Oops! The gallery views counter hit seventeen million…sometime. It was about a week ago. I missed it. Oh, well. Here’s a little belated commemoration of the momentous occasion! Photo above is another preview shot from Scott’s beards.org photo shoot. His beard feature will appear one of these days…soon, I hope! Stay tuned. Oh, and thanks, everyone, for all your interest in all about beards!
It’s summertime in the northern hemisphere. Enjoy having your beard! A common misconception is that beards cause added discomfort in the hot summer weather. For most, that just isn’t so. A beard can act as cooling insulation. Enjoy!
Dennis, beards.org’s famous “truly outstanding beard” man, has occupied a place of honor in the beards.org logo in the upper left corner of the site for years. No one else’s beard had ever been seen in that spot…until recently.
With the launch of Paul’s beard feature, his comment about rivaling the “truly outstanding beard” man stuck with me. Soon, I decided to try out the unthinkable: replace the “truly outstanding beard” man with Paul in the logo. At first, I thought the switch would mainly be done for fun. But once Paul was up there, I have been thinking of leaving the changed logo there for the foreseeable future.
Of course, no one could ever actually replace Dennis, the “truly outstanding beard” man. He is definitely a beard hall-of-famer.
Today is a sad anniversary for beards.org. One year ago today, we lost a dear friend: Cody Smith, beards.org’s bearded barber.
Cody was a friend to all and a special friend to beards.org. He was a great advocate for beards and a supportive fan of beards.org. He was proud of his great beard and his background as a bearded barber. Cody was quite skilled in the proper care and maintenance of the beard. He was eager to share his considerable knowledge on the subject. In his honor, I am designating Cody as beards.org’s official bearded barber.
You are missed, Cody. Thanks so much for your friendship. May you rest in peace.
The hits just keep on coming here at beards.org. On the afternoon (US Pacific Time) of March 25th, 2011, the gallery views counter rolled over to sixteen million! We hit fifteen million back on January 2nd, 2011. The counting only began back on January 26th, 2006. So the real number is unknown but much higher.
I wasn’t here to see which was the sixteen millionth photo. So I selected one of Andy’s photos to illustrate this post.
Thanks for your interest in “all about beards”!
Beau sent this in. It’s awesome!
Check out this cool beard video. Don’t shriek in horror at the destruction of the beard. The star of the video has assured me that the beard has been well on its way back.
Timber!
Many of the beard-growing mistakes that I see again and again may often be blamed on some extent to fear, anxiety, and a lack of confidence. Don’t fear the full beard when it’s yours. If you’re going to grow a full beard, go all in. Otherwise, why bother? You’re growing a full beard, for crying out loud. Show the world that you aren’t afraid to do it right.
For so many men, growing a beard is such a huge stretch out of their comfort zones that they are afraid to embrace the experience fully. They timidly grow out a full beard — and deserve commendation for that — but then stunt its growth or mutilate its shape out of some sort of fear that they’re going too far. For some, letting the beard grow in fully will surely make them look just like ZZ Top or Rip Van Winkle. We surely can’t have that now, can we? Except, of course, letting a beard grow out a little beyond the stubble stage is hardly the equivalent of a ZZ Top beard.
Some of the most common beard-growing mistakes for a full beard are:
These errors do not plague new beard growers exclusively. Plenty of veteran beard growers commit these mistakes all the time, too. Let’s take a look at each one.
What’s the fear? “If I don’t keep this cheek line down way low, I’ll look just like a wolf man.”
What’s the result? All too often, the result is a butchered beard that looks stifled and unnatural.
What to do? Look at it this way. Give your natural cheek line a fair chance. And don’t be afraid to do so. Some fear that their natural cheek line reaches all the way up to their eyes. Usually, this is an exaggerated perception. If your natural cheek line really is too high and you really do look exactly like a wolf man, then go ahead and lower the cheek line. But don’t go too far. If your natural cheek line is not truly that of a wolf man, but is a bit ragged and you’d prefer a neater line, go ahead and define a straighter cheek line. Just take off what’s needed to define a neater line. Don’t go too far!
What’s the fear? “I’d better define the neck line way up high, otherwise this beard would be too big. Besides, I’ve seen plenty of other guys with neck lines up high and they must know what they are doing.”
What’s the result? A neck line that’s too high makes a full beard look truncated, unnatural, unflattering, and even “clown-like”.
What to do? Think about this. The idea of growing a full beard is to grow the full beard. Why should the underside of the chin be clean shaven? Some even have defined the neck line to be above the jaw. That’s not a full beard. It’s a full beard with the bottom part missing. Don’t do this! Instead, follow the guidelines for designing a neck line for your full beard.
What’s the fear? “My beard is already an eighth of an inch (3.175 mm) long. People will think that I’m ZZ Top! This has gone too far. I’d better trim it down.”
What’s the result? Fear of letting your beard fully grow out results in essentially a stubble beard, or maybe just slightly beyond the stubble stage. That is pretty much just an extended unshaven look. To see what your beard really looks like, let it keep growing. If you look with an objective eye, rather than having a knee-jerk reaction based on lack of confidence, you can tell when it’s approaching the length limit for what you consider to be acceptable for your situation. Even then, you might be safe in going longer. The point is that too many are growing about an eighth of an inch (3.175 mm) and thinking that they’ve grown a real beard. Well, keep growing and you’ll eventually see what a real beard can be.
If that’s what you really want, go for it. Just make sure that it is what you really want and it’s not your fears calling the shots.
A properly cultivated and well-groomed beard can always give a professional look. It can even enhance one’s professional appearance. Just do it right. Be prepared for uninformed comments. That is, be prepared to brush them aside. People feel compelled to comment and usually just say something without thinking. Don’t worry about that. Keep growing. Grow a proper full beard. Don’t give into your fears and grow a butchered, stunted beard. Which one looks better and more professional? You decide.
Dad grows a world-class beard and provides inspiration. Mom carefully handcrafts beards for all. The kids embark on early careers as cutting-edge beard fashion models. What’s not to love?
The story of this ultra-cool family will be appearing soon on beards.org. Meanwhile, for those of you who want a beard and can’t grow one: buy one! …or more! Click on either photo to go to “The Monkey Cannon’s” online store and shop away!
— Photos are courtesy of “The Monkey Cannon” and are used with permission.
On January 17th, 1996, all about beards made its humble debut on the worldwide web. The little web site had embarked on its mission of promoting beards around the globe. Today, all about beards is growing stronger all the time and remains the world’s longest-running beard web site. On all about beards’ fifteenth anniversary, I’d like to thank all of the site’s friends, contributors, supporters, cheerleaders, and of course, beard growers for making all about beards such a success. Keep growing.
