To beard or not to beard. That is the question.

In My Humble Opinion
1

A beard is a fine and noble thing
A sign of virility and grace
Sported by both peasant and king
It makes a lion of a face

So, when a beard is shaved,
It is an act of no mean glory.
Something more than skin is braved;
‘Tis the turning of a story.

Reverence, then, the man who shears
A growth of weight and age,
Forbearing the mark of venerate years
To set a brand new stage.

A face new-shaved is a marvelous thing,
Open to the sky and air
Blanket lifted, wind a-breasting,
O feeling! Marvelous, and rare.

gts 3/27/02

But, some other hacks feel otherwise…
“He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man.”
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Much Ado About Nothing, act 2, sc.1

“The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”
The Bible, Hebrew. (proverbs 16.31)

“To experience the essence of life in the most simple form, one can just watch the miracle of beard growth, hour by hour, day by day.”
Kevin O’Hare, King, November Beard Club

“A man’s face is merely a canvas for Mother Nature to paint with whiskers.”
Tahd Frentzel, President, November Beard Club

“There is always a period when a man with a beard shaves it off. This period does not last. He returns headlong to his beard.”
Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) French author, filmmaker. Opium(1929; tr. 1932; repr. 1957, p.40)

“In England and America a beard usually means that its owner would rather be considered venerable than virile; on the continent of Europe it often means that its owner makes a special claim to virility.”
Rebecca West (1892-1983) British Author, The Thinking Reed ch.10 (1936)

2

Bravo! I’m going through the same problem myself. I got a bad sunburn (second and third degree) three days ago. I haven’t been able to shave. So now I have a full beard growing and my wife hates it. I think it looks kinda neat, but she insists that I shave it (or else I’ll be hung out to dry…)

To beard or not to beard, that is the question…

3

Or…

Should I Shave or Should I Grow?
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If I shave there will be stubble-
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If I grow there will be double.

4

Oh come on guys…

shaving (weather its women or men) is an unnecessary torture.
I haven’t shaved in over 10 years. I have to have it trimmed to keep it looking good but shaving just hurt too much last time I tried it.

My sweetheart tells me that my beard is nice and soft. She would let me shave but it she would not make me.

I am all for beards.

( I misspelled beard as ‘bread’ about twenty times trying to write this.)

5

Go for it. Do it because you can. If I were a man, I’d grow a beard at least once, just to see what it was like.

6

The nice thing about a beard is that one only has to mess with it about once a month to keep it neat and manageable. I’m sure in the eons before razors, sharpened stones or clam shells that being clean shaven was considered unique and attractive since it was a rare sight.
Nowadays the act of shaving is something mandated by certain employers, by domineering wives/girlfriends and the gentleman’s vanity. It’s a vicious habit where one’s skin is nicked, scraped, subjected to ingrown hairs, the torture of aftershave and its accompanying odors. Hardly worth the effort of having a baby-smooth face for four hours only to engage in this act all over again the next morning.
From what I have experienced, women hate stubble but they don’t hate beards. Stubble hurts. Stubble scratches. Stubble looks dirty and unkempt. Beards are manly, luxuriant and dignified giving a man the bearing of a king or prophet.
Grow it out, you’ll be glad you did.

7

Took me till my late 30’s to grow something that resembled a beard. Still have holes on my cheeks that hair refuses to grow. I do have a mustache and goatee. I only shave once a week and that is when everything gets a trim. Wierd part though is my brother can grow a full beard in just a few days but has has nothing but peach fuzz below the waist, even in the pubic region. I am excessively hairy below the waist, I trim my hairs down below or Mr. Winky becomes buried in a mound of hair. I have trimmed hairs over 6 inches long.

8

I love a man with facial hair!!! :smiley:

9

It’s hair. grow it out…shave it off…the cycle repeats…why not? It’s the only way to know if you’ll like it. And a beard can be sexy.

10

I am normally clean shaven during the week (customers prefer that), and just let it grow over the weekend. My wife loves it that way. Once I grew a 2-week beard on holiday. We both agreed it had to go when we came home.

11

I’m rather fond of beards and goatees. Go ahead and grow them but trimmed is best.

I wasn’t pleased when the Navy did away with beards and goatees in 1984. Alot of men look much better with them.

12

Goatee man here.

Best of both worlds. The joy of facial hair, The Joy of shaving. Plus, you look like a rock star.

13

Last time I shaved my face cleanly was in 1986. I proceded to endure about 6 months of total bad luck. Finally I decided to let my beard grow back and within ten days life turned around.

Haven’t shaved since, though I do the neck weekly and and overall trim every three weeks.

Only problem is my little girl telling me that my beard feel like juniper.

14

This is such a chainletter post! LOL And, if you convince 10 of your friends to grow beards, you’ll have good luck in 7 days. 20 friends, good luck in 3 days, 30 friends,a nd your life changes tomorrow! :slight_smile:
Personally, I like men with facial hair. My SO has a beard and I LOVE it!

15

As the hair on top fell out, the hair below was grown.

I liked my beard, my wife prefers the goatee. I trimmed back to a goat. I have to admit, I like the look, even with the need to shave (luckily not often, 2 or 3 times/week).

I wore a full beard for many years, though, and always thought it looked pretty good. I think it looked it’s best though when I was trimming regularly and keeping my neck and under-chin area neatly shaved.

1 more vote to grow it out, I guess.

For the record, my luck didn’t change with the various transistions.

16

What luck that I stumbled onto this topic - I’m growing one right now. It’s just after the “why didn’t you shave this week?” point and just before the “nice beard” point. I suspect it’s not growing as fast as those of others on this board.
But what the heck, go for it. It’s always nice to have a desheveled picture of yourself that the news stations can display twenty years down the road when you run for office.

17

I’m keeping mine. Thank you for starting this thread. Had thought of shaving. I would rather shave my head.

18

Wish I had your slow-growing hair, heptapod. I trim mine twice weekly–the only thing worse than no beard is an unruly one.

19

Gee, I thought you were wondering if it would be okay if you went somewhere as a lesbian friend’s date so her co-workers wouldn’t suspect her. :wink:
I considered a VanDyke once and tried to convince Wife by mentioning some of the fat guys who looked good with VanDykes.

Me: “How about the guy from The Fifth Dimension?”

Her: “How about Comic Book Guy?”

So she won that one.

20

I had a beard for over 7 years. But the company I was working for evaporated after the owner died (god did I love that man),now I am temporaly working in food service:( ,and have had to shave:mad: . Not only had I forgotten how much shaveing hurts, but I look like I need a shave as soon as I finnish and my face feels rough an hour later. Oh how I miss my nice soft beard. But at least shaveing is good motivation for finding a real job.