2009 has truly been the year of the beard. It is not possible to look too far without spotting facial hair from 10,000 BC. And the actors involved are respectable too.
Full-blown beards have taken over the male celebrity in a way that suggests razors are not welcome anymore. George Clooney, David Beckham, Colin Farrell, and Jarvis Cocker are all living proof that the caveman look is back. John Travolta may still prefer the goatee, but that was soooo yesterday…..
Even Prince William managed to pull off the look at the end of 2008, coming second to only Tom Jones and the Archbishop of Canterbury as British Beard of the Year in 2008.
So why is it that more and more men are ignoring Thierry Henry, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer’s calls for the best shave ever?
Time magazine ran an article last year suggesting that the full-grown facial was “an act of rebellion”. According to Allan Peterkin, pogonologist, or beard academic, men are “trying to prove they are no corporate slave.” His book, One Thousand Beards is the authority on the subject.
Carmelo Guastella is barber to the stars, the manager of London salon Melogy, and creator of Ali G’s perfectly manicured ghetto beard.
Facial Hair Means No Office Slave
“Let’s face it, no man grows a beard if his wife hates it, but women are seeing these good-looking, rich, famous guys – Brad Pitt is the ultimate example here – with beards, so they’re not so against them. And the great thing for regular men who have beards is that it’s saying something: ‘I’m no suit – I can wear a beard!’”
Pitt recently attended the premiere of Inglorious Basterds sporting a bushy and very monotone beard. Months earlier at the screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he jokingly told People magazine, "It's fashion. Who am I without creative facial hair? I consider it art."
When the normally clean and cropped Ben Affleck has adopted a Nirvana grunge look for his latest flick Extract, you have to sit up and take notice. The face follicle is well and truly back.
Sales of Electric Razors Hit by Beard Growth
According to the marketing research company, The NPD Group, sales of electric shavers and men’s facial trimmers dipped 12 percent in 2008.
Paul Roof, assistant professor of sociology at Charleston Southern University in South Carolina, believes that the beard revival is driven in the main by reclamation of masculinity. After all, in ancient Greece, beards were a sign of leadership and virility.
Women Hate Beards
“Beards are a direct backlash against metrosexuality and the feminization of modern man” says Roof. “But beards are also the only accessory route that men have — the only way men can change their looks.”
However, a recent survey of more than 2,000 men and women conducted by aftershave manufacturer Lynx unearthed some conclusively anti-beard statistics.
While 63 per cent of men believed facial hair made them more manly and attractive, 92 per cent of women said they preferred a clean-shaven man, with 95 per cent complaining that facial stubble made a romantic kiss a turn-off.
Even so, the caveman is well and truly thriving….
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