Having been bearded for the better part of the last 40+ years, I can only say that you are the best judge of how your beard should look. My wife likes my beard, but we do have a slight disagreement about length. I prefer to let it grow until the cows come home, and she wants it a little shorter. That being said, for the most part I let it grow until she complains really loud. My hair is also long, I pull it back into a ponytail when I am doing something that the hair could get in the way of, otherwise I let it go unencumbered. I am just an olde hippie at heart.