It's a fun thing, but it's legitimate too. The idea is simple: cancer patients lose their hair, so you grow your hair in support of those who can't. The concept is mainly directed at men in regard to growing their facial hair, but it does extend to women too. Focus: Will you be participating? Why or why not? (I will go as long as I can, until either A) my baby son gets too scared of me; B) my wife refuses to have sex with me; and/or C) I have to trim my beard for cosmetic reasons because it looks too pubic-y for me to be at work like that) Alt. Focus: What do you think about these "hey let's raise awareness" things? Just a product of the look-at-me youtube generation? Or does it actually help?
It's that time of year, folks! El husband already has a beard. It is called his freedom beard and totally unrelated to no shave November. Anybody here growing one specifically because of this cause or maybe growing one because winter is here?
I tried this last year. I looked worse than some 13 year old hippy douche bag festi-tripping with String Cheese Incident. I am ashamed of the patchy gross peach fuzz on my face.
Yea i can't grow a beard worth shit either. I let it grow out a bit longer then normal this time of year keeps the face warmer.
My beard's most epic stint was in Alaska, and I looked like an Amish caveman. I usually shear my lip hair and "soul patch" off. I play around with it and it bugs me when I keep doing it because I think I'm annoying others.
Apparently I cannot grow proper "no-shave november" beard due to my profession. I found that out today, and it saddens me. But instead I will be wearing a pink ribbon, and will collect where I can (underneath the ribbon: "I'll match what you donate"). I feel that's an adequate compromise. **edit** doing mine for brain cancer research. Because I am a brain tumor survivor. And fuck that.
I may do a goatee, but a full beard is out due to a, shall we say, unnecessary amount of what I will call 'silverish' hair on my face.
Focus: Nope. It would take all month for me to grow anything like a beard. I didn't have to shave every day until I was 30, and until I was 28 I shaved maybe once a week. In contrast to No Shave November, I'm actually going to have a barber shave me in the next couple of weeks. It's nice to only have to run a microscreen over my face real quick before I go to work... Alt. Focus: Sometimes it does. I scoffed at the ice bucket challenge, until I found out how much money was suddenly flowing into ALS research. No Shave November, on the other hand, sounds like some guys telling themselves that their winter beards are going to help cancer patients. It's not like Kate Upton was planning on pouring an ice bucket on herself before the ALS challenge.
Yes, this. Last year I grew a little facial hair starting around now for the first time and it ended up staying til spring. As long as I keep it trimmed around the edges its not awful, and my girlfriend is fine with it too. I love not having to shave in the morning.
I already have a full and luxurious heard as it is, so we'll just keep it up. Seriously, though, it feels like the kind of felt that is on a pool table in the White House.
I started growing a beard at the end of last month, so I might as well keep it going. My wife hates it during the two week "growing in" phase, but now that it is in, she actually likes the way I look. The biggest pain in the ass is I get a crazy neckbeard going if I don't shave that part, so I'm still shaving on a daily basis to keep from looking like I'm a fedora and 200 lbs away from complaining about why no women like me. As for the "bring awareness" stuff? It can be effective. I wouldn't have donated to ALS without the ice bucket challenge, so to that end it brings some awareness. It's when it gets too "look at meeeee! Look at how amazing I am!" That these awareness campaigns get obnoxious. You're raising money for cancer or some other disease, it's not about YOU.
I can't not shave for a month without some likely professional repercussions. So I don't participate. In general I think most awareness campaigns don't do a lot. They're slacktivism. It's when they're paired with an actual beneficial action that I think they can do great things. The ice bucket challenge was good because it said "Dump water *and* donate" not just "dump water." The no shave November thing is probably worse than most in that I don't think most people even realize it's for a cause at this point. Or if they do, they don't know what the cause actually is.
Typically, during this thread, guys will post progress or end of November photos. If any of you ladies decide to participate, I'd like to go on record as saying that I am not interested in seeing your facial hair. And if you decide to grow your "other" hair out, I prefer the before photo, but you're welcome to post either here.
I don't participate because I have no ambition to look like a dirty pedophile, and it's been proven that intensive screening for prostate cancer doesn't reduce mortality. I mention prostate cancer specifically because prostate cancer became the cause of the month in reaction to breast cancer taking over October. And don't even get me started on the pink ribbon bullshit. I've never heard of no-shave November (or Movember) being about not shaving in general to support cancer patients in general, but that's mission creep for you. Seems the big boss at work is in favour of all the guys growing moustaches, though. This will not end well for me.
I haven't been clean shaven, as in to the skin, in probably 2 years. I don't have a beard, but I basically operate at perma-stubble. I take the guard off a beard trimmer, go against the grain, and get down a bit that way. I can't grow a full beard in that I have a decently full goatee area but patchy on my jawline and cheeks, and I have no interest in a goatee. Slowly but steadily its filling in on the sides. But it also grows to a certain point and kind of stops, then we start to itch, so I trim it at that point. Usually no more than a week.
I've been growing a winter beard the last couple years and it seems to come in faster each year. I'm about three weeks in this year.
My beard, I just measured with my engineer's scale, is already at four inches in length. I've been growing serious beards for more than a decade. I also grow my hair and donate it to Locks of Love every few of years. My friend lost his mother to cancer in the early 2000's and I've been donating since about 2008 in honor of her. I've got some beautiful hair. Really, I put those models in shampoo and conditioner commercials to shame.