If you don’t know who Johnny Depp is, here’s all you need to know: he’s a famous actor known for his iconic roles and his iconic beard. While it’s not a fully fleshed out beard, it’s also more substantial than stubble, and the results are neat and quite appealing.
His go-to look consists of a thick but neatly groomed beard paired with an equally groomed mustache.
While he also switches his beard up every now and then for his acting roles, this is the type of beard that Johnny Depp always reverts back to.
Today we’re going to be looking at how you can achieve this award worthy beard, as well as looking at some of Johnny Depp’s other iconic beards to date.
How Would You Describe Johnny Depp’s Beard?
Johnny Depp’s beard is thick around his neck and chin, and doesn’t tend to branch out from here. It is short too, remaining neatly groomed without any long stragglers poking out in every direction.
He does sport a mustache, although this does not connect to the beard. The soul patch is also neatly trimmed, and this doesn’t connect to the beard either.
So, there are three individual parts to Johnny Depp’s beard, all disconnected from one another.
With that being said, there have been some variations to this beard over the years. So, if you want to achieve a Johnny Depp beard, you’re going to have to settle on your favorite.
Let’s look at some of the most memorable beards that he’s sported over the years.
Jack Sparrow
The Jack Sparrow beard is one of which Johnny Depp encompasses in the hit movie franchise Pirates of the Caribbean.
Johnny Depp plays the role of Jack Sparrow in five out of the six movies, all of which he sports the iconic facial hair.
But what makes this beard so special? A chin strap beard can identify the Jack Sparrow beard with a mustache separated from the beard.
The hair is neatly short except at the chin, where two long braided pieces fall. These are finished with some beard rings.
While the rest of Jack Sparrow is rugged and pirate-ish, such as the black hat and dreadlocks, his beard is surprisingly well groomed.
While this beard has become popular with movie watchers, it did not originate from Jack Sparrow. Instead, it can be dated back to several cultures, including Viking pirates, who often adorned braids and beards.
Achieving This Look
For the Jack Sparrow beard, you will need:
Beard comb
Beard trimmer
Small hair elastics
Beard shaper tool
Hair beads
If you want to make your beard as authentically Jack Sparrow as possible, you’ll need to begin by growing your chin hair. Simply do this by growing your beard but using a beard trimmer to keep the hair on the rest of your face short and neat.
Alternatively, if you already have a full, long beard but want to switch it up and try the Jack Sparrow beard, simply trim the hair around your chin so that the chin hair is substantially longer than the rest of your beard.
Trimming
Now that you’ve grown out your chin hair, you’re ready to achieve the Jack Sparrow look. Start by shaving off all hair from your cheeks and upper jaw around the chin. This will leave you with a chin strap.
Now disconnect the chin strap from the mustache. You can also shave the chin area underneath the mouth to create a soul patch.
Your chin hair should be around five inches long, but feel free to grow it however long you want it to be. Section the hair into three pieces and braid them together.
Depending on the thickness of your hair, you might want to braid in fewer or more sections.
Once you’ve braided the hair and tied it with the small hair elastics, add the hair beads to complete the look.
Now you have successfully created your own Jack Sparrow beard, remember that upkeep is very important.
You’ll need to continue shaving your cheeks and upper jaw and trimming the chin strap and mustache to keep them neat. Trim your chin hair, too, if you like, or let it keep growing down to the floor!
Frank Tupelo is another one of Johnny Depp’s starring roles from The Tourist. The look consists of a goatee, similar to that of Jack Sparrow’s, but without the long chin hair and a thicker chin strap.
If you’re a fan of the well-groomed look, this one’s for you. It might take some getting used to, as you need to keep on top of the maintenance, but the results won’t disappoint.
Achieving This Look
Grow your beard out to be thick and voluminous. Most of the hair will remain in the jawline region, although Johnny Depp does allow for some stubble to show across his cheeks.
Unusual for Johnny Depp, all the components of this mustache connect together. The soul patch will connect to the chin hair, and the mustache will connect to the neck strap.
Use a beard trimmer to get perfect angles for this look. Shave the chin strap to be thick enough that it covers the entire upper jaw and ends around halfway between your jaw and the hollows of your cheeks.
Keep the mustache and the chin strap connected with a straight line. This line from your mustache should meet the chin strap at around 90 degrees.
Shave around the soul patch on the sides, but keep it thinly connected to the beard on your chin. Keep up maintenance with the help of beard oil and a trusty comb, leaving you with a rugged yet pristine beard.
Johnny’s Van Dyke
A Van Dyke beard will always turn heads thanks to its simple and effortless look. It’s great for people who suffer from patches in their beards, provided that you have a thick mustache to make up for it.
Johnny Depp makes the Van Dyke his own by having his chin strap fade gently into his sideburns, with a soul patch and a thick mustache.
Achieving This Look
To get this look, you’ll need a beard trimmer and a number of different guards.
Start with a #1 or #2 to trim your neck just past your Adam’s apple. Shave the hair into a chin strap which is slightly wider than the Jack Sparrow beard, and ensure that it goes up the jaw to the midline point.
Fade the hair as it reaches towards the sideburns so that there’s around one inch of skin between the neck strap and the sideburns.
Use your beard shaper around the chinstrap, soul patch, cheeks and mouth so that you get a clean line. However, if you want a more rugged look, you can trim these hairs instead of shaving them for a less groomed appearance.
One For The Patchy Beards
If you’re struggling to get a thick and full beard, don’t worry. While Johnny Depp is known for having such a strong beard, he has occasionally used a patchy beard for more unkempt looks.
Achieving This Look
Johnny Depp still keeps his signature chin strap, mustache and soul patch as the strongest facial hair with this look.
However, instead of meticulously shaving everywhere else to ensure that no stubble peeks through, he embraces it and allows it to grow on his cheeks.
Use a trimmer with a #2 or #3 grade to trim the hairs on your cheeks instead of shaving them completely off. Keep the hair on your chin, mustache, and soul patch areas growing as normal.
A Circular Goatee
The circular goatee is a common beard shape that many adorn, including Johnny Depp. This is a simple look in which connects the chin beard with the mustache instead of keeping them separate.
The result is a circle of hair surrounding the mouth, with a soul patch in the middle.
Achieving This Look
To achieve the goatee look, you’ll find that a beard shaper works best to ensure clean lines. It is of the utmost importance with this look that you get the circle symmetrical around the mouth and chin, otherwise it might look odd.
It would be helpful if you grew your beard out before attempting this look so that all the hair is the same length at the end, and you’re not left with a patchy circle.
Shaving the rest of your face will ensure that the goatee is the only hair visible, which will bring this look together.
Rid your cheeks and lower jaw of hair, and carefully shave around your soul patch. This is anything but a rugged look, so take your time perfecting it.
Less Is More
While it’s uncommon to see Johnny Depp without his fantastical facial hair, it does happen now and then! However, rather than seeing him completely bare faced, he’ll probably shave his beard down to a stubble length.
Achieving This Look
Achieving the stubble look is as easy as trimming the chin and mustache hair with a #1 or #2, while keeping the cheeks and jawline free of hair.
A Thinner Goatee
Much like all of his other bearded looks, Johnny Depp’s thinner goatee consists of a mustache, soul patch and chin hair. However, everything is just that little bit thinner and more trimmed.
Achieving This Look
This look can be obtained by starting with a traditional Johnny Depp goatee. Use a beard trimmer to cut the hair slightly shorter on the chin, upper lip, and soul patch region.
Now take a beard shaper and cut the mustache slightly thinner so that it is not touching the upper lip. The tips of the mustache should be the same height as the corners of your mouth.
Shape your soul patch to be smaller too, and trim it so that it is just barely visible. Finally, keep the chin hair short and neat. Don’t let it climb too far up the jawline either – keep it in the region of your chin.
Johnny Depp shaved off his sideburns for this look as well, so feel free to do the same if you want to nail the thinner goatee look.
The Mustache
Finally, Johnny Depp has been seen with just a mustache. This doesn’t tend to be for anything other than a role, and after the job is done, he will grow his iconic goatee back to match the hair on his upper lip.
His mustache is typically quite thick and stems from below his nostrils to the corners of his lips naturally. However, he has been seen sporting an impressive handlebar mustache in his movies, such as Mortdecai.
Achieving This Look
Getting Johnny Depp’s mustache only look could not be easier. Simply allow your mustache to grow in its natural way and trim it to just above your upper lip to keep it neat.
The ends of the mustache should finish just as they get to the corners of your mouth. Shave away any hair on your cheeks, chin, soul patch, and jawline.
Is A Johnny Depp Beard Right For Your Face?
Now that we’ve looked at all the variations that Johnny Depp has made to his beard over the years, how do you know if it is the correct style for you?
It stands to reason that if you look similar to Johnny Depp, then you’re more likely to suit his beard. However, you don’t have to look exactly the same as him – just have the same face shape.
Johnny Depp has a square shaped face rather than an oval or round face. His jaw is angular and wide, and he has strong cheekbones.
To tell if you have a square face, notice whether your forehead is the same width as your jaw. If the answer is yes, then you most likely have a square face. If not, you might have a different shaped face.
Many people with square faces tend to use chin straps to level out the appearance of their square shaped faces.
The longer hair on the chin and the shorter hair on the top direct focus away from a wider forehead and towards the facial details such as the eyes, cheekbones, and mouth.
This is most likely the reason why Johnny Depp styles his beard in the way that he does.
But does this mean that only people with square faces can use the signature Johnny Depp look?
Not at all. Goatees look good on a range of face shapes, such as round and oval. For example, Leonardo DiCaprio has a rounded face shape and can often be seen sporting a goatee. Robert Downey Junior also often sports a goatee, and he has an oval face shape.
What About If Your Beard Is Patchy?
While Johnny Depp doesn’t suffer from a patchy beard and instead often has a very full beard, most of the styles that we looked at above will work well even if you have a patchy beard.
The areas of the face where a patchy beard is most noticeable are the cheeks. As Johnny Depp shaves these and keeps them clear of hair anyway, you might not even see a difference between his beard and yours.
The only reason why you might face an issue is if you have a patchy mustache area. As all of these looks feature a full mustache, a patchy one might look out of place.
So, if you’re dealing with a patchy mustache, deal with that issue before shaping your beard into one like we have listed in this article.
Summary
We hope that you’ve learned something interesting about the many mustaches of Johnny Depp and found a new style to try.
Whether it’s the Jack Sparrow beard or one consisting of short stubble, there will be the ideal style here for everyone – provided that you like a goatee.
For patchier and shorter beards, we would recommend the stubble beard or the one for patchy beards. However, if you have a thick beard and want to try something more challenging, we love the Jack Sparrow or the Frank Tupelo.
After researching so many looks from Johnny Depp, it begs the question – what look could he be thinking up next? We’ll bet that it’s a goatee.
My name is Doug, and I've been growing a beard on and off for many years now.
I've not had a perfect journey on the road to growing a beard. I've spent more time than I want to admit learning about growing a beard. I'm not one of those blessed with perfect beard-growing genes. So, I've encountered many frustrating and challenging obstacles along the way.
I hope some of my mistakes and victories along the way will help you on your journey to your perfect beard. Of course, reach out if I can help and share this content with your friends that are beginning or struggling on their journey as well.
Beards are becoming increasingly popular and fashionable. This is because they help men feel more confident and look better than ever before. Contents show 1…
