I tried growing mustache + beard during last year’s “Movember”. I got great support from man and woman in general, and grew a full-blown mustache that blew people away.

It gathered the respect of man. I outgrew their mustaches. They took that very seriously. I noticed it helped me professionally: people took me seriously and were kinder and more attentive than usual.

Amazing collateral was women’s feedback: they LOVED it. They are RAVING fans of my mustache and beard lol. I learned that facial hair “hypnotizes” the female brain, and they are progressively curious, entertained, delighted and then amazed. They kiss me longer and more often. They can’t contain themselves at the sight of mustache + smile.

What was completely unexpected was to learn that woman “give” man’s facial hair surrealistic power. They credit its attributes (texture, color, quantity, location, size, style) with powers such as attraction, passionate kiss, etc – and develop a “fixation” with it.

Man, let it grow. Don’t fear being ridiculous, even if you can’t style it as you wanted to be. Go for it. But also “learn” from it: it does its own thing. Use your natural assets to your best, brother, and let us know.

On the other, more hopeful hand, others could have leaned toward a handsome, well groomed beard. Were my beard as thick as Jim’s, I would probably have one today. But the reality is not all men, and might I add not all manly men, have thick enough whiskers to grow a good beard.

And the one thing I’d say with certainty on the topic is if you can’t grow a good one, don’t grow a thin one. You’ll look like a wannabe.

And for God sakes, can anyone explain to me the three day stubble that has been popular for several years? That’s got to be as bad as my first attempt when I was 17, and had inch long whiskers every quarter of an inch about my face.

After the initial grow-out, I began to trim it with clippers and shape it with a razor, and it really started looking good. I felt more manly and confident. My mom even said my beard was quite flattering (I’m still a momma’s boy, so the compliment made me feel good).

Before this semester began (I’m a teacher), I shaved the beard off to see how I look without it. As soon as I shaved it off, I thought, “How did I go 33 years without my manly man-hairs on my visage.” I felt lost, naked even, and my confidence fell. Others who knew me as a bearded man didn’t like the boyish presence that engulfed me without my manly face-hairs.

I have since grown the beard back. I keep it shaped and trimmed. I usually trim it with a number 2 or sometimes a number 1. I feel great, even better now because I previously had long hair down to my shoulders. I recently got a hair cut, and I must say, I really like the shorter hair with the beard.

In all honesty, I’ve not really witnessed much beard discrimination in the work place. I do keep it trimmed and professional looking, and I shape it so as to do away with the splotchly areas closer to my cheeks, resulting in a mustache plus chinstrap combination I guess, because I don’t think splotchy beards look cool and because I don’t want to look like Grizzly Adams.

Fast forward a couple of years, and I’m clean shaven, in a shirt and tie, teaching at a college, basically looking like everyone else there, and it drove me crazy. I remember clicking through the TV, and Spike was playinge Episode 3, and I saw Ewan McGreggor as Obi Wan Kenobi, and thought “now there’s a man I should look like.” So I basically threw away the razor and grew a beard.

That was around a year and a half ago, and to date no one has mentioned anything in the negative. My students have even started heading their papers “Dr. Brown,” and the only thing that’s changed is my facial hair =) Some of my colleagues are now sporting beards and mustachios of their own. Perhaps I’ve started a revolution?

Whatever you choose, do it for you. Do whatever you think reflects you. But for the love of God, get a PROPER beard, no soul patches!

Also, my male friends and family members don’t do facial hair, so it was kind of risk trying to do something different to my contemporaries. However, after having worked with the local youth service, and seeing almost every male member of staff there wearing a beard of some sort, it kind of reaffirmed to me that it’s actually something to be proud of. Over here at least (in the UK), the beard is starting to regain that “mark of trust” status, with the accompanying assumption that the man with a beard has some knowledge/worldliness about him.

So yeah, go ahead and try it – if it doesn’t look/feel right, it’s only a few minutes work to go back to being clean shaven! But trust me, it does feel/look really cool if it works out!