Beards, beards, beards.

Hi everybody welcome back, I hope 2019 has been great for you so far. Today we are talking to the men again, so a special hello to you gents.

I have been stewing over this post A LOT! I’ll tell you why later on. So it’s all about beards today. I know I mentioned them before in a previous post or two but not in too much detail.

First question, why do men grow beards?

Pause.

This is the question that had me boggled. I know there has to be many different reasons based on who is asked, however, today I believe the answers to that question has changed from what they were years ago. Continue.

Some of us may think the most obvious response would be that it is easiest thing to do. I mean how hard can be to just let the hair on your face grow? You don’t have to worry about going to the barber or shaving it yourself right? No big deal! Wrong! That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Growing a strong beard takes commitment and a great deal of care, as much as it takes to grow a healthy head of hair. And it is for that reason there has to be a real purpose for a male to grow his beard…unless he really cannot source a razor.

Ok, so what do we know? Men used to grow beards because;

A beard meant you were a man and you were grown enough to be acknowledge as such.
You would most likely qualify for a partner. If you were a grown man and you didn’t have a beard back in the 1850’s , most likely, women would not think you were man enough to be their husbands. Even in the early 2000’s studies showed that some women still associated beards with masculinity.
Credit/Huffpost
To other men no beard meant not ~~man.~~ In the presence of men with beards, your strength and right to respect would be undermined if you didn’t have one.
Beards represented hard work. A beard was mostly worn by a man who did hard , manual labor daily; carpenters,mechanics etc. His beard showed that he did the hardest jobs that required the strongest of men.

Interestingly enough, before the 1840’s, men with high positions in society didn’t have beards, in fact they looked down on those who did because the only persons who couldn’t afford to be neatly shaved at all times were those considered the lowest laborers. This included farmers and men who worked in mines etc. A ‘gentleman’ at that time would always have fresh, clean shave.

Quite the opposite today! No surprise there as we know that a beard much like any other physical feature is not synonymous with wealth or social status.

Men have been enjoying those characterful clumps of hairs these days because of various reasons:

Fashion. This is the biggest reason to date. The men here in Jamaica, both young and old, employed in corporate institutions as managers or self-employed as photographers are sporting beards like it’s the next best thing. It is the same for other countries too and it is clear that most of these males are simply going with the trend. No problem there.
Dominance.
Credit/Beardstyle

In a world where almost any trend is accepted and becomes the norm, people still want to stand out. Men with beards do too, they do not wish to be overlooked and they have just the right accessory. After all, not all males are sporting beards, many are still wearing clean shaves because of preference and some, their jobs and other attachments discourage the look. So a man with a neat, connecting beard definitely stands out in the sea of fresh faces.
Free spirit. Men with beards may be seen as inhibited and independent. They are thought of as laid back and fun unlike their conformist counterparts who are ‘chained to rules of society’ and its expectations of men to shave their beards. A lot of freelancers, artists, actors and other creatives grow out their beards because they are not required to maintain a certain appearance like that of a bank teller or office worker.
Attraction. Women are still very attracted to men with beards and many will say that although a beard is not a deal breaker, it is definitely a plus.
Credit/Pinterest

I guess women like the manly look the cluster of hair on the jawlines and chin gives or they are attracted to the commitment it takes to grow a healthy beard with no bald spots in it.
Razor bumps. Ugh just saying those two words annoys me. Males of all ages have to deal with razor bumps or ingrown hairs on their faces-if they have facial hair- at some point in their lives and no one likes those buggers. Some men eventually leave their facial hair including beards to grow out and only pull out the shears when it’s time to get them in line. Whether it’s a faded, short, polished or bush-style beard, letting that hair spring from the roots when they want to is easier than having to get rid of stubborn, itchy razor bumps and skin-piercing ingrown hairs that you get when you shave.
They CAN. Simply put. Some males, young or old are growing their beards because they can and want to. Why not? You waited so long just to see the first two strands start pushing out and now that you have more than you can count, go at it! You shave it off and it still grows right back? So its no wonder some men simply decide to keep them.
Chris Brown/Enquire