If you don’t have beard oil handy, you can skip this step. Your beard may just be a bit harder to manage. Rub any oil leftover on your hands into your arm skin or anywhere else you want to moisturize. For example, if you have tattoos, the oil can moisturize them and give them a nice bright appearance. This method is ideal if you want to make your long beard look shorter and neater without shaving or trimming off any of the length. For example, use it if you want to look more groomed for a job interview or a special occasion.

If you don’t have a comb or brush that you can use at the moment, the next best thing is to run your fingers through your beard to brush it out.

Try to pull the knot up within about 1–2 in (2. 5–5. 1 cm) of your chin. If the knot is too low, you won’t be able to tuck it properly. If it’s your first time doing this, you might have to try a couple of times to get the hang of it. Just be patient and keep trying until you create a nice, neat knot close to your chin.

It’s important not to let go of your wrapped beard yet because it will probably just uncoil itself.

Any small elastic hairband will work for this. Avoid using any hairband that you have to twist and double up in order to make it tight enough. This will add unnecessary bulk that will make the knot harder to tuck. You could stop here if you just want to keep your beard in a little bun-style knot. However, if you want a neater look, continue to tuck it.

You should now look like you have a shorter beard. If the tucked knot feels or looks too bulky in the middle of your beard, you can try sliding it over to 1 side of your chin inside your beard. Feel free to play around with the positioning of the tucked knot to find what works best for you.

If the hair tie is too loose to hold your beard together in the middle, twist it and double it up so that it stays on. This technique is a super quick way to tie up your long beard and keep it from blowing around in the wind or something like that. Any type of stretchy hair tie you have handy will work for any of these techniques.

This is another way you can quickly tie your long beard up to get it out of the way while you’re traveling or doing something outside on a windy day. This technique is similar to putting a hair tie loosely in the middle of your beard, but the upper section will look bigger and bushier while the lower section will be more neat and tight.

This is great for when you’re sleeping because it keeps you from tugging on your beard while you roll around at night.

You can try different styles of beard braiding to achieve different looks. For example, you could braid just the bottom half to keep the top half looking bushy, braid the entire thing more tightly for a neater look, or even do 2 separate braids to make yourself look like a Viking warrior!

You can add to this look by sliding a tiny rubber hair band over the bottom tip of your beard. This will tighten up the bottom underneath the ring for a neater style and keep your beard out of the way even more. You could also try dividing your beard in half down the middle and putting a ring on each side for a variation on this look that could look great paired with a leather jacket and a motorcycle!

For example, you could tie your beard up with a shiny red or green bow for a winter holiday party or use an orange bow when you dress up for Halloween.