared in paintings, statues, and art for centuries.
Does A Gray Goatee Make You Look Older?
Nowadays, you will find goatees mainly adopted by older men looking to spice up their facial hair game. More often than not, the goatee will also have some salt and pepper in it or it can even be completely gray. Does it make you look older? Well, we prefer the word mature.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that a little grey in your beard is more attractive, as it signals maturity, age, wisdom, and experience. With your goatee, you want to shoot for the ’30s-’40s age range, which looks the best.
How Do I Turn My Goatee Gray?
You have a couple of different options if you want your goatee to have a little bit of color to it, as the same principle applies to any hair or beard:
- Let It Grey Over Time: You can just wait it out, eventually your hairs are going to get greyer naturally. The downside is, that it might take a bit to get there, and you will go through the salt and pepper black and grey phase first. Still, that’s how most of us would do it.
- Dye It: You can always dye your beard or goatee grey or white, but you will have to use bleach first. When dyeing, it can be temporary or permanent, depending on what you prefer.
Surprisingly, women do like grey beards and the goatee is no exception. When you start looking your age a little bit, it tells the woman that you’re safe, reliable, mature, and basically, you’re a keeper.
The older you look, the more you look like you care like a father. Couple this with a sick-looking goatee, and you’ve got the perfect mix between the outlandish stylish nature of the goatee and the elegance and weight of grey hair.
How Far Should A Goatee Go Under The Chin?
The dimensions of a goatee are crucial to how it looks. We’ve all seen the guy with the overly long goatee under his chin to the point where it just looks like Dumbledore decided to shave only his cheeks this morning.
Ideally, you want the goatee to stop right at the edge of your chin, but if you want to go further, you shouldn’t go more than an inch or two or a couple of fingers’ length.
If you’re going for a longer goatee, you also want your moustache to be thicker and longer. It’s all about symmetry; if your chin hair is overgrown but you have a thin moustache, then it looks unbalanced. For the thickness of the hair, you can rock a goatee at any length from stubble to a thick fully grown goatee.
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Goatee Styles For Older Guys (Do Goatees Ever Look Good?)
Although there is such a big debate over goatees, they’re definitely capable of looking great with enough care and attention. Some people think they’re outdated and belong back in the 90s, while some agree that they still look great.
When it comes to styling, you have to be careful. A bushy, unkempt goatee could look even worse than an unkempt messy beard.
On the other hand, an overly styled and detailed goatee will just make you look like an Iron Man cosplayer and it honestly just looks tiring and time-consuming. We’ve gathered some of the best goatee styles for you:
The Van Dyke
The Van Dyke is one where the mustache and chin hair is separated, and the mustache is usually a bit twirled to the top. The Van Dyke Beard will make it look like you came straight out of the old west, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.
It’s classic, but it also has personality and definitely stands out. It sends the message “Hey, I don’t conform to your rules and I will look the way I want to look.”. Plus, it also looks great on older gentlemen, to really drive home the old weathered gunslinger look.
The Full Goatee
The full or classic goatee is just what it sounds like: clean, and trimmed, with no crazy styles or trims. You just shave the sides, let the middle grow, and maybe just trim it, especially your mustache.
It’s the safest option and perhaps the best-looking one. With this style, the goatee should stop at the chin and not go further. If you have a square or angular facial shape, this is perfect.
The Anchor.
The anchor goatee is one of the most famous styles. It’s called the anchor because it resembles the anchor of a ship, which is obviously what you want to have on your face.
The anchor is a full beard with the connecting hair lines shaved. Still, you need to keep a little bit of the mustache hanging on the sides next to the lips to get the look down. With the anchor, you can trim it or keep it longer.
The Soul Patch
Listen, we’ve all made fun of someone with a soul patch before, but that doesn’t mean they look bad. The soul patch is actually quite versatile, as you can play around with how long it is and the thickness of the hair.
It doesn’t look bad with a suit, and you can grow a normal goatee around it with no problem.
Goatee Without The Mustache
If you’re not a moustache kind of guy, you can just grow the chin hair with the chin strap and everything and shave the mustache. You get all the benefits of a goatee while keeping your moustache shaved.
Disconnected Short Goatee
The disconnected short goatee is especially good-looking on black men. Black men’s beards can be tough to style and are often patchy, that’s why the disconnected goatee embraces that patchiness and makes it positive.
It gives you a clean and fresh look and contours your face.
Chin Puff
This is another one that sends a message. The chin puff involves shaving your entire beard but leaving some at the very bottom of your chin.
No moustache, soul patch, chin strap, nothing. Again, this is perfect for patchy beards or dudes struggling to grow facial hair in general.
How Do I Make My Goatee Look Good?
Growing it out isn’t enough, as goatees actually take the most effort and time in the morning. You have to style it, properly shave your cheeks so you don’t have a 5 o’clock shadow with a goatee, and clean up your chin and moustache.
Other tips include using beard wash 1-3 times a week, moisturizing, and hitting it with some beard oil. This will soften the hairs and make them shinier and softer.
Conclusion.
Goatees are a statement, one that you’re picking your own style and that you’re capable of trying something new and different. For older men, a goatee looks great and mature, but still hip and cool enough to wear it.
Should you go for the crazy goatee styles? Maybe later, but it’s worth trying out the classic full goatee first at a maximum length of two fingers under your chin.
As a black man, the goatee is your facial hair’s best friend and mostly looks better than a full patchy beard, especially if you’re still young. In the end, make sure you take care of your beard so you will look fresh and cool 24/7.