Who’s got a Goatee?
Goatees are really in at the moment. Celebrity Goatee wearers include Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, James Hetfield, Nicolas Cage, Orlando Bloom, Edward Norton, Samuel L Jackson and Colin Farrell.
Where does the Goatee come from?
No prizes for guessing this one. Just remember that your average goat can’t trim its beard into a facial masterpiece, but you can.
Key elements
A short or medium-length beard that’s barely wider than your mouth, with or without a gap of bare skin below the bottom lip. A true Goatee isn’t joined to a mustache.
Optional extras
Goatees are minimalist creatures. They may be shaped like a diamond, a W or a filled-in U, but they never spread too far upwards and outwards to avoid turning into a Balbo.
Impression the Goatee gives
Somewhere between arty, intellectual and bohemian, with a definite touch of hipness.
Hot or not?
With such a stellar cast of Goatee wearers, this style is off-the-scale sizzling.
Did you know?
In Greek mythology, the god Pan is often depicted with a Goatee. Abraham Lincoln shaved his beard into the same style at various times during his presidency. History does not record why.
Specifications of a true Goatee
- Lives on its own, without a mustache for company - Doesn’t get much wider than your mouth (thereby distinguishing it from a Balbo) - Is surrounded by a clean-shaven neck, upper lip and cheeks - May or may not be trimmed to show the skin beneath
Variations include
- Adding a Soul Patch (a small tuft of hair connecting your lower lip and your Goatee) - Growing the Goatee up towards a disconnected mustache – this style is called a Van Dyke - Joining it to your mustache to form a Circle Beard - Wearing a Goatee under a Handlebar Mustache to give your look a sophisticated twist - Grooming it into a slightly elongated, thin U-shape to create a Chin Puff - Styling and shaving it into an upside-down teardrop shape, known as a Petit Goatee - Shaving off everything apart from a Soul Patch, then growing out the hair on the bottom of your chin until you can make two plaits. The resultant look is called a Sparrow, as in Captain Jack
Top tip
A Goatee tends to look best short, with a gently rounded lower edge.