Monkey tail beard
one continuous line, and why it is so hard to keep
A monkey tail runs a single unbroken line of hair from one sideburn, down the jaw, around the corner of the mouth and into a chin beard. Everything else is shaved. One side only.
It is the most demanding shape in this directory, not because it is long or needs technique, but because it is one line and there is nothing else on the face to distract from it.
At a glance
- Also known as
- Nothing else in common use
- What it is
- A single line from sideburn round the mouth to the chin.
- Length
- Short, under an inch
- Growing time
- 3 to 4 weeks
- Trim how often
- Every 1 to 2 days
- Best face shapes
- Oval
- Moustache
- Yes
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One continuous line around the mouth, and everything else shaved. There is nowhere for a ragged edge to hide.
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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 out3 to 4 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 actually is
Start at the sideburn on one side. Run a narrow strip down in front of the ear, along the jaw, then up around the corner of the mouth to join a moustache section, and down into a small chin beard or soul patch.
The line is continuous and it is on one side only. That asymmetry is the whole style. Both sides done gives you a chin strap with extras, not a monkey tail.
Width is usually a centimetre or less. Wider than that and it stops reading as a line and starts reading as a beard with odd bits shaved out.
Who wears it
Almost nobody, which is either the appeal or the warning depending on your temperament. It is a deliberate, noticeable shape and it will be the first thing people register about your face.
It suits an oval face best, because the line traces the existing proportions rather than trying to change them. On a round face the curve round the mouth tends to emphasise fullness; on a long face the vertical run adds length you do not want.
What it genuinely requires is even growth along the whole route. The line passes through the sideburn, the jaw, the corner of the mouth and the chin, and a gap anywhere along it breaks the one thing that defines the style. If your growth is patchy, this is the least forgiving option on the site and the patchy beard styles page is a better place to start.
Growing it
Three to four weeks. You need enough to see your growth pattern along the whole path before you cut anything, and the jaw section is usually the last to fill.
Grow the full beard out first. You are carving this shape rather than growing it directly, so you want material everywhere before you start removing it.
Cutting it
Plan the route before you touch it. Sideburn, down the jaw, round the mouth, into the chin. Work out where each turn happens while you can still see a full beard.
Set the length first with a guard, four to six millimetres, so the line has a consistent thickness.
Cut the outer edge before the inner one. The outer edge follows the jaw and is the easier of the two to place. Once it is right, the inner edge gives the line its width.
Do the corner of the mouth last and slowly. It is the tightest turn on the route and the place where the line most often ends up too thick or breaks entirely.
Take the whole other side off cleanly. Half-hearted stubble on the opposite cheek ruins the effect.
Neckline as usual, two finger-widths above the Adam's apple.
Keeping it
Every one to two days. There is no way around this. The style is a narrow line surrounded by shaved skin, so a single day of regrowth blurs it and two days destroy it.
That frequency is the honest reason most people who try a monkey tail do not keep one. It is not difficult, it is relentless.
Moisturise. You are shaving most of your face daily and leaving a strip of beard on it.
Where it goes wrong
Letting the line thicken. Every trim that takes a bit less than the last one widens it, and a wide monkey tail is just a strange beard.
A break at the corner of the mouth. The tightest part of the route and the most common failure. If your growth will not carry it, the style will not work.
Doing both sides. Different style entirely.
Skipping a day. More visible here than on anything else.
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.