What is a Soul Patch? How to Grow, Maintain, & Style It

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Plus, learn the history behind this soulful style

Co-authored by Marlon Rivas and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: January 31, 2026 Fact Checked

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• What is a soul patch?
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• Growing a Soul Patch
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• Styling a Soul Patch
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• Maintainence
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• History
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• Why is it called a soul patch?
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

Facial hair comes in plenty of different styles, and the soul patch is arguably one of the most unique. It’s just as it sounds, a sole patch of hair underneath your lip, and is known for its strong jazz and rock influences. In this article, we walk you through everything you need to know about the soul patch, including what it is, how to grow one, how to style it, and the history behind it, all with help from various professional barbers and cosmetologists.

Soul Patch Explained

A soul patch is a small patch of hair directly under your bottom lip. To grow one, start by growing out your beard. Then, make an outline of the patch below your lip and cut away any excess hair around the patch. The style was popular among jazz artists of the 50s and 60s and rock artists of the 90s.

Steps

Section 1 of 6:

What is a soul patch?

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1. 
   A soul patch is a small beard directly under the lip. The soul patch really lives up to its name, as it’s a literal patch of hair directly under the lip. It isn’t as long as a standard beard, but it still provides enough contrast between the hair and skin to stand out like one. It’s the perfect choice if you’re looking for a subtle beard style that still catches eyes.

   • The soul patch is also a great choice if your facial hair tends to grow in patchy.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Marlon Rivas is a Facial Hair Specialist with over 15 years of experience in managing and providing barber services.

   Juan Sabino is a Professional Barber with over 20 years of experience grooming hair and over 8 years of professional barber experience.

   Igor Sadurskii is a Traditional Barber known for his expertise in classic and modern haircuts. He’s taught barbering classes in over 10 countries and has won various awards for his work.

   Mark LoBiondo is a Licensed Cosmetologist with over 9 years of experience. He specializes in providing barber services reminiscent of classic neighborhood barbershop experiences.
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Section 2 of 6:

How to Grow a Soul Patch

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1. 
   1
   Grow your facial hair out for a few weeks. Facial hair specialist Marlon Rivas says, “You should let the beard grow for a couple of weeks on its own.” Beard growth looks different for everyone, and there are many genetic factors that influence the rate of growth. “So if you’re really trying to grow a beard [or soul patch], just see what it does on its own for a few weeks,” Rivas says.

   • Licensed cosmetologist Mark LoBiondo says to hold off on trimming or shaping your soul patch “until it grows longer than you want it.” This gives you more room to work with once you grab the clippers.
2. 
   2
   Wash your beard. After you’ve grown out your beard hair, wash it with beard shampoo and conditioner to make sure there’s no dirt or grime in it once you take clippers to it. If there is anything stuck in there, it may get caught on the clippers and interfere with your trimming.
3. 
   3
   Outline the shape of the soul patch with a beard trimmer. Once you’ve grown out your beard, use a beard trimmer to create an outline of your soul patch just below your lip. Start by cutting down from the edge of your lip, cutting the outline into whatever shape you like. Then, head to the other edge of your lip and do the same thing.

   • The shape you choose doesn’t matter as much as the neatness. You can go with a triangle, a rectangle, or even a circle! Just make sure you make precise, neat cuts.
   • The size doesn’t matter too much either. Typically, the soul patch stops about halfway down your chin, but you can grow it to however long you’d like!
   • If you do decide to grow out your soul patch, just remember it will require lots of combing, trimming, and daily upkeep to look fresh and sharp.
4. 
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   Shave away any excess hair. Using a beard trimmer or standard straight razor, cut away any hair outside of the outline you made in the last step. This means any hair on your cheeks, chin, sideburns, really anywhere that’s not the soul patch. This will help the soul patch stand out.

   • Cut the soul patch itself short if you want a subtle look. Cut it long if you want to make a statement.
   • If you’re going for a different style of soul patch, keep any hair that’s needed to maintain it. For example, if you want a soul patch with a mustache, keep the hair that’s above your lip.
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Section 3 of 6:

How to Style a Soul Patch

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1. 
   1
   Play with the length to find what looks best on you. A shorter soul patch will send a different message than a longer soul patch, so experiment to see what works for you. If you want a subtle, sharp look, go with the short soul patch. If you want a more free, natural look, go with the long soul patch.

   • Generally, a short soul patch looks better and more well-kept than a long soul patch.
   • The look you go for all depends on preference. If you want to rock a long soul patch, rock it! How it makes you feel is more important than anything else!
2. 
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   Add a mustache to balance out the patch. Pairing your soul patch with a mustache draws more attention to your face as a whole, rather than just the patch. It also makes for a versatile, low maintenance look that can be paired with any type of mustache. So if you’re looking for a customizable look that doesn’t require too much maintenance aside from the occasional touch up, go for a soul patch with a mustache.
3. 
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   Add a chin patch for a more goatee-esque look. If you want a goatee without committing to the full look, go for a chin patch. The chin patch is a small section of hair that sits on the base of your chin and jawline. It adds an extra layer to your soul patch, making it more akin to a soul patch beard. It’s perfect if you want a sharp look that doesn’t require as much maintenance as a regular beard!
4. 
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   Grow some stubble for a subtle addition. Want the illusion of a strong beard without the upkeep? Go for a soul patch with stubble! The stubble adds a soft shade of contrast to your face, complementing the soul patch well. It’s also a super easy look to achieve, you just have to trim your facial hair down to a stubble instead of shaving it all away when you’re cutting the soul patch.
5. 
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   Grow a goatee for a more traditional look. Want to keep things more traditional while still drawing eyes? A goatee is a perfect choice! It does require a bit more hair on the chin and surrounding the mouth, but in return, you get a sweet, manly look that isn’t much harder to maintain than the standard soul patch.
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Section 4 of 6:

How to Maintain a Soul Patch

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1. 
   1
   Keep the soul patch centered. Whether you’re touching it up for the first time or hundredth time, you want to make sure your soul patch stays in the center of your face. Take special care to cut it symmetrically so it’s not off-center, because if it is, it’ll be easily noticeable and can throw off your look.
2. 
   2
   Wash and moisturize your face and beard regularly. Professional barber Juan Sabino says a healthy beard comes from healthy skin follicles, so it’s important to focus on skin care. “You have to moisturize, you have to make sure that your skin is clean, and you have to make sure that your beard hair is conditioned.” So wash your face daily and your beard every other day.

   • Although the soul patch is smaller than the average beard, it’s still important to keep it (and the skin underneath) clean.
   • For a short beard like the soul patch, traditional barber Igor Sadurskii recommends using beard balm or oil.
3. 
   3
   Comb through your soul patch to keep it even and neat. When you’re getting ready in the morning, take a comb to your soul patch and brush through it to evenly distribute any oils and lay the hair straight and flat. This will keep it looking even and neat, which will translate to a clean, sophisticated look.
4. 
   4
   Regularly trim your facial hair. It’s especially important to trim your soul patch every 1-2 weeks to prevent overgrowth. On top of that, though, you’ll want to shave away any surrounding facial hair to ensure that the whole look is clean and complete. For example, if you’re trimming your soul patch and notice your sideburns growing out, shave them away to maintain a sleek look.
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Section 5 of 6:

History of the Soul Patch

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1. 1
   The earliest known record of the soul patch dates back to the 1600s. Although it wasn’t called the soul patch yet, the style of facial hair dates back to 1625 in Europe. It was seen in Frans Hals’ painting Portrait of a Man in a Wide-Brimmed Hat, where the subject also rocked a thick handlebar mustache.
2. 2
   Black jazz players popularized the soul patch in the 1950s-60s. Black jazz players in the 50s adopted the soul patch as a way to keep the skin below their lips from touching their instruments when they used them. This quickly became a popular look in the jazz community as a result, and soon, it spread to Beatnik and Rock communities, as well.

   • The look became especially popular among rock artists in the 90s, but started to fizzle down in the 2000s.
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Section 6 of 6:

Why is it called a soul patch?

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1. It’s called the soul patch due to 70s soul music influence. The term “soul patch” was first used in the 1970s by Rolling Stone and National Lampoon. During this period, Saturday Night Live stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were coming up with their Blues Brothers characters and brought R&B and soul musicians to help them out. Belushi saw that these musicians had soul patches and decided to rock one himself, with the name being attributed to their influence.

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