Of facial hair and other changes in appearance

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

So having gone camping for 10 days a couple of weeks ago, I took advantage of the journey and stopped shaving. By the time the vacation was over, I was past the itchy phase, and only vaguely evoked a Yasser Arafat look. The moment of reckoning occurred at 23:15 the night before, when I asked the DW, "how do you feel about my just cleaning things up a bit but keeping the beard?" She blessed the idea so I did. It's kind of a salt and pepper situation. Well, maybe a lot of salt, easy on the pepper.

It's been a long time since I had a beard, and I trimmed it very short and "neat" but a little full and not too sculpted. What interested me was a very consistent reaction among my co-workers. The guys do a quick double take, and grunt something like "nice beard looks good" and maybe 20% tell me a personal beard story.

The women, OTOH, stare at me blankly for maybe 4-5 seconds, jaw aslack. My take is that if they don't like it or are not sure, they beg off with a pithy comment like, "oh, you grew a beard... my husband had a beard once...must feel good not to shave." This is maybe half the distaff side. Those who (I think) like it say, well, "I like the beard" or even "I love the beard." Notice it's "the beard" as if it has a life of its own and doesn't belong to me. My favorite: "you've got that Sean Connery thing going on" (my personal assistant whose life and wellbeing depend on keeping me happy).

And, from one individual who knows me long and well: "you only let your beard grow when you've come to a decision about something."

I've no idea whether beards are in style but I'mm guessing there are some hysterical beard stories out there. You men can chime in, too.

 

[Janet H]

I like tidy beards (just in case you wanted an unsolicited opinion). 'The Beard' may be the male version of 'the baby' for expectant mothers which also has that same 'feels like part of you but others refer to it in the 3rd person' thing going on.

Back to the beard.... Just think how much cash you'll save over time on shaving products

 

[REWahoo]

Never able to last through the itchy stage myself. One of my two brothers grew a beard when he was in his 50's and kept it for the remainder of his life. My mom stopped calling him by name, always addressing him as "The Fuzzy One"...

 

[Coach]

Welcome back to the club, Rich! I've had a beard since 1975.

Coach

 

[Moemg]

If the older experienced Nurses are saying it looks good it probably does . If the younger Nurses are saying it looks good it is kind of iffy . They tend to want to suck up or possibly gold dig for a nice Doctor . Your wife is the true measure unless she thinks it will keep the gold digger young nurses away .

 

[bbbamI]

I've never seen my DH without a moustache, but he has grown beards on and off during our marriage. He has a goatee now that is thick, looks and feels great. As long as a beard is tidy, like Janet said, I love 'em! Right now we're in a race to see whose hair can get long enough to pull back in a ponytail.

I, OTOH, will refrain from growing a moustache or beard....

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

If the older experienced Nurses are saying it looks good it probably does . If the younger Nurses are saying it looks good it is kind of iffy . They tend to want to suck up or possibly gold dig for a nice Doctor . Your wife is the true measure unless she thinks it will keep the gold digger young nurses away .

Hey, you're making this complicated. Now I've got to run around asking nurses how old they are so I can tally the results. And the "gold digger repellant" concept is new to me. I'll have to ask Lynn about that.

Remember, Moe, you can always say, "I knew him back in the day before he had a beard." Speaking of which, been to Tampa recently? Our offer of dinner is open-ended...

 

[TromboneAl]

And don't forget that patients love it when their doctor looks like a homeless guy.

 

[CuppaJoe]

....
And, from one individual who knows me long and well: "you only let your beard grow when you've come to a decision about something."
...

!! Um, what was that?

 

[guest]

I had a beard for 25 years and when I shaved it off, almost no one even recognized me. It was a bit entertaining watching peoples eyes go into that panic look as they tried to figure out who this guy was that they feel they should know!

I keep threatening to cut off the moustache but haven't been able to do it yet.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

And don't forget that patients love it when their doctor looks like a homeless guy.

Dr. Grunge?

 

[ziggy29]

I remember trying to grow a beard once back when I worked a place where we had a two week holiday at the end of the year. I thought it would be nice to not deal with the hassles of shaving.

I discovered shaving is a lot easier than trying to a beard neatly trimmed and shaved it all off rather quickly...

 

[REWahoo]

I didn't realize Marty Feldman had gotten his eye fixed...

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

!! Um, what was that?

Yep, I decided to grow a beard .

 

[CuppaJoe]

Yep, I decided to grow a beard .

11% of a full beard?

 

[ls99]

How about a nice gentleman's cane to go with the look?

 

[CuppaJoe]

Rich, a new career awaits.

 

[bbbamI]

I discovered shaving is a lot easier than trying to a beard neatly trimmed and shaved it all off rather quickly...

You're lucky you weren't born a woman....

...well at least a woman that shaves her legs and various other areas that is.

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

I've had a beard on & off for years. Just shaved off a goatee that I had for almost 2 years---it had two big gray spots, so I used 'Just for Men'--and between keeping it trimmed and throwing on the 'Just for Men' every couple of weeks, it was a big hassle. Speaking of beard upkeep---what's with Ben Bernacke?? I think his beard would look pretty sharp if he'd just shave his neck--letting all that gray growth on his neck just go makes him look like a doofus (or am I letting my political opinions get in the way?)

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

You're lucky you weren't born a woman....
...well at least a woman that shaves her legs and various other areas that is.

Your signature line blends nicely with this post.

 

[HFWR]

Rich, a new career awaits.

Interesting that Frank Beard is the only one without a beard...

 

[sailor]

I discovered shaving is a lot easier than trying to a beard neatly trimmed and shaved it all off rather quickly...

During my personal 12 years research (last shaved in '97) I found that trimming the beard with electric trimmer takes on average 109 seconds with 23 seconds standard deviation. I do it roughly every two weeks.
Regular shaving for me was about 3-4 minutes, I could go down to 2 minutes with an electric shaver.

 

[FIREd]

I have had a beard on and off for about 12 years. DW and I agree, I look better with the beard on. I keep mine trimmed short.

 

[HFWR]

I have been clean-shaven for maybe one week out of the past 35 years. Don't care what anyone thinks...

 

[calmloki]

Had a mustache for many many years. Shaved it off for Halloween maybe twenty years ago, came downstairs and my honey burst into tears. It's been back on since. The rare and occasional beards have not met with any enthusiasm, though I enjoyed them sometimes. Still, one of the best parts was the increased sensitivity of newly bare skin after shaving a beard. Skin on skin is pretty nice....