Eric L. W.

Bearded since: 1979. I am a dedicated, permanent beard grower.

Comments:
Why did I grow my beard? I grew my first beard in the fall of 1979 when I started college as a freshman at the University of South Carolina primarily in an attempt to hide the acne that had plagued me all through high school. It took a couple of months to grow to a length that partially achieved that goal, but once it was there, I found to my surprise that I really liked how it made me look: older, more distinguished and, given that it was the early '80s, somewhat uncommon. I only shaved it off but once, in 1986, for reasons long forgotten, but I *do* remember being horrified at my clean-shaven face, and immediately grew it back. I kept it full but short and "well-groomed" until 2008, when I decided to just let it grow and see how long it might get. It took about ten months for it to reach its terminal length that you see in this photo.

How do I feel about my beard? But for that one moment of temporary insanity in 1986, my beard has always been an integral part of my adult appearance, but since growing it long, it's become the dominant feature. I can't imagine what I would look like without it and have no intention of ever finding out. I enjoy the positive attention it now gets; for most of the '80s, beards were considered out of fashion and rebellious. I would like to think that perhaps in some small way, I contributed to the commonplace acceptance that full beards now enjoy in contemporary American society.