Bearded Dudes Have Taken Over

[Biggus Dickus]

I've been clean shaven my whole life. Seriously. Part of it probably has to do with spending 10 years of my life in the military, but truth be told I prefer the feel of a close shave on my face rather than a beard or stubble.

Even when I've gone camping, both in the summer and winter I'll usually shave after a couple of days, even if it's a cold shave in a tent rather than allow the hair on my face to get too long.

Now usually on the weekend I won't shave either Saturday or Sunday so as to give my face a break, but that is it.

Longest I've ever gone without shaving is about 4-5 weeks, which was soon after I got out of the service. Thought I would see what it was like, but I hated it.

The itching drove me crazy, especially on my neck. Bearded guys would tell me it would stop eventually, but it never did. Plus the trimming was a nightmare for me. I trim one side too high, or the other too low...meh, it just wasn't for me.

I have a fairly involved and relaxing shaving routine that I follow every morning, which includes a lighted candle in the bathroom. I take my time, and enjoy it. It's almost meditative.
On the weekend I'll usually shave one morning in the steam-room at the health club, as there is nothing quite like it. I would equate it to scraping butter off a babies butt.

As I said I take shaving seriously, and part of my morning ritual involves the use of a shaving brush, regardless whether I'm using shave cream or hard shaving soap I use a brush to lather up.

Recently the bristled end of my brush fell off from the handle. No big deal, right? Simply glue it back on. However. I didn't take into consideration when gluing it back together that the bristles were still damp.

I added some Gorilla Glue to the inside of the handle, firmly pressed the two ends together and placed what I thought was a repaired shaving brush back into the cabinet.

Later in the evening when I opened the cabinet, I took out the brush to see how the repair went, and I found this.



The excessive moisture caused the glue to foam, which lifted the bristles from inside the handle causing them to tilt to one side.

The brush is usable of course, and the glue has hardened. I dare say it's probably more firmly set now than it was in its original condition.

But the angle is all wrong, and truth be told the way it looks bothers my aesthetic feelings about the brush. So I resolved to purchase a new one.

This is where subject of this thread comes into play.

I had to go to a local market that evening, and they have a small, but rather adequate aisle of mens grooming supplies so I thought to check and see if they might have a brush.

I wasn't surprised they didn't have one, but figured it wouldn't hurt to check while I was there. I did notice, as I have other times when shopping that grooming supplies for men with beards were becoming more popular, but I really didn't give it too much thought.

The next day was Sunday, and as I had some errands to run in the afternoon I thought to stop by a local pharmaceutical store where I have purchase shaving supplies in the past, to include the hard shaving soap. I was rather disappointed when I couldn't locate a shaving brush on their shelves.

Once again I noticed when searching the aisle that there did seem to be quite a bit more of the bearded grooming supplies than I remember seeing in the past. However. It was only a small awareness at this time, and although I made a mental note of it I still didn't give it much thought because I was well aware that shaving brushes aren't that common these days.

I decided to take a bit of a drive and check out another store where I thought for sure I would be able to locate said brush, and as this store was located close to a favorite coffee shop I figured the longer drive would be worth it.

I bet you can guess what happened right? They didn't have any shaving brushes, and this particular store had an entire aisle of mens' grooming supplies. I even took the time to speak to a store employee about the situation as I wanted to be sure I hadn't missed the item by mistake. While he was helping me look I mentioned to him that I was surprised they didn't have the shaving brushes for sale, in fact I was sure I had seen them there before, and I knew for certain that I had purchased the hard shaving soap in the past, and if they sold the hard soap they would certainly sell the brush, but they had neither as the kind employee pointed out to me.

At this point I mentioned to the store employee (His name was Gregg by the way)that I found it rather odd they didn't have any brushes, and was even more surprised when he told me he didn't think the store had carried the item for some time.

Of course while we were searching for my brush I also commented on the unbelievable amount of product the store carried for the bearded dudes.

I mean they had beard conditioners, oils, special skin lotions and other products to include not only a beard comb, but a beard brush.

Yes. A beard brush.

As I started to really look at the aisle I realized that half the product sold in the aisle was for bearded dudes. On closer inspection I even realized that the beard stuff was well displayed, and centered in the aisle, well the shaving stuff was sort of set to the lower sections, and to the ends of the aisle itself.

So at this point I turned to Greggy, and I said, "What's going on dude, why is there such a prevalence of grooming supplies for bearded dudes, what happened to the grooming supplies for us rather well respected, clean shaven, sensible men?"

Oh wait, did I mention that Greggy was sporting a beard himself? Not any old scraggly type beard either, but a nicely trimmed, and should I say smoothly lacquered beard of somewhat nice proportions. Quite GQ!

So Greggy says' "Beards are where it's at dude, I mean everyone is sporting one nowadays, they are quite fashionable" He continued, "The products for beards are selling like crazy so that's what we are focusing on here in the store."

(He honestly did refer to me as dude)

I thanked Greggy, even complimented him on his lovely beard, and then left the store.

I brooded over this situation soon after this while having an expresso at the coffee bar.

Greggy was right. Beards are everywhere. More of the guys at the gym are sporting them, even two of my co-workers sport well groomed beards,

In fact, I've seen bearded dudes at my barber a bit more frequently getting their beards washed, conditioned and trimmed. Hell even my son has one, in fact he buys a special beard oil at a store in Detroit which specializes in grooming supplies for bearded dudes. I even went to the store once with my son.

That's when the lightbulb went off...I realized that bearded dudes are taking over. Every one of the baristas at my favorite shop sports a beard, as does my barber, and one of my yoga instructors.

They are everywhere...

During this week I stopped by a couple of different stores looking for a shaving brush, but not one single store carried them. Of course they are overly laden with stuff for the bearded guys, including felt boots, Double IPA's, and water bottles encased in leather.

I feel defeated.

Sure I can order one online, and I probably will this weekend, but this cultural shift in men's grooming habits has left me in deep reflection.

A friend of mine. One of these bearded dudes was quite amused by my story. He mentioned to me that beards have been in style for sometime now, and although I agree him, I didn't know to what extent until now.

Not sure where this story will end.

I know for sure I won't be growing a beard...

[Tank]

I didn't grow a beard for years because if the 5 day itch. I couldn't make it past a week without shaving. But a few years ago I managed to get through that and now it's part of me. Personally I find the beard grooming gear a bit of a faf. And I haven't bought any, however my family have bought me beard oil and wax and grooming kits for birthday and Christmas presents. My beard is also wavy, neither straight nor 'afro' curly so it self supports ie doesn't naturally lay in a nice smooth shape. Thus I end up more Captain Birds Eye if I let it grow really shaggy. So it gets to about 30mm and then gets trimmed back to 20mm 'ish.

Each to their own

[hermes2015]

I have never been attracted to facial hair. My preference is for smooth Asian faces, notwithstanding the current fashion for the bearded look.

[Magdalena]

"Bearded Dudes Have Taken Over."

[hermes2015]

"Bearded Dudes Have Taken Over."

[billy rubin]

ive had a beard for decades. cultivating my appearance has never held my interezt. my lovely wife observez that the consequences are obvious, but she hasnt run off yet, so i guezz its still good enough.

thirty something years back i bought my first motorized hair clipper, and havent paid any much attention to head and face hair since. every month or two i set the clipperz at  a half inch and go over the whole beard. thirty seconds maybe. then i take off the fence and buzz my head hair down to nothing. that takez about one minute to do, then therez about another minute of listening to my wife howl with laughter at the rezults.

one more minute of work under her supervision and im good to go. if she isnt around the other truck driverz where i work fill in on the laughter part.

[Bad Penny II]

I grew a beard a few decades back during a long off grid holiday.
My wife said she liked it.
I don't recall any itch problem but it just wasn't me.
Actually when we first moved in together I changed my shaving regime to pm so I didn't abrade her face.
Didn't cost me nothen.
Anyway, what I can't abide is male preening.
What we should be doing to impress is the daring do
I Googled daring do and I get My Little Pony
Proves it!

[jumbojak]

A boar bristle brush and some simple oil makes a big difference for a bearded face. I wore a beard for over a decade to hide my face but have recently switched to the clean shaven look. The oil helps prevent the dreaded beardruff and keeps your skin healthy with daily washing.

My trouble now is razor burn... Sensitive skin and a razor don't go too well together. I've found the best results when I put on moisturizer, compress my face with a cold washcloth, shave as quickly as possible to minimize skin exposure to the cream, and then apply Vaseline to the most sensitive areas.

I'm not totally sure it's worth the trouble but I've been getting compliments and it's nice to go unrecognized amongst people you've known for years.

[Biggus Dickus]

A boar bristle brush and some simple oil makes a big difference for a bearded face. I wore a beard for over a decade to hide my face but have recently switched to the clean shaven look. The oil helps prevent the dreaded beardruff and keeps your skin healthy with daily washing.

My trouble now is razor burn... Sensitive skin and a razor don't go too well together. I've found the best results when I put on moisturizer, compress my face with a cold washcloth, shave as quickly as possible to minimize skin exposure to the cream, and then apply Vaseline to the most sensitive areas.

I'm not totally sure it's worth the trouble but I've been getting compliments and it's nice to go unrecognized amongst people you've known for years.

I didn't know you started shaving JJ, as you were the one person here at HAF I remembered sporting a beard in pictures I saw of you in the past when I was more active on the forum.

My skin isn't overly sensitive, but as I work to get as smooth of a shave as possible I do take some precautions as it will dry out or I'll get some razor burn over my upper lip. Which is one of the reasons I usually skip one day during the week, to give my skin time to recover.

I use a pre-shave oil (Badger is the brand, good stuff) I put this on either after I shower or after applying a hot compress, but the stuff really works well, and since I started using it I noticed a huge difference.

I use an after-shave by the same company (Badger), it's a Bracing After-Shave Face Tonic - Witch Hazel. Once this has evaporated I apply an after-shave lotion, and then 10-15 minutes later and I put on face cream.

I keep some face cream in my computer bag, and even my desk at work so I can apply it later in the day if needed, which really helps with the razor burn.




So as a follow up, while having coffee this morning I found out that Socorro (My wife) ordered a shaving brush for me online.

I should be getting it in few days...sooooooooo I guess that's that?!

[Magdalena]

"Bearded Dudes Have Taken Over."

I just find men with facial hair very attractive.

[hermes2015]

"Bearded Dudes Have Taken Over."

I just find men with facial hair very attractive.

My friends and I have had many discussions about the fascinating subject of preferences and their origins. Even in a reasonably homogeneous group of guys we have astonishingly varied tastes in men.

[Magdalena]

"Bearded Dudes Have Taken Over."

I just find men with facial hair very attractive.

My friends and I have had many discussions about the fascinating subject of preferences and their origins. Even in a reasonably homogeneous group of guys we have astonishingly varied tastes in men.

Could you please tell me the origin of preferring hairy men? Please. 

[billy rubin]

. . . or women

[Recusant]

That was an epic post, Papasito Bruno, and eloquent. The move to beards has bemused me as I've watched its progress. I consider it an improvement, because I'm pretty sure that many of the fashionable men who used to carefully cultivate their 4 day stubble when that look was all the rage have now grown actual beards. In my opinion genuine beards are mostly preferable. A man wearing an expensive suit with a face that bespeaks slovenliness is ludicrous in my opinion.

I had a full beard for a few years back before the turn of the century. With rather long hair to accompany that, I got "Grizzly Adams" comments. I found that the effort to keep it neatly trimmed was just about as much trouble as shaving, and eventually agreed with Mark Twain, who made somewhat disparaging remarks about beards. I don't know if it was he who referred to them as an affectation, but I decided that mine was, anyway, and one that I could dispense with.

[hermes2015]

"Bearded Dudes Have Taken Over."

I just find men with facial hair very attractive.

My friends and I have had many discussions about the fascinating subject of preferences and their origins. Even in a reasonably homogeneous group of guys we have astonishingly varied tastes in men.

Could you please tell me the origin of preferring hairy men? Please. 

Or smoothies, for that matter. I'm afraid nobody came up with a convincing hypothesis during our speculations. I would like to know as well, but have never taken the time to trace any research articles on the internet. I'm sure someone, somewhere, has postulated some evolutionary reason.