Jason Momoa Without A Beard: Khal Drogo Shaves His Facial Hair

Reading time: 11 min.

A thick, full beard style is one of the first things that comes to mind when imagining this Hollywood superstar. But as he has occasionally proven, for Jason Momoa, no beard is no problem either. Since the beginning of his career, the actor has sported a variety of facial hair styles, ranging from a clean-shaven face or a sexy stubble to his signature ducktail or a wild winter beard.

However, a closer look will reveal that it’s not his perfect facial hair but his unabated self-confidence (and occasional movie magic) that has helped Jason rock every look. In fact, he has a rather patchy beard, which becomes more obvious when wearing shorter styles.

So if you’re going for a Momoa vibe, you’ll be happy to know that you have plenty of options to choose from, even if you haven’t yet managed to fix the bald spots in your beard. While taking on the longer, fuller styles may require a beard transplant, almost anyone can pull off his rugged stubble. And Jason Momoa’s clean, no beard look has also been making headlines.

Discover everything you need to know about Momoa’s beard transformations:

Jason’s most famous beard styles over the years
Whether Momoa looks better with or without facial hair
Tips for pulling off Momoa’s signature beard looks
What do to if you are struggling to grow a fuller facial hair style

Table of Contents

About Jason Momoa
Jason’s beard journey
Shaving his beard for the environment
To beard or not to beard – what is Jason Momoa’s best look?
Tips for achieving your best Momoa-style beard
What if you can’t grow a full Momoa-style beard?

About Jason Momoa

Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa was born in Honolulu in 1979. He made his acting debut in 1999, in the popular TV series Baywatch Hawaii. He was then featured on other well-known TV shows, such as Stargate Atlantis and starred in Conan the Barbarian. However, it was his portrayal of Khal Drogo in HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones (2011-2012) that forever propelled him to fame.

Since then, he has starred in and even directed several movies. His iconic role to this day is that of Aquaman, the super-powered ruler of Atlantis and member of the Justice League. However, he also played important roles in other blockbusters like Fast X or Dune.

Jason’s beard journey

Given the diversity of Momoa’s roles and his 25-year-long acting career so far, it is unsurprising that he has changed his look many times. And his beard made no exception. Here are some of the most fan-loved styles he wore throughout the years:

The beardless early years:

It may be surprising to those who discovered Momoa later on, but at the beginning of his career, he was nowhere near the massive, hairy, bearded giant we know and love today. In fact, he was clean-shaven and youthful-looking. But that makes sense since he was in his early 20s, and his beard had probably not fully developed at that age. And given the beach vibe of the show, a fresh, clean face looked more breezy.

The first TV beards

In 2004, Jason played the main character in North Shore, a TV soap opera set in Hawaii. For this role, he got dreadlocks and grew a short circle beard. Given its sparseness around the area where his moustache met his chin hair and under his lower lip, it appears that Jason may still not have reached his full beard potential yet, but nevertheless, he had developed a more masculine and mature appearance.

By the time he was playing in Stargate Atlantis (2005-2009), there was an observable thickening of Momoa’s facial hair. It looks less like a circle and more like a true goatee and moustache. However, while the beard is real, the hairdo is not. Since the dreadlocks had to be longer and thicker than his own hair, he initially had to wear extensions. But they took hours to apply, and heavy extensions can cause hair loss due to traction alopecia, so he resorted to wearing a wig instead [1].

The barbarian beards

In 2011, Jason renounced his growing beard once more for what may appear as a shaved style. However, he used stubble combined with a long, wild mane to achieve the savage Conan the Barbarian look. While a clean shaved face may have made the long hairstyle seem effeminate, the stubble made the difference, giving this look its rugged undertones.

During the same year, Jason undertook the role that made him world-famous: the merciless Kahl Drogo, leader of the Dothraki warrior tribe in Game of Thrones. For this part, Momoa went with a completely different beard aesthetic – he let his facial hair grow long and full (it appears that by this time, he had come into his full beard) and tied it in two places with beard jewellery. Combined with a waist-long wig, it made for a powerful, wild, yet noble appearance.

The superhero super beard

For every reprisal of his Aquaman role, Jason had the same look: a handsome bro flow (combed back, flowing, wavy hair) matched with his signature ducktail beard. This style is full and regal, fit for the King of Atlantis. However, it appears that either some of the promotional images have been retouched or Jason used some hair-thickening spray on his beard. That is because while his facial hair seems very full and even in posters, sparseness around the cheek area can be observed during movie close-ups.

Jason Momoa close-up in Aquaman 1 Trailer

The Swordmaster’s dual look

In 2021’s Dune, Momoa surprised fans by shaving his beard for his portrayal of master swordsman Duncan Idaho. However, not the entire part required a naked chin. The actor also sported a rather patchy and irregular goatee and moustache for some of his scenes, but his confidence helped him pull it off nicely. Since his character was a lady’s man, Jason gave his female fans some variety to admire, whether they liked him better, bearded or shaved.

The fantasy beard

Only one year after his beardless Dune appearance, in 2022’s Slumberland, Jason’s facial hair was once more luxurious and thick, as he was sporting a long, fluffy winter beard. His look was completed by long, back-combed, slightly unkempt hair and a pair of fetching ram’s horns since he was playing the dreamland avatar of one of the main characters. This seems to be the fullest his beard was ever seen on the big screen, and its length and the hair that flowed on its sides appear to have helped cover the sparser cheek hair.

Jason’s recent beard exploits

The past year has brought Jason a villain role in Fast X, as well as his own documentary where he travels the country interviewing artists and craftsmen (2024’s On the Road). While these two productions are highly different, they have a lot in common when it comes to facial hair. Both see Momoa rocking his iconic ducktail beard and his famous wavy, shoulder-length locks. It looks like neither the clean-shaved nor the long, bushy beard has appealed to him more than this simple, yet elegant look.

Shaving his beard for the environment

In 2019, Jason Momoa travelled to the desert and filmed himself while shaving his signature ducktail beard as a statement in an attempt to make a difference. Since it was the first time he renounced his facial hair in 7 years [2], he knew the recording would go viral, so he explained that he was doing so to raise environmental awareness about the importance of recycling plastic. At the same time, he was promoting his brand of aluminium bottled water, which he believed makes a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic containers.

To beard or not to beard – what is Jason Momoa’s best look?

It is difficult to tell if Jason Momoa looks better with or without his famous beard. This is partly because it is a matter of personal preference and partly because the public is mostly used to seeing him with some form of facial hair. In most appearances, he is at least sporting some kind of stubble. So it is up to you to decide which option you like best. Here are some pro and con arguments to help you determine his most appealing look:

BEARD

NO BEARD

PROs:

The beard gives Jason a masculine and regal vibe
Having facial hair allows for greater look diversity, as you can trim your beard in many ways
The ducktail beard compliments Jason’s face and evens out his thick eyebrows.

PROs:

Jason has a strong, chiselled jawline that can be shown off
A clean shaved look gives him a more youthful appearance
The lack of a moustache emphasises his lips

CONs:

Some parts of Jason’s beard are patchy, most conspicuous with shorter styles

CONs:

Jason’s long hair worn with a clean shave can take away from the rugged look he’s been cultivating for years.

Tips for achieving your best Momoa-style beard

Regardless of your favourite Jason Momoa style, there are some beard grooming tricks that can help you achieve the best results:

When trimming your beard, avoid overly straight lines – Jason always keeps his facial hair a little messy, giving him a laid-back, bad-boy vibe.
Don’t sweat the cheeks – Jason’s sparse cheek hair does not seem to bother him so he just lets his hair grow naturally over that portion instead of shaving it off.
If you’re going for stubble, keep it short – Jason’s short beard styles are not his best, due to patchiness, which is why his stubble is always kept to 1-2 mm.
Give your beard time – If you want a long, full, iconic Momoa beard (e.g. a long ducktail), you need to patiently wait for it to grow into one. It can take long to grow a beard, sometimes months or even years. And don’t get discouraged if it looks sparse at first – just like Jason’s, it may look fuller as it gets longer.
Choose the Momoa beard that works well for you—even if you think Jason may look amazing with a certain beard style, that is no guarantee you will, either. Face, body shape, and hair type matter greatly as well. Your beard says a lot about you, and Momoa has worn many styles, so be sure to choose the most suitable one.
Keep your beard moisturised at all times – Even though it may not be perfect, Jason’s beard always looks soft, shiny and clean. To achieve this effect, it is a good idea to wash, brush and moisturise your facial hair daily, trim it regularly and use the best essential oils for hair growth to nourish it and give it shine.

What if you can’t grow a full Momoa-style beard?

Maybe you have waited patiently for a long time to grow a fuller, healthier beard, perhaps you have even tried natural ways to fix your patchy beard. But nothing you do seems to help, and you simply can’t grow a thick, good-looking ducktail. Jason Momoa’s beardless or stubbly styles may not suit you, but you may not want to sport a bad beard either.

There can be many reasons why you may be struggling to grow facial hair: age, genetics, hormonal imbalances or conditions that cause beard hair loss, such as alopecia barbae [3]. The first thing you need to do when you’re dealing with sparse facial hair is to book a consultation with a trichologist (beard and hair doctor). They will examine you thoroughly and provide an accurate diagnosis. Then, depending on the findings, they may recommend one of the following treatments:

Minoxidil – Applying topical Minoxidil to your beard area dilates the blood vessels that nourish your facial hair follicles, allowing more oxygen and nutrients to reach them [4]. This helps them grow thicker and denser and remain in the growth phase for longer.

Steroid creams – if you are experiencing an autoimmune condition such as alopecia barbae (a form of alopecia areata), where your white blood cells attack the hair follicles in your beard, corticosteroids may help. If topical creams are not sufficient, intralesional steroid injections may provide better results [5].
Beard rollers – while there is insufficient research to show that beard rollers work for beard growth the same way derma rollers work for hair growth, this therapy is worth a try, especially when combined with Minoxidil. That is because using Minoxidil and a derma roller together has been shown to enhance their effects.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) – The efficacy of PRP hair treatments is well-documented [6]. While more research is needed to determine its results when used on beards, PRP contains growth factors that may increase your beard density and thickness and help create new blood vessels to nourish your facial hair follicles.
Low-level laser therapy – commonly known as red light therapy for hair growth, this treatment uses focused beams of light to stimulate the mitochondria in your cells. This can help them transport more energy to your hair follicles, increasing your beard density with consistent use [7].
A beard transplant – the popularity of beard transplant surgery has been rising in the past years as more and more men have started wearing facial hair. This procedure is chosen by many celebrities and ordinary people alike because a beard transplant looks natural – if performed correctly, nobody can tell you had one. Moreover, just like a hair transplant is permanent, you can enjoy your surgically enhanced beard forever.

Regardless of your beard condition and the effectiveness of treatment, remember that the key to a Jason Momoa beard is not facial hair perfection. It is confidence and self-acceptance.

It doesn’t matter if you have to choose a no-beard look or even if you are experiencing hair loss and need to wear a hairstyle for men with thin hair. What matters most is that you hit the gym, maintain a balanced diet for healthy hair and wear a genuine, dazzling smile, just like Jason.