Chin Curtain Beard: The Lincoln Look and Who It Suits

What separates a chin curtain from a chin strap

A chin curtain is a fuller, longer relative of the chin strap: both trace the jaw from ear to ear without a moustache, but the curtain is wider and allowed to grow length that hangs below the chin. A chin strap is a narrow band kept short, a line drawn on the jaw; a chin curtain is a beard.

The missing moustache is what makes both look distinctive. With a clean upper lip, the eye goes straight to the jaw and chin, and the shape reads as old-fashioned in a deliberate way.

The Lincoln connection

Abraham Lincoln wore a chin curtain for most of his presidency, and it remains the image most people picture when they hear the name. His version was fairly full at the chin and ran up to the sideburns, with a completely bare upper lip.

The style also has a long history in some religious communities, where men grow a beard but shave the moustache. Today it most often appears as a considered, slightly vintage choice, and it has a certain boldness because so few people wear it.

Who a chin curtain suits

A chin curtain adds length and frames the lower face, so it favours faces that can take that extra length or need a stronger jaw line.

• Long or oblong faces, if the curtain is kept wide at the jaw corners and not too long at the chin, so it adds width.
• Oval faces, which suit most widths and lengths.
• Men with thin moustache growth, since the style removes the upper lip entirely.
• Less ideal for round faces, unless kept narrow at the sides and slightly longer at the chin.
• Tricky for a small or receding chin, where a moustache-free face can make the chin look further back; a goatee-based shape usually does more.

How we shape a chin curtain

The shape is built around your jawline, so we look at it from the side before cutting. The upper edge sits along or slightly above the jawbone and should run in one clean line from the sideburn to the corner of the mouth.

1. Shave the moustache and upper lip completely, and clear the cheeks down to the planned upper line.
2. Set the upper line on each side, matching the height at the jaw corner and at the mouth corner.
3. Trim the width even along the jaw, leaving the chin fuller if you want some drop.
4. Round or square the bottom, depending on your chin shape, and set the neckline beneath.
5. Blend the top of the curtain into the sideburn so it connects without a hard step.
6. Finish the upper line and lip with a razor.

Living with a bare upper lip

The upper lip is the one spot that gives a chin curtain away when it is neglected. Stubble there after two days looks like a moustache that failed to grow, so shave or foil it daily, and keep the area where the lip meets the curtain clean.

The rest of the beard is lower maintenance: an oil or balm to keep the hair soft, a comb through daily, and a trim every three to four weeks to keep the width even. A Beard Only + Lineup resets the upper line so the curtain stays level on both sides.