Klingon
a sharp angular goatee with a hard moustache line
A Klingon is a goatee cut into deliberate angles: straight edges, sharp corners, and a moustache with a hard geometric line rather than a natural one. The cheeks are bare and every edge is cut rather than grown. Nothing else in the directory is cut to angles this hard.
The name comes from Star Trek, where the species' facial hair was styled into severe angular shapes. It has since become the usual shorthand for any goatee cut to hard geometry.
At a glance
- Also known as
- Nothing else in common use
- What it is
- Sharp angular goatee with a hard moustache line.
- Length
- Medium, one to three inches
- Growing time
- 6 to 10 weeks
- Trim how often
- Every 1 to 2 days
- Best face shapes
- Square
- Moustache
- Yes
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The variations
The same shape, worn differently. What changes is length, density and how much you take off at the edges.
Will it suit your face?
Where a style puts weight, and where it takes it away, is what decides whether it suits you. The table below is the short version.
| Oval | Works | Nothing to correct, so it comes down to preference. |
|---|---|---|
| Round | Ideal | Length at the chin pulls the face longer and the bare cheeks stop it widening. |
| Square | Works | Softens a heavy jaw by drawing the eye to a narrower point at the chin. |
| Long | Avoid | Adds length to a face that is already long. Go wider at the cheeks instead. |
| Heart | Ideal | Weight at the chin balances a broad forehead and a narrow jaw. |
| Diamond | Works | Fills out a pointed chin, though keep it short or it exaggerates the point. |
How to cut one, in four steps
- Grow it out6 to 10 weeks. You cannot see where your growth is dense until it is in, and shaping early is why most first attempts fail.
- Set the lengthTrim the chin and moustache with a guarded trimmer on dry hair, so it sits at its true length.
- Shave the cheeksDownward, with the grain, short passes and light pressure. Pressing harder gives razor burn, not a closer shave.
- Cut the outlineLast, with a precision trimmer. Work from the outside inward on each side, checking both sides between passes.
Full detail, tools and the common mistakes are in the guide below.
What it is
A chin beard connected to a moustache, like a circle beard, but with none of the roundness.
Straight lines everywhere. The sides of the chin beard run straight down rather than curving. The bottom edge is cut level or to a deliberate point. The moustache has a hard top line rather than following the lip.
Sharp corners where the moustache meets the chin beard, rather than a soft join.
The shape can be wide or narrow, but it is always angular. Soften any of the edges and it becomes an ordinary circle beard or balbo.
Who wears it
Very few people, and it is worth being straightforward: this is a costume-adjacent style with an obvious reference. It will be recognised, and usually named, by anyone who sees it.
Structurally it suits a square jaw, since the angular shapes echo the bone structure rather than fighting it. On a round or soft face the hard lines sit oddly against the curves underneath.
It needs good chin and moustache growth, because every edge is exposed against bare skin and there is nothing to hide a gap behind.
Growing it
Six to ten weeks. You want enough length that the edges have something to be cut into.
Grow the goatee and moustache fully, leave the cheeks for the first fortnight so you can see your growth, then shave them.
Cutting it
This is the most precise cutting on the site after the parted pencil.
Set the length first with a guard, six to twelve millimetres, evenly.
Cut the sides of the chin beard straight, vertical or angled inward, but straight. No curves.
Cut the bottom edge deliberately. Level, or to a symmetrical point. Either works; drifting between them does not.
Give the moustache a hard top line rather than letting it follow the lip.
Sharpen the corners where moustache meets chin beard. Those corners are the signature of the style.
Use a razor for the shaved areas, not a bare trimmer blade. Hard geometry needs genuinely clean skin around it.
Both sides in one pass, checked at arm's length.
Keeping it
Every one to two days. Cut geometry loses definition faster than any grown shape, because a few days of regrowth softens every corner you made.
That frequency is the real cost.
Moisturise the shaved areas.
Where it goes wrong
Softening the edges. Every trim that follows the previous line a little loosely rounds it off, and within a fortnight it is a circle beard.
Asymmetric corners. Hard angles make any mismatch obvious.
Neglecting the cheeks. Stubble against sharp geometry undoes it completely.
Trying it on soft features. The style leans on the bone structure underneath.
Questions we get asked
What is a Klingon beard?
A goatee cut into hard angles, with straight edges, sharp corners and a geometric moustache line. Named after the Star Trek species.
What is the difference between a Klingon and a circle beard?
Geometry. A circle beard is rounded and follows natural lines. A Klingon is cut into straight edges and sharp corners.
How long does it take to grow?
Six to ten weeks, so there is enough length to cut edges into.
How often does it need trimming?
Every one or two days. Cut geometry blurs faster than a grown shape.
What face shape suits it?
A square jaw, where the angles echo the bone structure. It sits awkwardly on softer faces.
Is it hard to do at home?
It is among the most precise shapes here. A barber setting the first one gives you a shape to maintain rather than one to invent.
Other disconnected styles
Same shape, different length or moustache.
If this one is too much work
Same idea, less of your morning.
Browse by what matters to you
The same directory, cut a different way.