I remember many years ago when I was approaching adolescence, I started to have a strand or two of beards on my chin. What a joy it was, “big boy loading, now my parents and peers will respect me more, cos I’m now a man”. I checked it in the mirror every day, I protected it from barbers and invaders, it was my natural treasure, my entry-level physical trait into manhood.
So it happened my best friend then was aware of this, maybe out of envy or whatever, he pulled it out in my sleep. Omo, sadness, and anger will be oversimplifying what I felt that day, if I had a gun I’d have killed him, lol. How? How can he do this to me? I learned betrayal firsthand from the experience, lol.
Thinking back now while writing this piece, what made me so happy when the beard grew out and why was I so sad and upset when I lost it?
Without anybody telling me, I perceived having beards as a symbol of masculine honor and patriarchal pride, because beards were associated with nature, more so natural masculinity, what distinguishes you from a woman and ‘boys’ facially, it was a resource I had, to stake a claim at least to my nature as a male and losing it was like being stripped of my masculinity.
However, the keeping of beards in our modern world goes beyond just biology, it can serve other psychological and physiological purposes as follows;Style statement/ornament
- A sign of good health and good genes
- Women find it attractive
- A show of masculine physical maturity
- A show of strength and dominance
- A sexual tool to caress the neck of a woman on bed
On the other hand, being clean-shaven represents a different kind of masculinity, (not less), but a different kind that’s beyond natural. It’s refined, special, sophisticated, and extraordinary and also serves psychological and physiological purposes as follows;
- A sign of cleanliness and discipline
2. Makes a man look younger
3. Clean shaven men look less threatening and approachable
4. A professional signaling e.g soldiers and other paramilitary personnel, doctors, etc.
5. More appealing in corporate organizations as a show orderliness and reliability as well as submission to superiors.
Although we live in a more culturally fluid society than our ancestors, beards or lack of them can make or mar people’s impression of us depending on the context and environment. Some will have strong opinions either way and some wouldn’t. Let’s quickly explore different facets of life and you decide whether keeping beards will best suit you or be clean-shaven…
WORKPLACE
Can beards or being clean-shaven affect your chances in your profession or career? It depends. A study was conducted and participants were asked to rate pictures of men with beards and the clean-shaven ones and guess their occupation.
The result was, clean-shaven men were associated with jobs like lawyers, doctors, bankers, and politicians while beard gang men were associated with jobs like artists, musicians, and other fun and entertainment-related jobs. So, it depends on the kind of industry one operates.
When going for an interview in a corporate setting it is advised you go clean shaved and if you have to keep your beards, make sure it’s well-trimmed with clean outlines.
Imagine a scenario where you are in a life and death situation in the hospital, two doctors show up, one with full beards and the other clean-shaven, which one are you likely to entrust with your life?
On the other hand, if you work in a less conservative industry, say IT, entertainment, etc., nothing stops you from growing all out with your beards. It could just be your style game-changer.
STYLE STATEMENT
Beards are to the face for men what make up is to ladies. It gives some form and color to your face. It can also serve the purpose of covering up and or masking any deformity or scar on the face.
Although keeping beards can make a man look older than his actual age, unlike the clean-shaven counterpart that looks younger. An elderly man that is already showing signs of aging like wrinkles can look much younger just by having a clean shave.
It all boils down to the impression you’re trying to create sha. For someone like RMD that grows beards easily, you can experiment and alternate the looks. Shave for some time and grows beards other times to create an illusion of young and old anytime you feel like it.
However, one important note to take as you consider whether to keep beards or shave as a style statement is the shape of the face. Below are different shapes of a man’s face, I’m sure you can find where you belong in the group.
All the faces can keep beards, just that some need it more and some less, while some will be just fine without them, let’s do a quick rundown…
- Square Face; is usually characterized with a wide chin and jaw line. It’s the classical masculine face shape. Men with this face need not really bother with facial hair if they don’t want to and if they have to it should be kept short not full beards, because the beards will add to the wide face and make them look like a boulder (Goliath comes to mind, lol).
- Oval face; is like the mid face between the narrow and wide face. Your options are limitless with this. Long or short beads, clean-shaven…whatever you decide, you’re good to go.
- Rectangle/Oblong face; is characterized with a longer jaw and chin line unlike the square face that is wide. A man with is face can decide to go beardless and he’d still look masculine and sharp, but if he decides to grow beards it should grow out across the face rather grow down like a ‘goatie’ which makes the face look longer.
- Round face; is a characterized with a round chin line. Keeping beards for this kind of face will give it some form, length and shape especially if allowed to grow down as a ‘goatie’
- Diamond face; is characterizedwith wide cheekbones and narrow jaw and brown line. It’s somewhat a feminine face. Keeping beards is a necessity for this face shape. Full beards will expand the skinny jawline and of course make him look more masculine. If the goal is to look boyish though, then he can go clean-shaven.
- Triangle face; is characterized with a wide jawline, narrow a bit at the cheekbone and narrow forehead. Being clean-shaven is a necessity for this face. Keeping beards will make the jawline look wider and made the head look narrower and point. Avoid beards.
WHAT DO THE LADIES SAY?
Do beards help in attracting women? YES, it does. Studies have shown that ladies find men with beards more attractive and masculine. In fact, in Turkey, it is a major mating consideration for ladies to the point that some beardless men undergo hair implant surgeries just to stand a better chance with women. In another study, women said men with full beards are more likely to have good parenting skills.
I said earlier, that beards can be used as a sexual tool. When making love to your woman (missionary style), you can use your beards to tingle her neck, heightening the intensity of the activity, thank me later.
Women also love to play with a man’s beards. I can’t understand why they love that so much, but they do. Many don’t mind if a man is clean-shaven, but most wish they have a man with beards. So on this matter, I think the beard gang guys win fair and square, lol.
CONCLUSION
With these few points of mine, I hope you’ve been able to get an idea of what to do with your facial hair. No rule is cast on stone, the cardinal rule is to understand yourself and go for what accentuates your style and the impression you want people to have of you.
All that is said are just proven field ideas that can help you become a better-looking man. If you need more help in making a decision drop a comment or leave a message through the Whatsapp link below. also check out for other ways you can improve your style. read this; https://menstyleplug.com/how-to-unlock-the-power-of-attraction/
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Stay jiggy. Stay stylish. Stay Manly.
Olowe Segun
Amire Steve
Tolulope
