Beards making a comeback?

[Holladay]

We all know that the men of the "CP" is defined by the persona of fat dudes, bald and a goatee and we drive Camaros (BTW, means it was found in a French-English dictionary to mean “friend, pal, or comrade and started with the first letter of "C" ala Chevy.)

I was in the Army, which didn't allow beards. I had a decent mustache that borderline out of specs. The GF liked the 'stache. I won't go into why

Flash forward a number of years and decided, while the wife and kids were away, to grow a beard. They walked past me when I was picking them up at KCI. Ball cap, red and black flannel shirt and...a beard. Not quite the Paul Bunyan look, but close.

My wife has never liked facial hair. Not sure why vs GF. I don't like to shave. But beards can be a bitch. ITCHY!

She has been gone for 5 months looking after her parents, so grew a beard I have found, with proper maintenance and beard butter, it is FUN.

Instead of contemplating my belly button, omphaloskepsis the proper term, I stroke my beard!

I bought one of those beard trimmers. It is a Wahl cordless with a ton of settings. I keep it ~ 3/4". I use beard balm to train it (I guess the proper term is to "sculpt it??). It also, as CPers would guess, it doubles to shave my head Better than the Horse Shears down at the barn.

I understand why women don't like razor stubble that can be en vogue . It is like sandpaper. Thus, grow it out a bit, use the beard butter to make it soft but not so long that I look like a Taliban terrorist or a ZZ Top musician, unless that is your look. No judgment here, just not for me. I don't like mice living in my face nor chicken soup. I drop enough ketchup from my fries on my shirt.

I think I have grown a nice pelt on my face that is soft and fun to omphaloskepsis. I can't trust MY hands to how it feels. So I did the cardinal sin of asking a good friends wife to touch/test it. "Dang that feels soft. How come my husbands beard doesn't feel that nice!" Luckily she looks like a Narwhale and has a gunt. I didn't tell him that though. Thinking about that, not sure if I should use her as a test dummy??

I was reading that beards are making a come back. Not wasting time shaving everyday, cost of blades, *cough* looking more masculine, et al. A segue, JD Vance is the first major nominee to have facial hair in 75 yrs (oops going to DC) Is it a trend? Starting or ending? Dunno.

In the end, the pelt is a keeper.

I am new to this, so what is the Mind Bending thoughts from the CP?

PS. I have a little vanity. I use a Salt and Pepper coloring mix so I don't look like Santa. Keep in mind, I have no hair (see above about Horse Shears) so that isn't in the equation.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Holladay

To be expected.

You are a doofus. I thought, through time and posts that I respected you...even as a Donk. You lost that now.

She is 4,000 miles away looking after her parents that are 85 yro and need help. She is in a sh*t show with their debilitating mental conditions.

Not sure what you are "smelling", check your finger

Pay no attention to him....my wife spent 3 months away from my son and I taking care of her mother. It would have been closer to 6 months except for that pesky heart attack I had while she was taking care of her mom.

She flew back overnight...and when the doctors wouldn't pull the plug on me, she hung around for a couple of weeks and then went back to be with her Mom. (Seriously....she was very worried for me...but also concerned about her mom.)

Luckily my daughter flew in a day after my heart attack and spent the month with me.

I was never concerned about the time my wife spent away from me with her Mother. She was the baby of the family and was always close to her Mom so I had no issue with her being there for her Mom.

[loochy]

It's too itchy for me. I can't do it

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Originally Posted by loochy

It's too itchy for me. I can't do it

That's the itchy stage.

You gotta push through that stage...

[Rasputin]

My beard is at least a foot long. Love my beard blowing in the wind.

[Garcia Bronco]

Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk

That's the itchy stage.

You gotta push through that stage...

Or you could just get some beard oil, shampoo, and conditioner

[InChiefsHeaven]

I've had the Van Dyke (mustache and chin beard) for about 20 years now. Shaved it once and my wife (who didn't want me to grow it at first) was like...grow it back. You look younger than me...

So I did. I've had it as I say for 20 years but just in the last 2 years I've let it grow longer. Like, the wind blows and it's moving in the wind. Not terribly long, but noticably longer. I tried straigtening it cuz it tends to curl to the right, but that's a pain in the ass, so I basically keep it trimmed to about 3\4 to 1 inch long. Eh. I like it.

[ThaVirus]

The Van Dyke is a sleeper, IMO. When pulled off, it can look really good.

Johnny Depp, Michael B. Jordan, RDJ’s Iron Man, etc.

[Lzen]

I've been growing a beard for probably a decade. In the past 2 or 3 years I've discovered that I can't stand to keep it in the summer because it makes me too hot. Must be something about getting older. Uggh.

[Mr. Plow]

Originally Posted by loochy

It's too itchy for me. I can't do it

I'm sure your boyfriend will shave if you ask him nicely.

[displacedinMN]

Not a beard guy. But in my defense, if I start now, it would take forever to make it look good. And there are bald spots. Think Cliff Claven in Cheers beard growing contest.

[Hoopsdoc]

I’ve had a full beard for 20 years. My wife won’t let me shave it. She loves it.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc

I’ve had a full beard for 20 years. My wife won’t let me shave it. She loves it.

My wife says I'm going to have trouble if I shave because my 6mo. old granddaughter loves my beard. She might not recognize me if I shave it.

[Old Dog]

Grew mine after I retired from the Army in 2007 and will probably never be clean shaven again. Most of the time keep it trimmed down to 1/2" to 3/4" but will on occasion let it go for a few months.

[Bob Dole]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

My beard is at least a foot long. Love my beard blowing in the wind.

It's great until you're riding 60mph and catch a weird updraft.

[Zebedee DuBois]

For a lot of my working career, for safety protocols, I could not have a beard. After moving to a position where that no longer applied I have had beards periodically. Now, my hair is a very whitish grey, and I can grow a very good Santa beard - down to the third shirt button from the top. My wife got me a Santa suit and I did a couple appearances.
Now I keep it about 3/4 to 1 inch long, nicely trimmed. Instead of shaving every day, I only have to clean up the neck line a couple times a week.