Sort of like when baseball or hockey players grow playoff beards. More than once over the last few weeks, I’ve thought “if I gotta be a hermit, I’m going to look like a hermit!” But after about three or four days I can’t stand it and wind up shaving again. Has anybody out there given up shaving for the duration of the pandemic? What other personal grooming changes are people making during the pandemic, either voluntarily or out of necessity?
Already had a beard, but I’m going to have a mullet before long.
I’d shave when I went into the office – twice a week – and once on the weekend. I’m still shaving thrice a week, and trying not to be too scruffy.
Yeah my beard is near equilibrium length anyway. The top of my head is looking rough.
I’m not shaving now, but I will if I need to wear a mask at some point.
I haven’t shaved for about 10 days. Perhaps my beard will distract from the fact that I will soon need a haircut, and my barber is sequestered at home indefinitely. At least I’ll be consistently shaggy.
They lengthened our time between tours. That’s about as long as I can stand to not shave so I probably won’t until I get back to work. Having a long virus catcher is not a good idea if you have to be out in public.
About five minutes ago I shaved the gray hairs on the back of my neck, but I’ve been letting my facial hair grow for the last two weeks. It’s gotta be the ugliest beard in town, but I don’t give a damn; it’s not like I’m going anywhere. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I didn’t realize getting a haircut would be a problem until a week or so into the crisis.
At about day two of project beard, the “virus-catcher” idea occurred to me and I looked online. What I read is that the only disadvantage is that it prevents medical masks from fitting properly. I’d be interested to hear otherwise.
The reverse. I’ve had a beard most of the time since I was 18. It used to be full, but in recent years I’ve trimmed it fairly short but still extending all the way around my face. I’ve used the fact that no one is going to see me to try out different “looks” like trimming it down to a goatee. But I think I’ll go back to how I had it.
Should I shave so I can wear a mask? I need to go to a hospital outpatient treatment center next week, and I have one N95 mask. The treatment center shares the floor with the infectious disease clinic.
I’ve had a beard the last few years, and it isn’t some fancy or huge thing, so if I do shave it off, I can get it back in a couple of months. Mostly what I don’t want are all the comments I’ll get about having shaved. If I do shave, I know exactly how the first few minutes of every single video call will go for the next two weeks. I guess that’s a small price to pay for not sucking in a lungful of virus.
I am. My facial hair is a little sparse, and other than sideburns from time to time, I’ve never seriously tried to grow a beard. Going to let it go for a few weeks here, and see if it looks any good at all.
Anecdotally, based on a lot of Skype and Zoom calls with friends and colleagues, it appears that about half of guys who don’t have beards are growing them now, and half of those who already had beards have shaved them off. 
I had been maintaining a constant level of stubble since the holidays. But since two weeks ago, I just stopped trimming it and am letting nature take it’s course.
You probably shouldn’t grow a beard at this time for two reasons:
- You may end up touching your face more as your beard grows out since your face will feel different
- A mask will not fit as well on your beard as it will on your bare face
Luckily I got a very short haircut before this all went down so I’m good on that front.
I’m normally clean-shaven to maybe 3-4 days of scruff but I haven’t shaved in around 2 weeks which is highly unusual for me. Part of me wants to let it go a while longer but I’ll probably shave in the next day or two.
Good points, filmore.
As for growing a beard, me, no not on purpose. But I haven’t shaved in a week and it’s annoying me, so I’m shaving it off
And yes, the whiskers are goading me to touch my face more often.
I had shaved my stubble just before I was supposed to back to work in the ER on March 16. I had been out of work for several months undergoing chemo and a bone marrow stem cell transplant and I’d lost all my hair in that process.
Then I got word that I wasn’t allowed back to work seeing patients and was being “repurposed” to admininstrative work (fine with me!). So I started letting it grow out again, but then I had to go for a followup appointment wearing an N100 mask at the hospital so I shaved it again to ensure a good fit… Now I think I’ll let it grow back again.
I got tired of going bald at the end of February so I started shaving my head. For now I’m thinking of going with the bald with a beard look so I’m growing a beard. I had a beard the last two years and I got tired of it so I’m not sure how long this is going to last.
Prompted by this thread, I trimmed my beard this morning. I can’t do much of anything about my hair; I own a hair clipper, but neither of us know how to cut hair. But I don’t have to look like a complete lunatic.
Gosh, I hope not, I’m only turning 43.
I’ve had a beard since I was 19 or so. I’ve always kept it somewhat trimmed. Last night I told my wife I was going to grow it out like Billy Gibbons and she just glared at me.
As it stands today I’m doing all online teaching this term. So I dont have to look respectable for students or admin. This is perfect time to get shaggy. (Although I am going bald, with my hairline receding and in general going thin everywhere else that isn’t my face. So I have no idea how a beard will look as I keep getting shinier on top.)
Personally I think a long beard would be cool. This can be my midlife crisis moment. But if she won’t let me look like a cartoon rock star maybe she’ll let me buy a Harley Fatboy.