Beards, goatees, muttonchops, mustaches and sideburns…oh my
Current beard fashion encompasses a variety of lifestyles and for the better part of a decade the growth of facial hair has become integral to these groups to express everything from ornamental to evolutionary needs. However, mustachioed men and even those with goatees alike argue about the trend, instead calling it a beard renaissance.
History has seen its share of bearded men. Early humans used beards for warmth and intimidation. I can attest to this with my facial hair. I have been told by my girlfriend that I look mean and my own mother told me I look like a bouncer at a club. A beard on a man’s face creates the look of a stronger looking jaw line and this exaggeration helps them appear more intimidating.
Pulse music editor Marc T. Michael agrees his look gives him a long jaw line. “It’s not exactly a goatee,” Michael says explaining his appearance. “I’m not cool enough to get caught up in any current trend; I’m just too lazy to shave.”But before fashion or dance clubs or any kind of modern housing existed, facial hair kept prehistoric men warm and it also protected their mouths from sand, dirt, the sun and many other different elements.
In 3000 BCE to 1580 BCE, Egyptian royalty used a false beard that was made of metal. This false beard was held onto the face by a ribbon that was tied over their heads. This practice was done by both kings and queens. Ancient Egyptians were also known to die their chin beards with reddish brown to strong brown dyes.
Salon owner Mitchell Robert understands the importance of keeping up your beard and how to create an illusion simply by using tricks of the trade. “I’ve got a white stripe at the bottom of my beard but I didn’t dye the stripe, I dyed my whole beard dark and left the stripe. Otherwise I would be all gray.”
Mesopotamian civilizations took great care of their beards. They would use products like beard oil to keep their beards looking healthy. “It is something you have to do,” adds Robert. “Twice a week I apply balm and oil to emulsify my beard then shape it up, especially if I’m going out.”
The Assyrians dyed their beards black, and the Persians died theirs an orange-red color. They would also fashion their beards using ancient curling irons and make ringlets, frizzles, and tiered effects. During ancient times, in Turkey and India, when someone had a long beard it was considered a symbol of wisdom and dignity.
Ancient Greeks considered beards honorable and commonly curled theirs with tongs in order to create hanging curls. Their beards were cut only as a punishment. Around 345 B.C., Alexander the Great decreed that soldiers couldn’t have beards. He was afraid that opposing soldiers would grab on to the Grecians’ beards and use it against them while in battle.
Ancient Romans preferred their beads to be trimmed and well groomed. A Roman by the name of Lucius Tarquinius Pricus encouraged the use of razors in order to guide the city to hygienic reform in 616-578 B.C. Although Pricus tried to encourage shaving, it still was not generally accepted until 454 B.C.
In 454 B.C., a group of Greek Sicilian barbers traveled from Sicily into mainland Italy. They set up barber shops that were situated on the main streets of Rome. Eventually shaving started to become the trend in ancient Rome, though philosophers like Socrates and Plato kept their beards as a sign of rebellion. Little did they know how their grooming habits would influence all kinds of artists and musicians to this day.
In the early 1600’s, a painter named Sir Anthony Vandyke began to paint many aristocrats with pointed beards. This style of beard was eventually called the Van Dyke. The men used pomade or wax to shape their beards, and they applied with tiny brushes and combs. The people of this time invented different gadgets in order to keep mustaches and beards in shape while they slept.
By the 1800’s poets like Walt Whitman embraced the beard as manly, and his 1855 hymn “Song of Myself” touted his physical vitality through facial hair declaring:
Washes and razors for foofoos …
for me freckles and a bristling beard
Copies of the poem were sold with a full-length drawing of the poet, to show him true to his word. As Whitman suggested, beards were liberating and empowering, and were accordingly embraced by men of every rank.
My nephew Travis Hale recently got married in Palm Desert, CA and one of the most striking things about his wedding photos was his beard. “I have been growing my beard for almost two years,” he says. “People either love it or hate it. Most men compliment me on it, especially about how full it is. My mother hates it. My wife loves it.”
But like Michael, Hale doesn’t follow any beard trend, but is committed to taking care of it nonetheless. “It’s not as easy as you would think,” says Hale. “You gain respect for someone when you see that they have a glorious beard.”
Bear Meadows has taken the current beard trend so far as to custom formulate a line of products by men with beards called, you guessed it, The Beard Line.
“We hired a chemist and master barber to develop the line and we have been taking it to vendor shows for the last three years,” says Meadows. “Our beard oils help make the whiskers soft and manageable, while the beard balms help you to shape and keep even the most course beard looking controlled and managed.”
While Meadows realizes we are living in a beard renaissance, facial hair has always been a part of his lifestyle. “I had hair on my body when I was seven or eight years old,” he remembers. “I used to have to shave my chest hair.”
Meadows recalls a time when beards were frowned upon and those who wore them were seen as troublemakers. “About ten years ago, I noticed a change in mainstream culture where beards became more accepted.”
He has always been a part of the Bear community, a subset of gay male culture which defines a “Bear” as a larger, hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity.
“We actually have a beard seminar twice a year at Burlap and Board where about 36 guys, both gay and straight, show up with girlfriends, boyfriends and spouses to check out the latest styles,” says Meadows. “Last time we had twelve beard models showcasing everything from short stubble to ducktail beards, Van Dyke beards to mutton chops. No matter our differences, we can still bond over the beard.”
There have been many beard styles throughout the ages. A style made popular by Abraham Lincoln, is called the chin curtain. This is when there is facial hair along the jawline which is long enough to hang from the chin. American essayist, Henry David Thoreau, had a style called the chinstrap beard. This style is achieved when sideburns are connected to each other by a narrow hair line along the jaw.
English heavy metal musician, Lemmy Kilmister wore his facial hair in a style called friendly muttonchops. Friendly muttonchops are formed when muttonchops are connected by a mustache and there is no chin hair. American professional wrestler Hulk Hogan was famous for the style horseshoe (or handlebar) mustache. This is a full mustache with ends that extend down in parallel strait lines all the way down to the chin.
In current times, beards continue to show masculinity, royalty, fashion, and status. Specifically, the beard has long assumed an important place in music history. In folk and blues, a beard is required to demonstrate you have the necessary gravitas for the subject matter; in heavy metal and hard rock the beard is a sign of strength.
“There’s no question beards have a place in modern music but it is a fine line,” says Michael. “I think it more or less just fits the lifestyle of a musician but doesn’t necessarily define who they are.”
Although Michael recalls a time when he was 14 and had a final acting call in his hometown of Radcliffe, Kentucky. “The casting director told me to lose the mustache or lose the part,” he remembers. “I refused to part with my hair follicles.” The local paper did, however, print a front page story about the fracas.
No matter who I spoke to, they say they won’t be shaving their beards anytime soon.
“Wear the beard, be the beard is my motto,” says Meadows. Michael has only shaved his facial hair twice in 25 years. Hale says when it has reached its longest point or once it stops growing, he will think about shaving it. Robert says his wife actually suggested he grow his beard.
“Happy wife, happy life,” he exclaims. “You know mullets use to be in style, then it was high hair for women,” he says. “We will have to see if this is passing trend or if it’s here to stay.”
Photo: Travis Hale and his beard (and his wife)