Jacob Elordi’s beard caused a stir. Here’s how to grow one out without making headlines

JACOB ELORDI HAS MADE headlines – shocker! – but not for taking the lead in the next buzzy box office banger (Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights has our bet), or for being a Bottega bunny/brand frontman. Instead, the Australian actor has been placed under scrutiny for the thick tufts of hair growing upon his jawline.

The Evening Standard says it’s “giving strong divorced dad energy”, while one X (formally known as Twitter) user asked to “keep Jacob Elordi’s red beard off my damn screen”. Harsh. Still, not everyone is against it. A writer at The Cut likes how Elordi can “produce something so robust”, while a TikTok user has attributed the negativity down to it symbolising the end of Euphoria rather than the facial hair itself.

At Esquire, the general consensus is that it’s not so bad – it reminds me of a sixties Paul McCartney, or an off-duty Christian Bale, and I’m not against it! – and Matt Hughes, barber at Idris in North London, also agrees.

“Elordi can grow half decent beard for sure. I think it’s a good look, and as a rule, I think the majority of blokes can add something positive to their look with a beard,” he tells me. “He’s slightly missed a trick with how he’s left it, and with a touch more grooming he could have stepped it up a bit better.”

Thinking of shocking your relatives via some facial hair this festive season? Follow Hughes’ advice on how to get your beard looking more suave than scraggly.

First, can you actually grow a beard?

Hair density is, unsurprisingly, really important in how successful your beard growing attempts will be.

“Check where the hair is dense,” says Hughes. “Play to your strengths if you have less hair on the cheeks by tapering it and making it look a bit more purposeful. A beard should look casual but purposeful – the Craig David days are long gone, and with that goes the harsh, chiselled, sculpted beard trims.”

Does your face shape suit a beard?

“A rectangular face is very much the ideal face shape in which you can really experiment and try a few other things,” says Hughes.

“The rounder the face, the more of a square shape you want to create. You need to remember that we’re trying to contour the face here, it should make your jaw line sharper and highlight those cheek bones.

“If you have more of triangular shape, we’re going to elongate things, and again, add some corners around the jaw, giving the illusion of a flatter, lower jawline. I’m always a fan of keep it neat for a square face shape. Hug the jaw line, making sure not to expose or create excess weight on the underside of the neck and keep your cheeks slim.”

Your beard lines need to look sharp

“The quickest and easiest way is to keep your lines.”

“Make sure the neck-line is neat, and in general, connect your line from the corners of the jaw to just on top of the Adams apple. This way you maintain good coverage under the neck and reduce the illusion of excess weight.”

“On the cheeks, keep it casual but smart, using either an electric trimmer or a razor to create a soft curved line under the cheek bones. Try not to come to low as this will distort the natural shape of the face.”

Your skincare routine will affect your beard growth

“There are a lot of products out there which sell the dream of bear growth, I’d be cautious of the lot of them,” says Hughes, recommending that looking after your skin – with regularly exfoliating and moisturisers – will inevitably help your facial hair.

During the growth process, “let the hair grow in, and if possible, try and give yourself up to three months to let any patches fill in. Whilst growing our, refer to the aforementioned and keep the edges sharp. This way you won’t look unshaven and the beard will look ‘work smart’.”

What’s a product worth buying? “I’ve always been a fan of the Murdock London Beard Moisturiser,” says Hughes. “It’s an all-in-one product which smells great and will maintain healthy skin and beard hair.”

Don’t forget to go to the barbers!

“Perfecting the angles and doing line ups at home are very tricky. Let a barber guide you through the process and talk through options so don’t end up looking like a caveman.”

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This story originally appeared on Esquire UK