Trimming your beard can be a balancing act. On one hand, you need to do something, otherwise your jaw-forest may very well end up taking over your face. At the same time, however, you need to make sure you don’t snip too heavy-handedly, because the last thing a beard should be is over-manicured. That’s why, when it comes to pruning the hair on your chin, good role models are essential. And so we’d like to draw your attention to one Mr. Justin Timberlake, who presented a perfect example of how to get one’s beard in perfect summer shape yesterday at the British Academy Television Awards.

But first, for comparison, a look back. This winter, sometime around the Academy Awards, Timberlake’s beard hit its peak. Verging on full-on dandy wildman territory, the man’s face mane had a bushy, unkempt quality to it that really only makes sense when the weather outside is more blustery than balmy. You can still see remnants of it in the video for his soon-to-be megahit “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” which, coincidentally, was just released this past Friday.

Which brings us to yesterday, when JT stepped out onto that BAFTA red carpet with a face full of hair that looked refreshed and ready for summer. And, sure, some of that might have to do with the fact that he seems to have scaled back on bushiness. But there’s one other factor making Justin’s beard appear renewed: his freshly shorn neckline.

Exhibit A.

2016 Dave J Hogan

Featuring a gentle corner at the point of the jaw and a professional-grade beard fade—leaving a visible bit of attended-to stubble between the Adam’s apple and the place where the jaw meets the neck—a clean-cut neck line like Timberlake’s is the easy way to transition your wild winter beard into something more suitable for the season. That is, if you haven't already shaved the whole thing off.

Related Stories for GQJustin TimberlakeGroomingHairBeardsCelebrities