Growing a beard provides plenty of advantages—you’re more attractive to potential partners, you can change your facial features, and you look more rugged. But one advantage outweighs them all—you can stop shaving. To reach full Gandalf status, you have no choice but to ditch your morning routine. However, there’s one pesky problem that remains. You still have to continue shaving your neck.

Stubble looks cool on your face; it adds dimension and communicates the promise of a better, fuller beard. But on your neck, it looks unkempt. So, even though you’re ready to embrace a low maintenance approach to your facial hair, you can’t throw away the razor just yet. This begs the question—when can you stop shaving your neck?

A Rule of Thumb For Your Neckline

Every guy is different. You might prefer a clean, tight neckline, or you might be a fan of a more natural look. Though, as a general rule, you should keep cleaning up your neckline until your beard completely covers it. Basically, if you need to lift up your beard for a neck trim, that means no one else can see it. If no one can see it, there’s no reason to keep shaving it.

However, there’s still a little maintenance involved.

Beard Care Guidelines For Shaving Your Neck

While you’re still shaving your neckline, you might be tempted to rush through a quick trim and skip the other steps associated with shaving. This is a bad move. Even though you’re just cleaning up your line, this is still shaving. Without proper care, you’re prone to itching, irritation, redness, bumps, and all the other unfortunate side effects of a bad shaving routine.

After your shave, use a moisturizing aftershave to soothe your skin and keep it moisturized. This reduces irritation, which can be especially painful along your neckline. Also, use a peppermint beard oil daily, not just on your main beard hair, but also on your neck hair. This beard hair tends to be shorter, and thus requires less moisture than your full beard. But it needs moisture nonetheless. If you feel that beard oil is too aggressive for your length, try using an oil-free moisturizer instead.

Also, be sure to avoid the creeping neckline. This occurs when you trim your line a little higher each week. Do your best to ensure your trim is well done and consistent. Use this guide if you’re at a loss for where to start.

Once you’ve moved to a stage where you’re no longer trimming your neckline, it’s all about cleanliness and moisturizing. Every other day (or at a frequency that works for you), lather up with a tea tree & peppermint beard shampoo. The more beard hair you have, the more often it needs to be cleaned. Our peppermint beard shampoo digs deep to pull out all the dirt, excess oil, and crumbs without stripping your beard hair of its natural moisture.

Then, use a beard comb to evenly spread peppermint beard oil throughout your beard. At this length, rubbing it in with your hands doesn’t guarantee you’re reaching every follicle.

And again, if the hair along your neckline is still a bit short, your everyday moisturizer could work for this area.

It’s important to point out that you can continue shaving your neckline as long as you want. If you prefer to keep it cleanly trimmed, feel free to continue, even after your beard is long and full. Ultimately, it’s about deciding what style works best for your face and then embracing that look completely. If it’s all natural, go for it. If it’s well-kempt, do it. Just remember to follow the proper care guidelines, regardless of the style you choose.