by Kyle Von Riesen (Master Barber)
As humans, we have a basic instinct to care for our bodies. How we eat, how we exercise, how we rest and relax are just a few ways that we take care of ourselves internally. We also have the instinct to take care of our external bodies. What we wear, how often we shower, and how much or little we groom ourselves. These instincts are human nature and after the age of around sixteen, we have a choice in how much effort we give this self-care. Not gonna lie, some could use a little more effort and others a little less. Although there are many similarities between men and women, there is one big difference; we have the superpower to grow hair on our face. What we do with that hair is completely up to us, unless of course you are married, then it is completely up to your wife.
The possibilities of how we groom this hair on our face are endless. Full shave, partial shave, no shave. We even have names for identifying different options we can grow on our face. The mustache, the goatee, the mutton chops, the soul patch, the chin strap, and we can’t forget the classic beard. Of course, if this isn’t enough each one of these options has an endless list of potential length and shaping. The problem we have isn’t ideas and options for our facial hair, but what actually and looks good on us. As young men, we are excited or maybe just mildly intrigued by this idea of shaving. This early on is usually glorified peach fuzz but nonetheless, we have something to shave. The novelty of this task usually wears off once we are the age where it is socially expected of us to shave. However, it is at this time that we wonder if we have enough hair growth in the right areas to avoid this now tedious process of shaving, or at the very least minimize this daily task. We stop shaving and see what happens. Depending on age and genetics, the first time we stop shaving we usually have the majority of our growth on our upper lip and below our chin. This is where the beard hair follicles develop first. Then, the sideburns and lastly the cheeks and what we call the “great connection” between the mustache and the chin. This all is dependent on your genetics because, for some, it just doesn’t ever seem to fully fill out. This is why there are many options for virtually every type of facial hair growth. In our next post, we’ll discuss how to maximize your facial hair and what best suits your growth pattern and face shape.
