Dec 10, 2006

I Have What It Takes

I Have What It Takes I’m growing a beard and right now it itches. I grew a goatee several years ago, but just when people got used to it I shaved it off because it itched too much.

Don’t let itching deter you. Your skin will eventually adjust to the new situation. Itching should be only a temporary phase.
Beards.org

So far Renate has been supportive, but today she told me the beard was “scratchy.” I told her should be only a temporary phase, and that eventually her skin will adjust to the new situation.

If you experience itching, keep your skin clean by daily shampooing (with a gentle shampoo) and optionally using a conditioner.

This bit of advice made the situation worse. Renate bought me some face lotion, and that helped.

Growing a beard requires a commitment. The experience can even be a test of character as well as a surprising process of self-discovery. Do you have what it takes?

“What exactly are your plans for this beard?” Renate asked yesterday. I told her I’m on a process of self-discovery. My mom told me it looked like I had dirt on my face.

The decision to grow, and subsequently keep, your beard is yours. The only opinion that really matters is yours… If you like it, keep it. If not, then shave it off.

Tally ho! Every World Beard competitor starts with a dream and an itchy face. I don’t have a dream yet. Otherwise I’m halfway there.

http://www.walkjogrun.net Adam Howitt

Had a good chuckle reading this. Nobody supported my “beard” efforts either except Melissa who likes it not too long and not short. I’ve seen your beard and it looks nothing like dirt – mine however…
Weeks

I had been wondering what that earlier comment was in regards to… In a surprising coincidence, I too have regrown my beard. Barb doesn’t mind it (or so she bravely claims). I find it can be most itchy after trimming it, when the ends of the hairs are no longer blunt – usually improves in a day or so…
http://www.walkjogrun.net Jeff Kenny

Yesterday was “pizza night” at gramma’s (my mother’s) and I hadn’t shaved since Thursday morning. In a hurry to leave I only shaved the cheeks leaving the goatee. I’ve decided that while I actually don’t mind the way I look with it (it gives me the jawline I hereditarily lack (thanks, dad)), it evokes a certain image in my own head. I’m suddenly feeling like I belong in a black leather jacket, cheering for the White Sox (god help me) and calling my wife “my old lady.”

Needless to say it itches like a mofo and I’ll be shaving prior to work tomorrow morning.

Oh – and for the record – my old lady doesn’t like it and neither does the 3 year old. Too scratchy for both.
Todd Prouty

My wife actually requested that I grow the rest of my beard out. My dad has some photos from the ’70s where he looks like Grizzly Adams in need of a trim, for which my sisters and I loved to tease him, so I’m trying to avoid giving that kind of ammo to our “potential kids.” It rarely itches anymore, so there’s some hope for you. The only problem I have is that the sides have been slow to grow in. The goatee part is thick and the sides are scraggly, but the woman who cuts my hair says to leave it — it will fill in eventually.

I’ve been wanting to get an actual beard trimmer for some time. Using the moustache trimmer on an electric shaver, it’s easy to mess things up.

Let me know if you end up looking like this. Assuming there’s another meet-up, I may have to miss it in that case (or show up to take pictures for your “potential kids”).
http://www.evolvingpage.com Drew

Weeks - if ever I knew a World Beard competitor, it’s you. Think about it…

Todd – I hear you on the beard trimmer. If I hang in there long enough, I’ll probably get one just to keep things tidy. Also, those have got to be the awesomest photos I have ever seen. (It’s a word.)
http://www.pisyndicate.com Jason Pero

I’ve sported the goatee look for many years now. It all started when the hair on top of my head decided to retire. Now I keep the top low (but not so low that my head is shiny) and I can’t bring myself to shave off the goatee…its all I have left. Although the bald look saves me plenty of money on haircuts, I still envy all the young guys like Drew and their healthy heads of hair!
http://www.evolvingpage.com Drew

Yes, but see, you look like a bad-ass with a shaved head. I will look like a monkey. And if I try to make it look better with a goatee, I’ll only look like a goateed monkey.