Named after the seventeenth-century portrait painter Anthony van Dyck, this style pairs a chin beard shaped to a point with a moustache that floats free above it. The cheeks stay bare, the gap stays visible, and the point does the talking. It is the most elegant of the disconnected styles, historically aristocratic and still slightly theatrical. The Van Dyke suits men who want facial hair as an accent, sharp and vertical, rather than as coverage.
Who does it suit?
The vertical point lengthens round and heart faces beautifully. Long faces should not add more length; they are better served by the Balbo's horizontal weight.
How to maintain it
Shape the point with scissors weekly and shave the cheeks and gap every other day. Wax the moustache lightly if it wanders into the gap.
