Courtesy Post
For better or worse, we are all judged on the basis of physical appearance, which speaks to our daily habits and preoccupations. At its simplest: running shoes speak to sportiness, pigtails a child-like attitude. It’s not too different with facial hair. Someone with a gnarly beard looks a lot wilder than someone with a close shave.
A high school teacher of mine once grew a beard that kindled a bit of imagination. He was relatively young – in his mid twenties – and it was his first year teaching US government at our school. As we neared that stressful period at the end of the year filled with finals and AP tests, I watched his fresh-face five o’clock shadow thicken to a beard at least a centimeter long. I could feel paternal disapproval emanating from last year’s US history teacher, a man who wore pressed pants and ties to work every day.
This spontaneous onslaught of hair from my typically fresh-faced government teacher was (apparently) the result of neglect. Since it only comes once in a blue moon, let’s call this the werewolf beard. A week later, this overgrown stubble will be safely dispatched with a safety razor, those ubiquitous T-shaped razors with one or more blade – something like the Gillette Mach 3, a pretty solid tool for all-purpose shaving. He probably does not own a straight razor, those wonderfully classic knife-like razors that I imagine a handsome narcissist-murderer like American Psycho character Patrick Bateman would use. (Apologies to straight razor users. Since straight razors are less common, they have a certain air of exclusivity to them.)
The werewolf beard represented an embarrassing lack of composure, revealing my teacher’s newness and stress like toilet paper clinging to the back of one’s shoe. And keep in mind that most employers (and women) prefer a clean shaved look. We already live in a world biased against beard, with parodies of melted cheese clinging to the full mustaches and store chains named “The Art of Shaving” clearly partisan toward the hairlessness cause.
At this point of the story, I should mention that put-together US history teacher who wore pressed pants and ties every day accessorized with a mustache and goatee, which goes to show that facial hair and professionalism are not diametrically opposed. (This heavy-duty facial hair requires more heavy-duty tools. This teacher probably used scissors or something electric, like the Conair beard mustache trimmer.) Truthfully, facial hair is very masculine. Many men cite their beards and mustaches as expressions of masculinity. Many women like that scratchy stubble feel, which can add a sexy wild edge to an otherwise professional look. Even with a casual stubbly look, upkeep is key, and this is where a few simple tools come into play.
1. A razor with a sharp blade– a safety razor more than three blades, as this post mentions, is overkill
2. Shaving foam
3. Trimming tools for heavy-duty facial hair, like scissors or an electric trimmer
4. Aftershave or moisturizer
Or consider a shaving kit like the Anthony Logistics Shave Kit to jump start your grooming habits.
Read more: http://pocketchange.become.com/2010/10/shaving-and-psyche.html#ixzz11XAqiHkw
