A salt-and-pepper beard can have several different colors across the cheeks, chin, and mustache. When you use a beard pencil, the aim is to make a specific gap less noticeable while keeping that natural variation.
Match the hair beside the gap
Check the area you want to fill in natural light. Match the surrounding beard hair, rather than automatically choosing the shade of the hair on your head or the darkest hair on your chin. Your beard does not have to be one uniform color to look well groomed.
Joseph Signature Line Beard Pencil Filler comes in four shades:
- Black: for a gap surrounded by naturally black hair.
- Dark Brown: for a gap surrounded by dark brown hair.
- Light Brown: for a gap surrounded by lighter brown hair.
- Gray: for a gap surrounded by gray hair.
If you are between shades, start with the lighter option and a light touch. Check a small area before filling a larger section. A shade that works on one part of a mixed-color beard may be too dark for another.
Keep the salt-and-pepper pattern visible
Add a few short strokes where coverage is sparse, then blend with the built-in brush. Follow the direction of the surrounding hair. Leave space between strokes and avoid coloring an entire cheek into a solid block.
For coarse, curly, or wavy beards, brush the beard into its usual shape before applying. Work around the texture you already have. After blending, step back from the mirror and check both sides in the same light.
Decide whether you want coverage or a color change
A beard pencil provides temporary cosmetic coverage. It does not grow hair or permanently change your beard color. If your goal is to change the color of existing gray hairs across your beard, that is a different task from disguising a small gap.
You can also leave your gray hair exactly as it is and use a pencil only where you want more definition. There is no need to cover every lighter hair.
Explore the four Beard Pencil Filler shades, or read how to fill patchy spots with a natural finish.