Facial Hair Etiquette

Manners mavens of the SDMB…

I am thinking of growing a beard. I haven’t gotten very far, only about a weeks worth. It’s at that in-between stage, having left stubble on one side but still peering through the binoculars at beard on the other.

I will be attending a spate of weddings of good friends (five in the next five weeks !!!) and I am concerned as to whether a partially grown beard would be considered rude.

Your personal opinion is sufficient unless you are aware of some generally accepted standard.

Thanks!

Go for it, man! (or woman)

Mine does the same thing, thick under my jaw, good enough to grow out on one side of my face, but too thin and patchy on the other. Very annoying when I want to change the look every now and then

I think as long as you keep it trimmed neatly, it should be OK. By the time of the 5th wedding, it should be grown in fine.

I really believe that this is some sort of law of nature.

“Anytime a man begins growing a beard, he shall be invited to many weddings.”

I think that Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell should use this as proof that there is a God and George Carlin should use it to prove that God has a sense of humor.

Go for it. You’ll look a little stupid but we all did.

TV

**having left stubble on one side but still peering through the binoculars at beard on the other. **

Sounds kind of nasty, solich. No chance that maybe a beard is just not you?

I can’t quote from Miss Manners but the rule I used was to trim it neatly before attending any important functions. I don’t worry about those things anymore since I had my beard zapped off but before then, I had a permanent Don Johnson look (and I had it before him dagammit!). I didn’t shave for years and anyone who knew me knew I wasn’t going to either regardless of the occassion.
I think a couple of you misunderstood stoli’s description re: the beard.
It sounded to me like he was saying it was grown out enough so that it didn’t look like stubble but not grown to a full beard, something a just little longer than a Don Johnson look. Not that he was saying it was only grown in patches on his face. This would change my answer if that were the case.

I’d trim it down pretty close so that it’s obvious to anyone who looks at you that you’ve made an effort to maintain it. This won’t actually affect your growth. At the beginning, the problem with most beards is that one part starts growing immediately while another (such as around your mouth) could take weeks or months to get started. If you trim it down, it’ll just match the gangbusters parts up to the slow-bloomer parts and the whole thing will look neat. Plus, now that the slow-bloomer areas have started, they’ll grow in at about the same rate as the rest so it will continue to look neater even as it gets fuller.

–Cliffy,
beard wearer

i think it was johnny cochran that said: “if the beard don’t behave, you must shave!” or maybe it was someone else?

i think the point is this: if it ain’t coming in even, you might look a little scroungy. patches nobody likes.

If you really want facial hair, you may want to modify what you have to a goatee for the wedding, then see how it behaves afterward. I personally wouldn’t leave it as-is for the wedding.

Woops, sorry crew. I was misinterpreted there. It’s coming in even, really nice actually. This:

was just my overlabored way of saying, it’s not stubble any more, but it’s a long way from beard. I think I’m going to shave today anyway. I just ain’t got the commitment, and it’s starting to itch.