Yesterday I passed a barbershop and saw ads on their wall outside of men with beards and short hair. It is a revival or saving electricity ?
Can’t speak for anyone else, or if there are any trends, but personally it’s because I, at the age of 41, finally have reliable facial hair growth. All men in my family are like this. It’s a welcome trade-off for the fact that no men in my family ever develops a bald spot.
As everyone’s arguing about what the trend actually is, I went looking for hard numbers. Here’s some data spanning the Victorian to the late Cold War, from a paper by Dwight E. Robinson, but the link to it itself appears to be broken now.
Unfortunately, more recent information is googlebombed with people’s lightly supported fluff pieces, so a cursory look didn’t turn anything like this up for the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s, and 10’s.
Thanks, and go go gadget valid link! https://pdodds.w3.uvm.edu/files/papers/others/1976/robinson1976a.pdf
Dope!
Now that I think about it, you can just extrapolate that curve forwards and it matches anecdotal data about the 80’s and 90’s, reaching a similar smooth extreme around 1990 to peak beard in the 1890. By that logic, it’s a 2-century cycle, and we’ll be back there late this century.
I’m not saying this explains all of it, but there is a lot more resistance to the mainstream culture now than in previous decades. That culture is the continuation of Roman Imperialism which is where shaving the face is adopted from. This was in contrast to other societies such as the Greeks and Vandals.
Of course not everyone wearing a beard is counter-culture, but the counter-culture is currently strong enough to influence acceptable trends. Looking like Zuck isn’t cool anymore. I would say this trend started many years ago with the hipsters, and has steadily expanded beyond that group.
You gotta keep it trimmed and combed or it looks like a rats nest
Hides my fat face.
Same reason I wear a brown onion on my belt
Because that damn Keiser stole your word twenty?
I just do whatever the last attractive person who gave me advice on my appearance told me to do
Beards are where the Communism is stored. As the ruling class become richer and more obscene, class consciousness grows amongst the working class. Hence, beards.
I’ve got mine almost completely colonized with psychedelic mycelium!
I’m growing it to see how long it gets until it gets too annoying. Every day I want to shave it off or at least cut it fairly short.
I prefer to shave so individuals can see that I have a chin / jawline.
Good for you
I prefer not to shave, to make them wonder
Have you seen how much a razor costs nowadays?
This is the real reason. And I also just prefer to sleep an extra ten minutes every day.
This is the reason I stopped shaving. Cost. I have an electric shaver, but I can’t be bothered with a half-ass shave. Also, shaving too often gives me razor bumps.
And, without a beard, I probably look like I should be in high school.
Cartridges are expensive. We’ve been trained by Gillette to think cartridges are the only way, but there are much cheaper options.
One of these and a blade sampler pack will get you started (for anyone interested).
I use a safety razor (~$25) and a pack of 100 is around $5, definitely much better than the Gillette line, and honestly I like it more than even the cheaper “good” razors like Dollar Shave or Harry’s.
This is the way! The razorblades last for about 4 uses (7 if stretched) so a pack easily lasts a year, and I haven’t cut myself with one yet (in contrast to those pesky plastic razors which can’t keep sharpness throughout a single session).
Never gonna give my safety razor up, one would have to wrestle it out if my cold, dead hands!
Only 4? Oh… lol
I mean, beards are in fashion for several years now, aren’t they?
I personally started growing a beard, because my skin is easily irritated and I don’t like walking arround looking like a pizza. Luckily I also think I look better with a short, well kept full beard. Beards either take time or look like shit though in my experience.
The influence of Marxism
I mean, they’re both coming back a bit, but I don’t know anyone who was like “well, Marx had one”.
(It’s not real analysis, I’m memeing)
(Oh, gotcha!)
From each according to his capacity I suppose
The rent (razors) is too damn high!!!
Fashions change. We were about due for a swing back to beardy, I reckon.
Personally, I’m bald, and I grow a really good on that, like, holds a shape. It just makes sense.