A sociological observation (of sorts)

Yesterday afternoon I attended a 70th birthday party. There were some 50 adults in the room, approximately two dozen were men. Four of the men were in their 30s, the rest were in their 60s and 70s - at 65 I’m pretty sure I was the youngest of that group. So, of the ~24 men in attendance, only three (3) were bearded. One was the man of honor, another was his son-in-law, the other was a waiter. Every other man in the room was clean shaven, including the two sons of the celebrant, both in their 30s. When’s the last time you saw a room where shaved men outnumbered bearded men? For me, it’s at least 20 years, maybe more.

Thoughts?

 

I guess it can well be said that beards on men have become quite popular. Not for me though. I'll be happy to "stand out in a crowd". I had 2 mustaches and one full beard in my life. None of the 3 lasted very long.

 

I understand. For a month or two prior to Halloween when I was 17 I grew a mustache. Shaved off half and painted it blue on October 31 when my pals and I went to see the Grateful Dead at the Nassau Coliseum. Shaved the other half the next morning. I kept a full beard from the age of 21 through about the middle of my 24th year. Then it was clean daily shaves until December 2012 when I grew a Van Dyke. That lasted for approximately 1 year. Shaved it off in late ‘13, early ’14, when I began shaving like my grandfather. Now my whiskers are shades of grey and white which makes me look older than I care to appear.

 

It seems, more often than not, that some kind of male facial hair wins out over shaving round these parts. Well over half the guys I encounter on a daily basis have it. Sometimes it looks OK, but it often just looks sloppy TBH.

Job requirements sometimes dictate being clean shaven. It was required for respirator fit testing where I worked. It was a rural area where guys loved their facial hair and being outdoors. In other words, this rule caused a fair amount of consternation.

Some professions seem to lean more toward being clean shaven. We've seen more than our share of male docs over the years, for example, and most of them shave.

A friend worked in a management position in the UK, and he wore a beard as it seemed to garner respect.

I had a mustache for a few years before it changed colors. I am starting to consider a blue one now, though.

 

I have sported facial hair in one form or another for many years. Mostly it's a Van Dyke or, to the dismay of Dr. Mrs. Primo, a soul patch, which I think is super-cool.

 

I'm just happy my hair decided to turn gray before it turns loose.

No more facial hair for me. I've got my hands full taming my eyebrows, nose, and ear hair.

 

I started going gray at 15, and finally tried this when I was in my late teens. Nasty stuff, it smelled absolutely awful! I was okay with my gray hair and miss it sorely .

 

You and me both, Charlie. I blame it on my former barber who would snip a bit here, buzz a little there… it’s all his fault! George Costanzo said it best, “You have to be vigilant!”

 

This seems like it would actually be diametrically opposed to a soul patch.

 

I've worked in hospitality since 1987, and encounter hundreds of guys in a week's time.

This stuff all goes in cycles. I'm seeing more and more young men trying to hang onto their boyish looks by being clean-shaven these days. Two years ago, these same guys were all sporting beards--or at least trying to.

Me, I've sported a full beard these past two winters. Not sure if I'll do that this winter. I've got to shave my neck and cheeks at least every three days, and trimming the beard is a fussy, messy chore--so it's not like I'm saving a whole lot of time or effort. I also think it's very aging on me, but the ladies in my life all tell me that it looks great.

 

The taming persuasion of eyebrow, nose, and ear hair was included in a list I read to keep men attractive to women. I do the nose and ear hairs, but I let my barberetttes do my eyebrows during my haircut.

 

I moved from a goatee to a full on Santa Claus look earlier this year. I haven’t seen my chin in 43 years. I now only shave my cheeks and neck to avoid looking like a senior wookie

 

In my case, it looks more and more as if my hair will go away before it goes grey.

 

I see you haven't seen North Porcupine Alley in the same 43 years, too.

 

You’ll have to explain that one to me, Paul

 

Great beard

 

Nice beard, Brian. A stick of Arko would last you the same 43 years.