Show us your beard!

[Razor X]

I had mine trimmed this week to give I some shape as it can get a bit too thick and wild. I prefer it to grow down rather than out!

I agree. It looks great!

[TheSlyBear]

I agree that beard just gets better and better with the thickness, texture, and color.  It's basically a flawless beard-envy generating beard!

I have nothing to add to this. Perfectly said.

[Razor X]

Thank you. The beard has got a little longer than usual and today I was playing around and put the hairdryer on it to straighten it out a bit and get an idea of the true length.  While trying to fluff it up from underneath, the dryer caused the ends of my mustache to curl up and form handlebars of a sort. I had no idea that they were long enough to do this and it's not really the look I was going for.  A little out of my comfort zone, but here's what it looked like:

[nuts]

Fantastic look.  I've been trying for that but one side always droops.

[Mr Jules]

Thank you. The beard has got a little longer than usual and today I was playing around and put the hairdryer on it to straighten it out a bit and get an idea of the true length.  While trying to fluff it up from underneath, the dryer caused the ends of my mustache to curl up and form handlebars of a sort. I had no idea that they were long enough to do this and it's not really the look I was going for.  A little out of my comfort zone, but here's what it looked like:

Those 'natural' handlebars look great. They're worth the admission fee alone. Time to invest in some mustache wax ?

[Razor X]

Maybe.  I'm not sure I'm ready yet to venture out in public with handlebars.

[Cave Dweller]

Razor, stick with the handlebars. They work for you.

[Mr Jules]

Maybe.  I'm not sure I'm ready yet to venture out in public with handlebars.

Know what you mean. Handlebars are a visual addition. Where as a bald head is missing hair. Folks tend to comment on what you've added, not what's missing.

[DoberDaddy]

Thank you. The beard has got a little longer than usual and today I was playing around and put the hairdryer on it to straighten it out a bit and get an idea of the true length.  While trying to fluff it up from underneath, the dryer caused the ends of my mustache to curl up and form handlebars of a sort. I had no idea that they were long enough to do this and it's not really the look I was going for.  A little out of my comfort zone, but here's what it looked like:

NICE!

[Laser Man]

Give the handlebars a try just for a short time and see if you like the look!

[Rusty Shackleford]

Hey Razor, I like the handlebars, and it's a very subtle handlebar (more of a swept to the side look) so many might not even notice you did it.  I tried doing something like that a year or so ago and it looked better because a beard looks best with a bigger stache on the top.  I once heard that it is like the "crown" of a beard but I ultimately went back to trimming along the lipline because I couldn't get it to hold in that position all day even with beard wax.  I eat too much big-bite food like subs and burritos and it was just too difficult eating my food without eating my mustache.  Lately I've been missing the bigger look so I've let it get a little bigger than normal, but it was just too much of a PITA for me to do it.  I think a lot has to do with how high your upper lip actually is because guys with more distance can probably pull off the longer stache thing easier.

[Razor X]

There's a limit to how much primping I'm willing to do, so a lot would depend on how well it stayed in place in the course of a day.  I find that trying to figure out the right size for a stache can be tricky.  You're right that a bigger beard needs a bigger stache but you reach a point where you either let it grow down past the top lip or you do not.

I haven't really tried to let it grow past the top lip yet.  And the whole handlebar thing truly took me by surprise, so I haven't really thought it out. I'm pretty sure I'd feel self conscious about it for quite a while.

[Rusty Shackleford]

There's a limit to how much primping I'm willing to do, so a lot would depend on how well it stayed in place in the course of a day.  I find that trying to figure out the right size for a stache can be tricky.  You're right that a bigger beard needs a bigger stache but you reach a point where you either let it grow down past the top lip or you do not.

I haven't really tried to let it grow past the top lip yet.  And the whole handlebar thing truly took me by surprise, so I haven't really thought it out. I'm pretty sure I'd feel self conscious about it for quite a while.

Personally I find the most annoying facial hair to be the mustache which is a shame.  I can tolerate additional length that causes it to grow below my upper lip, but only so far.  The most annoying part is the ends that would be used for handlebars.  Again I like the way the length looks but it really drives me nuts, and I think the reason why is that it is attached to a piece of skin that moves around a lot, so that length of hair moves around a lot and therefore becomes very noticeable. I end up messing with it a lot and cutting it off once its gets an inch long or so.

[clipped]

And the whole handlebar thing truly took me by surprise, so I haven't really thought it out. I'm pretty sure I'd feel self conscious about it for quite a while.

Razor, like shaving one's head, I think that everyone should grow a handlebar moustache at least once in their life. I only grew a full beard once - back when I was 27, about 36 years ago. I let my beard grow for 4 months. When it was time to shave it (for a job), I had my first barber straight razor shave and told him to leave the moustache. I hadn't trimmed anything for the 4 months, so I had a huge handlebar. It was great. I didn't use any wax or stuff, so it was just natural. There were a few comments, but mostly everyone ignored it. That was in the late 70s, so longer hair & moustaches were still somewhat in style.

You have often commented in your posts (as have others) on having been self conscious about shaving your head at first, about growing a beard, etc. I was self conscious about the handlebar moustache, about getting a buzz cut and shaving my head (I alternate seasonally between buzzed & shaved now). I think it looks great on you.  There are probably some members on this Board that have sparse upper lip hair and would love to be able to grow a handlebar.  You should go with it for a while...let it get longer & bigger....you only live once.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I remember when I first grew any facial hair (a goatee back in 1995) I remember being incredibly self conscious about it and this weird foreign thing on my face. It might as well have been a piece of masking tape stuck to my face!  I feel the same way when I let my beard hang out because I'm so used to it being tied up that it just feels odd and because it is big, long, and unusual it does get some looks unlike something as mundane as a goatee.