Bearding for Youth, ladies—Even Dogs!

by Bill Alley, Broadcast Host, Wordsmith and Beard Advocate

The World Beard & Moustache Competitions this round (our first) was a bit overwhelming. While many were concentrating on placing in categories, 28 of them (a first), we were led to finding individuals that stood out from the crowd. Our standard wasn’t very strict; we were looking for folks who had a story to tell. We had the pleasure of meeting a couple from Fort Washington, Maryland who got their specialty beard colorant balm introduced at the event; he had a tightly curled and incredibly manly beard with a splendid outgoing personality, and his wife could not have been a better presenter. Haberdashers were there with clothing lines that perfectly complimented whiskered men. New Beard Clubs were sprouting everywhere, each with a niche—whether it was ethnic, or designer of a beard themed product or brew, everyone there brought their best forward to the thousands of us on hand.

Families were everywhere at this event. Sons were excited about their dads, brothers and uncles getting involved and scrutinized, each hoping their family member had a shot at recognition. So often I tell men to give their younger counterparts beard-positive experiences and role models and to see them in the crowd was very satisfying. In preparing this month’s issue a search for some of the leaders of bearded youth brought about two fine examples. No better place to start exists on the web than the board that grew first: beards.org. One young gent named Dan did yeoman’s work chronicling his journey from high school through college, taking time to explain the questions, compliments and criticisms most commonly part of what can be described as ‘beard fortitude.’

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A second example can be found at YouTube. Jeff’s Beard Board decided to take his school journey from the secondary level to Brown University for his own series about how to grow with confidence and common sense.

It seems as one beard expert—myself—departed Providence RI, a new one has taken the task over. The fact it’s happening at this longtime Ivy League institution—one where my sister and brother in-law worked for years—is also a very pleasant surprise.

Then, there was Rose. Rose Geil, a full beard under 15cm contestant from Oregon has had the ability to grow facial hair since the age of 13. Nearly 25 years later and she’s two years into being full bearded. We caught up with Rose several times at the event. She spoke with us at length about her journey in rooms so crowded and spaces so full of background noise that we decided to give you, the reader, her journey as it was captured by the London Daily Mail.

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Rose has a realistic attitude about her femininity and its masculine bearded trait that gives her a rock-solid confidence. This woman is fascinating—a superb example of what bearded ladies can be when life sends a facial oddity uncommon to other females. Her confidence made Rose the darling of the event, receiving the longest and largest cheers from the audience as the last day was nearing final judging.

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As for the Dogs, if you heard the September podcast featuring Paul Hendricks, their next competition is smaller (and furrier) and happens Saturday, October 21st as Austin Facial Hair Club supports the tireless work of Austin Animal Shelter’s legendary staff and volunteers with a fundraiser. True to form, the contest runs as an all-charity event with strong sponsorship and a number of categories to enter, including a ‘man looks like his dog / dog looks like his owner’ event which will confirm what many of us believe about our pets taking on our characteristics.

How to Manage Ingrown Whiskers

by Bill Alley, Broadcast Host, Wordsmith and Beard Advocate

There comes a point where a guy experiences an annoying pimple or redness. It typically shows up on his face, making the irritant more aggravating. Why are some blemishes especially difficult to handle? Of them all, top of the list for most irritating is the ingrown whisker.

The complication is deeper-rooted; a thicker strand growing that has difficulty getting through the epidermis often results in deeper irritation or infection. Three items are the overwhelming contributors.

Shaving continually forces whiskers below the skin surface, especially since razor companies figured out how to aim their sights on creating ‘baby smooth’ results. If you have suffered with ingrown hair on the face, thank your razor and shave cream for the result. To get rid of the problem, stop shaving. This allows hair to grow naturally, and often a great set of whiskers becomes your manly reward. If you have hair that is prone to excessive curls or waves, keeping clear of razors will minimize the situation.

Outdoor exposure will also play a hand in aging and thickening skin. In the sun’s heat your body is slowly searing. Moisturizers, cleansing and time exposure will help keep things in check to ensure your skin’s surface is not morphing into human leather. You don’t have to avoid sun, there are plenty of benefits in moderation; being smart about sun exposure will avoid many potential downfalls.

Excessive fats in your body also clog more than arteries. Under the skin lies the most fatty tissue. Exercise and lots of exertion at work can keep it in check, but if your palate loves the stuff that’s putting on the weight, it’s putting all that mass wherever there is room. Skin expands, and that’s why fat cells are prone to show fastest and largest under your skin’s surface. Once more, that blocking problem has taken up residence at the very root of your hair with issues ranging from ingrown follicles to hair loss.

Earlier this year I was greatly affected with rapid water weight gain as vital organs were malfunctioning due to Type II Diabetes and heart issues; once medications and new regimens were introduced the hair loss suffered on parts of my body reversed as over 50 pounds of water weight was expelled.

Hair health is an important indicator of overall health.

Anyone for Golf, Cricket, or Tennis?

Port One in a series celebrating the Whiskered Men of Sport
by Bill Alley, Broadcast Host, Wordsmith and Beard Advocate

For many of us, the thought of making a living doing what you love to play is a fantasy at best. For those who actually make it to where their sporting passion pays the bills, it is a defining moment. One can toss off the routine, become his own man...possibly. For the bearded, some sports are ‘easy come, easy grow’ as Football, Baseball, Basketball and Hockey have readily accepted facial hair as a team norm.

Individuals who play their passion don’t always have it so good. Let’s take for example up and coming bearded golfer Andrew “Beef” Johnston. “Beef” is from Britain, beloved by many fans for his talents on and off the golf course (he is a cook for the Arby’s chain in the UK) and has a set of distinctive, tightly curled, mutton-chop enhanced whiskers. In the world of golf, the stodgy has slowly melded into the sport-shirt and pressed dress slack motif. That’s a quantum leap from the past 70 years where nary a whisker was found, but the golf pundits recoil at his beard presence. Fans? They love him, and he has no plans of regressing his facial landscape. Golf Digest, however, came to Beef’s defense by saying “ignore the detractors...follow your heart”. We applaud writer Joel Beall’s wise words.

“Beef” Johnston is a fancier of Cricket, and this team sport has solid facial hair reputation. Some of the best beards of this decade have graced the faces of cricket teams from the British Isles to Arabia and India. Upon researching among the who’s who of the sport who sport great facial hair there was an interesting, if not obvious development between photographs. With the tight knit life cricketers live, much of their style is derived from fondness of style. Typically men would sprout very full whiskers overall, but a trend seems to be afoot where the moustache has gone missing. In this case we captured a typical look for whiskered players in India versus the Arabian look that’s becoming a mainstay among some of their players.

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Indian cricketer Murali Vijay. Photo: Sportskeeda.com

With summer in the northern hemisphere winding down, let’s visit another sport that’s all about individual merit, the sport of kings: Tennis. This time, I’ve gotten the beard-view straight from a cat’s perspective from Frazier’s Racket at WordPress. When anyone notices facial hair making a comeback from the stoic halls of the near whiskerless world of Tennis, it is like a throwback to when Andre Agassi was THE beard of the sport—until the dreaded razor (and I’ll bet several beard-loathing sponsors and a certain actress who wooed him) took Agassi from beast to wimp. And when one shaves his body to claim ‘better aerodynamics’, that is all the statement necessary to confirm ‘wimp’ status. Not here, not now. Two whiskered faces caught the cat’s eye: Benoit Paire and Steve Johnson.

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American professional tennis player Steve Johnson. Photo: Tennisnerd.net

For Johnson, whether volleying alone, in doubles or teams competition, his ranking sits at 21srt in the ATP ranking. That’s a beard on top of his serve!

We’ll revisit the Beards of Sport part two next time. As for now, a tip of the hat to the cat with pretty good beard-sense. Then again, I’ve got the felines that can’t resist a deep nuzzle against this beard.