People, gay men in particular, that hyperventilate and get downright evil when a man decides to shave his beard down to a goatee or grow a beard or change it up a bit and go with just a mustache need to calm the hell down. It’s not the critic’s face and quite frankly it’s none of their business. When I read comments from others about someone’s decision to change it up a bit and they scream in anguish usually reserved for the likes of nuclear explosions, plagues and famine, someone needs a reminder to keep things in perspective.
When I shaved off my handlebar mustache for charity last fall you would have sworn I had just slapped my grandmother and sold her into slavery. Shaving off that monstrosity of a mustache boosted my self esteem ten-fold and it made me feel good about myself. Will I grow another one? Perhaps.
A fellow blogger recently shaved his big beard down to a mustache. The cries from the peanut gallery sound like he just betrayed his country and sold the launch codes to the Russians. Calm down people, it’s only facial hair and odds are he’ll grow another beard someday.
I enjoy looking at beards. I also enjoy mustaches and clean shaven faces. But what’s more important is the person inside. There’s a lot of beautiful people out there and they all look different and can choose to change how they look without needing to hear judgment and the like.
I was recently chastised by a beard fan because my charity “promoted the destruction of facial hair”. No, my charitable efforts helped raise money for homeless kids, and if losing a mustache for a while was going to help a teen sleep somewhere other than the streets then I’m going to shave it off and raise the money.
This has been bugging me for a while and I finally felt the need to get it off my chest. It’s only hair. It’ll grow back when the owner wants it to.
He’s still the same guy inside.
Having recently shaved my head, I’ve received similar comments. Which I always find rather odd. Granted, I do tend to gasp a little when someone heavily modifies their facial hair configuration that I have become accustomed to. But humans crave change. And that’s change.
Well said.
Thank you. I saw on your blog that you recently shaved off your goatee. Any criticism from the internet folks?
By the way, I think you look good with a goatee and I think you look good clean shaven as well. 🙂
Sometimes i have a feeling that people think that, in this overcrowded media environment, if they don’t overreact to things they will seem indifferent, so they just add to the noise by shouting as loud as they can about things not so important… And then when something really important happens, nobody really pays attention because everybody shouts all the time.
i tend to be quite conservative about my look so i truly admire those who make changes once in a while. Even if i don’t necessarily like the result, i like the attitude of making a change. 🙂
I think you’re onto something about the social media aspect. In addition to what you said, I think people feel much more relaxed in stating their opinion because they’re not saying it face to face.
I’ve known guys that haven’t shaved their beards in 30 years and I know guys that change it up every other week. As long as they’re happy, who am I to say anything about it?