How to Trim Chest Hair and Make It Look Natural

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 29, 2019 References

If you're an adult man, there's a good chance your chest has at least some hair on it. However, if your chest is a bit hairy and you want to try trimming it, you may be a bit worried about it looking unnatural afterwards. But you don’t have to worry! Even if you’ve never done it before, it’s very easy to trim your chest hair in a stylish way while still keeping a natural look.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Trimming Your Chest Hair

1
Shave with the grain using clippers on the longest guard setting. Starting with the longest guard setting on your clippers will ensure that you don’t shave your chest hair shorter than you actually want. Your clippers probably come with several guard settings, in which case the setting with the highest number will be the longest one.^{[1]
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- Most people will tell you that it’s important to always shave in the direction of hair growth (i.e., with the grain). However, when it comes to trimming your chest hair, you may find you have more success going against or across the grain, depending on the way your hair grows.
2
Move the clippers slowly down your chest in straight lines. Start at the top of the chest and go all the way down the length of your chest, being careful to avoid going over your nipples. Repeat this movement along different parts of your chest until you’ve trimmed all of your hair.^{[2]
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- Be particularly slow when moving along your collarbone as well, since the rounded surface will make it harder for you to trim any hair in this area if you move too quickly.
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3
Shave again with a shorter guard, if necessary. If your chest hair is still long for your tastes after trimming with the longest guard setting, repeat the above steps with the next longest setting. Then, if your hair is still too long, do this again with the next longest setting. Continue working your way down in this way until your chest hair is trimmed to your desired length.^{[3]
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- After you’ve gone through this whole rigmarole once, the next time you go to trim your chest hair, you’ll know exactly which guard setting to use the first time.
4
Cut difficult spots with scissors and a hair comb. Use the comb to straighten out these hairs and make them taut, if possible. Then, use the scissors to cut these hairs to about the same length as the rest of the hair on your chest. Because you can’t use the trimmer on these hairs, you’ll have to “eyeball” it to make sure they’re the right length.^{[4]
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- Because you’re having to guess at the right length when cutting with scissors, be sure to work as slowly as possible to best avoid making mistakes and leaving this hair too short.
5
Trim your chest every week in order to maintain it and keep it groomed. You may find your hair grows back faster or slower than average, depending on how your body works. If your hair grows back very fast, you may want to trim your chest closer to twice a week. Otherwise, aim to perform touch-ups once a week to maintain a neat look.^{[5]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Keeping a Natural Look

1
Avoid shaving your chest hair shorter than ¹⁄₄ inch (0.64 cm). Unless you completely shave your chest, trimming your chest hair shorter than ¹⁄₄ inch (0.64 cm) tends to make it look a little odd. While trimming your chest hair is perfectly fine, make sure it stays at a reasonable length if you want it to still look natural.^{[6]
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- A reasonable length for chest hair is somewhere between ¹⁄₄ and 1 inch (0.64 and 2.54 cm).
2
Balance your chest hair with your facial hair. Because they’re so close to each other, your facial hair and chest hair styles need to parallel each other in order to keep a natural look. If you have facial hair, keep your chest hair trimmed to about the same length as your facial hair.^{[7]
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- For example, if you have a beard that’s about ¹⁄₂ inch (1.3 cm) long, trim your chest hair to this length in order for your general aesthetic to remain consistent and therefore natural-looking.
- Conversely, if you have facial hair, refrain from completely shaving your chest hair and vice versa.
3
Match your chest hair with the rest of your body hair. If you have lots of hair on your arms and legs but keep your chest hair closely trimmed or shaved, this may look strange. Keep the hair on your chest at or around the same length as the hair on your arms, legs, and torso to maintain a natural look.^{[8]
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- You can do this in 1 of 2 ways. The first way is to keep your chest hair trimmed to about the length of the hair on the rest of your body. The second way is to trim all of your body hair to the same length.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Choosing a Style

1
Opt for a closely trimmed look if you want hair that looks maintained. Keeping your chest hair closely trimmed is the best of both worlds, in that it lets you avoid the bare-chested look if that’s not your thing, while also allowing you to show off your body. All you have to do to maintain this look is trim your chest hair once or twice a week to about ¹⁄₄ inch (0.64 cm) in length.^{[9]
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- This look also allows you to keep some stubble on your face and not have to worry about the hair on your arms.
2
Leave your chest hair long but trimmed to look more rugged. Although this view is not quite as universal as it used to be, a chest full of hair has long been and continues to be seen as a symbol of “manliness.” Just use trimmers on the longest guard setting to trim your chest hair about once a week to keep it looking neat and maintained.^{[10]
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- There are a couple of different styles you can work with if you’re keeping your chest hair. For example, the “tree” look involves keeping most of the hair on the top of your chest while leaving only a thin line running down the length of your stomach.
3
Go with a fully shaven chest if you want to show off your body. First, trim your chest hair so that it’s as short as you can make it, then use a razor and shaving cream to shave the rest of your chest hair completely off. Repeat this process at least once a week in order to keep your bare-chest look.^{[11]
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- Note that if you have lots of body hair on your arms and the rest of your torso, you’ll have to shave or at least closely trim these areas as well if you want your bare chest to not look out of place.
- The bare-chest look also doesn’t pair well with facial hair most of the time, so shave off any stubble on your neck and face as well for best results.