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Facial Hair Quandary
When DC was buried in snow about two weeks ago, I decided to let my full beard grow back in again. After all, I was going to be isolated from the rest of western civilization for a while so there was plenty of time to let it grow quickly through the scruffy phase to something relatively decent. I had a full beard from February, 1992, to July, 2000; I ultimately trimmed it down to a goatee 'cause that's what all the cool kids were doing as I thought it looked better with my newly buzzed hair, a concession to my rapidly receding and thinning hairline.
One of the little surprises along the way was just how much of my beard is now solid white. Yeah, the chin area still has some dark brown but the sides... well, see below.
Several people like the full beard but have commented that the full field of grey makes me look old. 'Way old. I'm 43 currently and am in no rush to look 60+ quite yet although I accept the inevitability of it. I'm a little surprised to find out how many of my friends are taking the "Just For Men" option, colouring their fur to reduce the grey without eliminating it entirely.
So, what should I do?
[Poll #1527571]
One of the little surprises along the way was just how much of my beard is now solid white. Yeah, the chin area still has some dark brown but the sides... well, see below.
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Goatee only 2009-10-19 |
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Grey beard 2010-02-19 |
Several people like the full beard but have commented that the full field of grey makes me look old. 'Way old. I'm 43 currently and am in no rush to look 60+ quite yet although I accept the inevitability of it. I'm a little surprised to find out how many of my friends are taking the "Just For Men" option, colouring their fur to reduce the grey without eliminating it entirely.
So, what should I do?
[Poll #1527571]
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Oh... did I say that right, O Unix Master?
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speaking as one who has had grey in his beard for twenty years, and is now 80% white at the chin (ie since I was seven years younger than you are now), you can handle the mature look.
do not, under any circumstances, colour it.
you and I have complementary chin issues - mine is like unto joe clark, yours is like unto brian mulroney. in both cases, they NEED a beard to modify them. so no, do NOT shave the whole thing off (or even go down to just a moustache - your upper-lip hair is so blond/white that it often disappears in photographs, eg the user icon on this post)
I'd strongly counsel against colouring your facial hair.
a friend of mine, now 63, had naturally chestnut-brown hair, and had 2-3" hair and full beard when I was dating him back in the 80s. He's now gone mostly grey, and buzzed his hair to 1/4". Facial hair is down to a moustache, which he colours. badly. apparently with black shoe-polish. He looks like Groucho Marx. "softening the grey" has not been kind to him.
did I mention that I think colouring facial hair in any way would be an error?
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Besides, I think gray hair is hot.
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Don't colour it - unless you want to spend an inordinate amount of time on it, it'll always look artificial.
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Besides, I think your hubbies both have white/gray/silver so why not join in the fun?
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Alas, my genes apparently have other ideas. Stoopid DNA.
fur is better than no fur
(Anonymous) 2010-02-19 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)Embrace manhood
(Anonymous) 2010-02-19 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)Re: now in handy LJ Icon Size!
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Greetings!
The full beard look is good on you.
The gray looks great!
Gray hair means to me that you've been around,
and learned from your experiences.
It's also very dignified!
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Many others have said good things here already, but I will add that there's enough crap pushed out there to try to convince everyone that there is no beauty unless it approximates the looks of twenty-somethings. Bullshit. Don't give yourself a complex--your look at age 43 is just as sexy (if not more) as I'm sure it was at age 23. Embrace who you are!
Re: now in handy LJ Icon Size!
you SO walked into it!
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originally
right now, in 2010, the photographic evidence is that his natural colouring (as in, what Nature provides) is becoming predominantly
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I like the beard, always have, even though I've missed it for the past ten years. And, since I'm the primary source of the gray, I say wear it proudly.
Then again, look who's talking.
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(Did it for a while, discovered how quickly it grows, and gave it a miss from there.)
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this one will require extensive in-person mollification.
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I started colo(u)ring my stache at 43 (how coincidental!), telling myself that when my head hair started graying, I'd let it go.
Oddly, my head hair (at 55 1/2) is STILL dark, but my moustache is nearly pure white. So...
grey is sexy!
have you considered a tailback goatee - letting the hair grow further back along the jawline and still shaving some below the sideburns?
DON'T DYE - it is always obvious - to those that know (like me).
Furry hugs and admiration for being secure in your natural gifts - no matter what they might be!
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Just trying to help.
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