Thread: Beards Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Kaplan Corday (# 16119) on :
 
A post I made about Karl Marx got me thinking about beards.

I have had my beard (a full one) since my late teens, except for my time in the army doing National Service.

Years ago, it was possible to come across conservatives (in the Brethren, at least) who thought Christians should not wear beards.

In my defence, I created an aggressive follicular theology which taught that every Christian man should have one, using my opponents’ veneration of the Bible, and their exegetical idiosyncrasies, against them.

The argument ran that the first mention (very significant!) of shaving in the Bible was Joseph’s denuding his chin to meet Pharaoh, because shaving was an Egyptian custom.

However, Egypt in the Bible supposedly speaks of the place outside God’s will and blessing, so shaving was a bad thing, as further shown by verses such as Isaiah 7:20, where it speaks of judgment.

Then there is Aaron’s beard in Psalm 133, the Lord’s beard in Isaiah 50:6, and David’s direction in II Samuel 10 to his humiliated emissaries to “tarry till your beards be grown”.

In reality, I couldn’t care less whether anyone has a beard or not, though I can’t say I am very fond of them on women.

Any other weirdo beardos out there?
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I have a goatee. I also have shoulder-length hair and wear sandals. I think I need no other faith credentials.
 

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Posted by Meerkat (# 16117) on :
 
Most of my hair has slipped from my scalp to my chin... but, boy, does it save on haircuts!! Run the clippers over top & bottom every 2 weeks... saves a fortune!
 

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Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
Another beardo checking in.

I used to have a full beard, back when I was 17. It went well with the waist-length hair . The current goatee came into being on my brother's stag weekend as the result of a bet, and just kinda stuck around since then.

And yeah, anyone saying a beard is un-Christian hasn't really though it through.
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
About every three years I grrow one for about six months, and am told it's quite acceptable. Unfortunately it makes me feel some frigging fungus is attacking me and I eventually eradicate it.
 

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Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :
 
I have a long van dyke, so long that I can plait it in ribbons for special occasions. It looks good when I am doing Kung Fu although it is a bit grey these days. I first grew it because as a teenager I was always cutting myself shaving and playing in a brass band with a cut lip is no fun at all.
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Meerkat:
Most of my hair has slipped from my scalp to my chin... but, boy, does it save on haircuts!! Run the clippers over top & bottom every 2 weeks... saves a fortune!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Zappa:
About every three years I grrow one for about six months, and am told it's quite acceptable. Unfortunately it makes me feel some frigging fungus is attacking me and I eventually eradicate it.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Two-Owls:
I have a long van dyke, so long that I can plait it in ribbons for special occasions.

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My husband had a long beard. When our younger daughter was small, she used to climb up in his lap and braid it.

Moo
 

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Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :
 
Bearded since 1987 continuously*. I had one for a while when I was first married, but after my wife took off, I grew it back.

*during chemotherapy in 2001, it disappeared on its own volition, but as soon as I could it grew again. It complements the lack of hair on my head.
 

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Posted by Augustine the Aleut (# 1472) on :
 
As soon as I had to start shaving daily, I stopped. I found it a disagreeable experience and have maintained a beard ever since (one "friend" suggests that this is so, should I ever be sought by the authorities, a few minutes with a razor would render me unfindable as there are no photographs of me clean-shaven since the 1970s). I trim it about twice a week and carefully use conditioner after shampooing it.

One of my first encounters with Orthodoxy involved the late Sylvester of Montréal (perhaps flippantly) discussing the importance of beards. He suggested that only effeminate men would go about clean-shaven and wishing to be like women. One of his interlocutors offered that he knew many clean-shaven men who were most respectable, and fathers of families. Vladyka offered that they might be latent in their tendencies.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
I grew a beard in the upper sixth for a role in a play we put on. I was envied by others because they weren't allowed in school so i was the only one.

I shaved it off in the summer before A' Levels.

I grew a beard in the autumn and shaved it off every spring from then onwards until it started to go gray and made me look old.

Now I am clean-shaven all the time.

[ 20. September 2012, 14:11: Message edited by: leo ]
 

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Posted by Hugal (# 2734) on :
 
Clean shaven for a few reasons. Gill H (my wife) perfers me that way. I used to ballroom dance competativly so it was discouraged. I have always worked it catering and not haveing a beard looks better than haveing a beard in blue net.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
I was either clean shaven or with a mexican style droopy moustache through the 70s. From the mid 80s, as the hair disappeared from the head it apeared on the chin.

I spent 20 years alternating between full beard in winter and a goatee in summer until the appearance of grey meant I shaved it off.

I'm now old enough for grey not to matter. The goatee is back.
 

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Posted by BessHiggs (# 15176) on :
 
Hubby has a full beard, has had one pretty much from the time he started shaving. He keeps is trimmed during the summer, but from about October til the end of February he grows it all shaggy and mountain man like. Luckily, I'm a huge fan of face fuzz
 

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Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
We all grew beards in the 1970s and 80s. Commonly I had French braids in my hair as well. In the early 1990s, it started to turn rather grey and then quite white, so reduced it to a moustache in 2000. I stopped shaving for Movember* and kept it until Easter. I ended up considering it an Advent-Lent continuation and may repeat this year. Beards are a little troublesome in very cold weather as they freeze up, though that also stops excessive talking.

* growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of prostate cancer
 

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Posted by Pre-cambrian (# 2055) on :
 
I've had a full but closely trimmed beard for about 15 years now. An earlier attempt was less successful (I shaved it off because I kept getting spots underneath it ). It's now got patches of grey but less than my hair. Even with it people always underestimate my age and without it I would look younger still. So I'll keep it until my vanity gets desperate.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
The most beardless place I know is China. We were visiting a temple off the beaten track.. Among the amenities was an old man with a rather mangy Bacterian camel with which, for a few yuan, you could be photographed. Well, his business was shot that afternoon. My husband, who has a full beard, was mildly mobbed by a crowd of young women, all wanting to be snapped. A gweilo! With a hairy face! A much more exotic beast.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Pre-cambrian:
(I shaved it off because I kept getting spots underneath it ).

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quote:

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Originally posted by balaam:
When you wash your face you need to make sure you wash deep.

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quote:

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Originally posted by balaam:

When you shave, which is just as often as a bare faced man, you need to be accurate around the beard edges. Shaving takes longer. Then you need to trim the beard regularly.

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quote:

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Originally posted by balaam:

Top tip: When you wash your hair shampoo your beard as well. LRP appreciates my use of conditioner. Scratchy is not good.

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This.
 

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Posted by kaytee (# 3482) on :
 
Reading this thread has made me realise that I can't remember ever seeing my dad wash his beard, which he has had since long before I was born. But then I don't remember seeing him wash the rest of his face either... I guess his time in the bathroom is private!

He doesn't shave at all, just trims his beard with scissors when it gets too bushy.
 

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Posted by Barefoot Friar (# 13100) on :
 
I have a beard. I keep mine trimmed close-ish... I think maybe 3/8"? I've never measured.

I do shampoo my beard every morning when I wash my hair. It just does much better that way. I hadn't thought about conditioner, though.

I used to be clean shaven, but I worked at a golf course one summer and was getting up at 4AM to shave. I quickly decided that was for the birds, and within two weeks had a full beard. I've kept it since. I trimmed it too close by mistake once or twice, but I've only shaved it off once. I quickly decided that was a huge mistake, so I grew it right back.

Oh, and you might find this site interesting.
 

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Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 
I don't see how you guys resist the call of the blade on hot, sweaty summer days. It's all I can do to keep from shaving my head.
 

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Posted by Pre-cambrian (# 2055) on :
 
That's why I keep it close trimmed. When I see someone with an Edward Lear beard in summer it does make me feel uncomfortably sweaty.

This is something which is never pointed out when it comes to electric shavers: they are really unpleasant in a humid climate.
 

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Posted by alienfromzog (# 5327) on :
 
Beardy-weirdy and proud of it.

Although I think I'm unusual in my variability. I think - and please correct me if I'm wrong - most men either never have a beard or have one for years. I tend to grow a beard, keep it for a few months and then get bored - or have an important job interview - or be pressured by women in my life - and shave it off, and be clean shaven for a while.

One thing that really intrigues me is the absolute freedom people feel to comment on beards - in a way they wouldn't about other things; everyone seems to think that their insights are valuable (they rarely are) and that I really want to know what they think (I don't).

The other issue for me as a man in his thirties who allegedly is a professional is that I do have a baby face - and hence feel more comfortable with a beard as it makes me look late twenties rather than about 19. In ten years time I may have a different view on this.

And as I have no woman in my life presently ( ) I have very little incentive to shave - it's so much less hassle to do a biweekly trim...!

BAFZ (Bearded Alien from Zog)
 

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Posted by Barefoot Friar (# 13100) on :
 
My woman wants me to shave, just so she can see how I look unshaven. I'm not going to do it, though.

I've never found my beard to be too hot, and I live in a place where summertime temps approach (and often pass) 37C and humidity stays above 70%. I guess it's what you're used to. But mine is really quite short, so that probably helps.

My only gripes are that the area round my mouth often feel greasy, and my mustache bugs me when it gets over 1/2". Mainly it starts messing with my nose hairs, thereby making my nose itch. I keep both offending parties trimmed.
 

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Posted by Kaplan Corday (# 16119) on :
 
Moustache hairs also get caught in the ring-pull thingy on soft drink and beer cans, which is exquisitely painful.
 

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Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Barefoot Friar:
My woman wants me to shave, just so she can see how I look unshaven. I'm not going to do it, though.

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quote:

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Originally posted by que sais-je:
My wife was the same, so I shaved it off. She was horrified by my weak chin - cunningly concealed until then through 20 years together.

I allowed the beard to grow back. We didn't talk about it anymore except, a few months later she said "I prefer you with more of your face covered up".

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quote:

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Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
I am one of the least hairy people I know and my one attempt at growing a bear back in the mid-80s ...

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this made me get such a dirty mind! vroom...


to chime in from a straight chick's perspective - nicely trimmed and clean beards are sexy. shaggy things that look like something crawled onto your face and died are not. clean shaven is nice too, if you have to face for it. if you have a weak chin - grow some hair!
 

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Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Twilight:
.... Norman Rockwell loved weak chins. It's one reason most of his characters seem so sweet and lovable.

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Thanks Twilight, that makes me feel better.
 

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Posted by blackbeard (# 10848) on :
 
Full set, of course. It does however get trimmed (electrically, just around the edges, daily) when I'm at home, takes about 20 seconds. When I'm on holiday it tends to be left to grow, but it doesn't look much different. Once in a while it gets trimmed on length.

I have given up putting lighted fuses in it.

Unfortunately it is no longer black.
 

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Posted by Darllenwr (# 14520) on :
 
I grew a beard whilst at university (early 1980's), mainly because I was too cheap to buy razor blades. And there was the incentive that my dad had a beard (grown on holiday in the early 1970's when he 'forgot' to pack his razor ...).

I kept the beard until 1990, when I got a job that involved occasional work in a clean room. In deference to the clean room, the rule for the site was simple enough - all staff had to be clean-shaven, women too. As I urgently needed the job (previous two years unemployed) the beard had to go. As this was the beginning of February, workplace at 1100 feet above sea level, shaving the beard off was quite a sacrifice.

Once it was off, St Gwladys made it very clear that it was not to re-appear. I abided this ruling until October 2009, when my dad died. As he had been the last bearded member of the family, it was my duty ( ) to grow a beard. So I did.

I keep it trimmed to #1 (3mm) with an electric hedge trimmer (OK, hair and beard trimmer) so there is only 3mm for St Gwladys to object to.
 

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Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Darllenwr:
I abided this ruling until October 2009, when my dad died. As he had been the last bearded member of the family, it was my duty ( ) to grow a beard. So I did.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Darllenwr:
My son and my nephew have bum fluff.

It doesn't count.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Wesley J:

quote:

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Originally posted by Zappa:
About every three years I grrow one for about six months, and am told it's quite acceptable. Unfortunately it makes me feel some frigging fungus is attacking me and I eventually eradicate it.

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Have you tried washing?

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No matter how hard I wash it doesn't come off, and in the end I have to use a razor
 

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Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :
 
Mr. Red is under strict orders to never shave his beard - I've never seen him without it and I don't think at my advanced age I could take the shock of waking up to a strange man presiding over the coffeemaker.

Plus when he wears a turtleneck sweater, everyone thinks he's a professor.
 

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Posted by Mother Julian (# 11978) on :
 
Beardy weirdie most of my adult life. Full set. Originally dark with gingerish areas, then with grey areas, now white just about all over. I hate shaving, it gives me a rash. Fortunately, my wife is very keen on my beard, the longer the better for her. Barely tolerated at work, so I keep it shortish, trimming it every fortnight. I look forward to retirement when I can complete my transmogrification into Captain Birdseye, and visit a local Orthodox church without feeling I'm letting the side down.
 

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Posted by Ronald Binge (# 9002) on :
 
I last had a full set in the early 1990s when I had a full head of hair. I loved it, but the then Mrs Binge didn't. Alas it had to go, but my revenge was a full-on Freddie Mercury moustache for a day, photographic evidence of which exists somewhere.

I am seriously pondering growing a full set again, waiting until after the Beach Boys concert in London next week when I shall be entertaining in a gentlemanly way a good ladyfriend who didn't like the beard in the old days..
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
When my wife and i were dating, back in the seventies, I grew a beard every year then shaved it off. I passed for 22 at age 17 because I had a full beard though not much of a moustache. I had a full beard on my wedding day but shaved it off less than a year later. I briefly had a goatee when I was forty. Due too advancing age and multi-coloured beard, I shall never grow one again! I have a moustache which is still largely brown and if I wear a hat to cover my white hair, I can pass for someone in his late forties as opposed to pushing sixty!
 

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Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :
 
I've had a beard since 1965, with a short spell beardlesswhile teaching at boarding school. But I suffered from ingrowing hairs when I shaved, so I grew it back. They fired me, but I had a new job within two weeks, and the head was fired the next year, with my departure contributing to the revolt, so I never worried about any repercussions about hair after that.

My wife and daughters have never seen me beardless.

Unfortunately, I am losing my resemblance to the ArchBishop of Canterbury when ++Rowan goes (well, not quite, since he has more remarkable eyebrows)
 

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Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
Yes a beard , trimmed sometimes . I often notice we beard wearers have an unspoken rapport one with another , you know that instant recognition thing when passing on the road or street.

Some beards are friendly , others are slightly intimidating . I always hope mine is the former.

[ 24. September 2012, 19:48: Message edited by: rolyn ]
 

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Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
I am currently a beardless callow youngling, but I am expecting to sport a fetching goatee post-menopause.
 

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