To beard or not to beard?

[pina la nina]

Do you love your beard? Do you only go naked faced? Which do your kids/SO's prefer?

For the ladies - any preferences?

My dh recently shaved his goat after years...I miss it, though am trying to be supportive, still it doesn't look like him - weird. Our dd doesn't seem to mind either way, she loves her daddy.

[Pallas]

Dh has a facefull, and I love it. Once in a verrrrrrrry great while he gets a wild hair (ha!) and shaves it, and I just smile politely til it grows back ... I love my big ol' grizzly!

[Elphaba]

i voted for my hubby. he is the one "baby smooth" vote at this time. partially because he is in the army and they like it that way and partially because even if he wanted facial hair, he can't grow a decent looking one. his beard is patchy, so it would look silly if he did grow something. all the men in his family are like that.

[cottonwood]

My husband has long hair tied back in a pony-tail and goatee and mustache, and usually stubble of varying length on the rest of his face. I *hate* it when he shaves!

[dfoy]

My dh has varying degrees of facial hairiness depending on when the day,week, month, year. Right now its a full beard. Sometimes it's a goatee. Othertimes, baby smooth. I prefer the full beard in winter, goatee in the summer. He plays with it, though, catches himself, and off it comes. It starts itching and bugging him. He's been saying for the last week that the beard is coming off but he hasn't gotten around to it yet. It's his face....he can do what he wants with it. He has to wear his hair short these days because of his job (they don't allow long hair, even tied back ) and until he got this job he has always worn it long. Since he has no hair options, he should get to have his face anyway he wants.

Our 6 mo old is soooo cute when her daddy has a beard and kisses her! She knows it's coming and leans her cheek into him but squenches her eyes up and shrugs her shoulders cause she knows it going to tickle! Too cute!

[Sagesgirl]

It's a joke of mine that you can tell a sailor's rank by looking at his moustache. I've told my hubby for years he's got the 'stache of a chief petty officer (as opposed to a second class)...I love it. I hate it when he shaves, 'cause he never keeps it smooth for longer than about three days, & it's prickly as heck coming back. He's also the only blonde I know with blonde body hair too, this wonderful golden color. I like all the hair I can get on him, LOL.

[papabliss]

I hate shaving.

I used to do it on a regular basis, but the moment I didn't have to, I wouldn't. But one time two years ago, I quit shaving during the Christmas break. DW said to let it go and see what happens. Then she liked it. The rest is history. Now I just trim it up from time to time.

Cheers.

[Mallory]

My husband is 1/4 lakota but his face must be all native american. He shaves about every two weeks, when I start to tease him that his lip looks dirty he also has about five hairs on his chin that he shaves. His cheeks have never met a razor!!!

[Alexander]

From 20 - 30 I had a full beard. At the time I I shaved, (first time since being a teen), I looked like a religious fundamentalist!

I hate shaving, so I have 2 shavers, one for each side of the face!

Saves some time (alot actually, you girls are so lucky).

I am lazy though, so if I think I can get away without shaving, I do. But it rapidly goes to 5 o'clock shadow, which unfortunately is very un-popular herre in Japan.

a

[daylily]

I like dh's hipster goatee. Just a few days ago he cut off his long hair and donated it to Locks of Love. (They make wigs for cancer patients.) I hated his long hair, he looked exactly like Jesus. Now he's a hottie again.

[Dale]

I usually wear long hair OR a beard, but not both. Right now I'm in a long-hair, clean-shaven phase. Except for my moustache, I've kept that constant since I was 19.

[laralou]

I love facial hair! Dh has a goatee most of the time but now has a full beard. Every so often he shaves it all off but he looks like he is 12 and people ask me how much younger he is than I am so I hate it.

[Irishmommy]

I voted clean shaven for my dh. I hate face fungus on him. He had a moustache when I met him, and it was almost a deal breaker!

[m&m]

My dh has a goatee mustach combo - very sexy - and makes him look older.

our dds think it tickles.

[emmaline]

dh shaved off his full beard on new years eve1999 on condition that i get my legs waxed! as I had never seen his face fully before I agreed

he has been babysmooth ever since ( it was like getting a new man!) but nothing would induce me to wax ever again - the process itself didn't hurt at all but growing back - every last leg hair follicle turned into a redhot point of pain

[stormborn]

I voted for dh...he's baby-smooth now. He used to have something different all the time: full beard, funky goatees, mustashe-all in a month! But after dd was born & got to the grabby stage that was all over! She pulled out a few handfuls & he's been clean shaven since!

[papabliss]

Hi stormborn

I love it when ds pulls on my beard and he loves it when I tickle his feet with it while changing hid diaper.

However, when dd gets a hold of it (dd is 3), I consider shaving.

Cheers.

[Sylvia Lynn]

dh has a full beard & long hair. sometimes he wears a goatee. i like the beard, mostly cuz stubble hurts me. he's teaching kayli (6 mo) to play gentle & let go if she yanks. she does make the cutest faces when he tickles her with it.

[Dov]

If a man can grow it, he oughtta let it

I'm doing some research on male facial/body hair and cultural assumptions so this is an interesting thread. It's fascinating to me that whenever a male does something that is reflective of his innate wild-man nature, some societies attempt to get him to shave it off... I suspect that fear or control issues are at play underneath other "reasons." Some cultures don' t do that however, and long hair or facial hair is considered a virtue. So far, I've run across some interesting things. If I get a chance to finish it and publish, I'll let ya' know.

I do find it very offensive that in this culture, employers are permitted to dictate control over a man's body (much the way I am incensed generally at society's attempts to control women's bodies, the feeding of children, etc.). Also, what's with all the hairless male models? It seems ridiculous to show grown men that look like pre-pubescent boys as the societal image of male beauty... gimme a break. We want men to grow up not stay pre-adolescent. *shudder*

I grew my beard in college for pragmatic reasons I was tired of being "carded" at the movie theater! And that was in the days before they actually did that routinely for R rated films. Go figure.... My dw says I look like a "tick" when I'm clean shaven; big body, little head (obviously I did that once and never again!). Having a beard comes in handy when you're climbing in winter too.

We had a dog that would bark and get nervous if a shaved man came over. Our kids both exhibited such behaviors as well (not the barking ). Our ds used to reach for a beard on any guy holding him and would cry if he didn't get himself a handful of beard. The other day I was trimming my beard and my ds stood by the mirror pretending to do the same. It was a riot!

I do keep my beard and moustache short along with my "top" hair because we live in a hot climate. If I lived up north, I'd grow everything out longer. Can you tell I like my curly beard?

Dov

[rwikene]

I didn't vote because I want my dh to do that for himself. But right now he has a goatie....it's ok...I prefer clean shaven now, I used to like his goatie, but I hate how prickly it is....I even get some sort of rash when he starts to grow it back

dd doesn't really like facial hair on daddy....it's scratchy (she's 8 mo) but she likes it on other men, to look at....so dh decided to grow it back b/c he got jealous...whatever:

He constantly changes it, when he get too lazy then he decides to have a goatie, then he'll decide to shave it....I never know what he'll look like when he comes home from work

It's his hair, his face...he can do what he wants, but he must decide if kisses are less important than facial hair... I hate stubble......

Rachel