"Peak Beard"

[tobler1]

I have no intention of shaving (my beard) anytime soon, but I still found this article both amusing and interesting at the same time...

http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/apr/16/fashion-conscious-men-warned-we-may-have-reached-peak-beard

[Mike E. P.]

Thanks for sharing, tobler.

I had a full beard this winter and I shaved it off. Then I grew back my goatee. Now I am completely clean shaven. I know I look youngest without facial hair, but I actually like me best with the goatee. But I really don't care what fashion says. I like other people's opinions, but ultimately, I do whatever strikes me. My goatee is coming back soon!

[TheSlyBear]

When fashion trends dictate my look and actions, please shoot me.

[geeman]

When fashion trends dictate my look and actions, please shoot me.

Damn straight!....I have never payed attention to any magazine articles....in fact the magazines I read are by D.C and Marvel

[greatnessinc]

My look has nothing to do with anyone else (well mostly, still gotta try to be appealing to the ladies).
Beards are in style as are shaved heads.

[BBCESQ]

I'll admit that I am using the trendiness of beards as an excuse to grow mine out, but frankly its just an excuse and I tend to not let the dictates of trend effect me.

[greatnessinc]

I always seem to revert back to a goatee but I'm digging the beard right now. I consider it a challenge to achieve my ideal beard (thick but not shaggy). I've already mastered the goatee and its' many variations so mastering my beard is my current goal.

[Razor X]

I always seem to revert back to a goatee but I'm digging the beard right now. I consider it a challenge to achieve my ideal beard (thick but not shaggy). I've already mastered the goatee and its' many variations so mastering my beard is my current goal.

Same here.   

[Rusty Shackleford]

Goatees exploded into popularity in the early 90s, headshaving in the early 00s, and I have repeatedly heard how both are out but shaved heads are everywhere and goatees are only starting to wane in their popularity because they've been upgraded to beards.  If anything, goatees and shaved heads stopped being a trend years ago and simply became a common style choice (which I think is better because it means fewer annoying questions from people).  Beards will likely do the same thing by moving from the realm of fashion trend to simply another common styling choice (which, again, will be better because I get tired of all the dumb beard comments people make).

Trends do not dictate what I do, but when something does become trendy it can force me to take notice to something I wouldn't have otherwise noticed or thought of and that process can eventually cause me to try something (though that being said I will never wear the trendy 5lb glasses and feminine sunglasses that are so popular today)

[slybeard]

I wore the goatee for years, with and without hair.  In my case, I always wanted a full beard, but had to wait on nature for the sides to fill in enough.  I was happy with the goatee look, but that was because a full beard was not in the cards.  I think a lot of young guys find themselves in the same situation with their beard maturity, and that is what made the goatee so popular.  Guys had a fashionable option that fit their capabilities. 

I really think most guys want a full beard, but feel restricted by their growth density, family, work, or fashion.  Some thus choose something less that a full beard or clean shaven.  I am not putting down on the goatee, it is a cool look.

I think it is the same situation with head shaving.  The young guys with the goatees in the 90's find MPB starting in the 00's, and started shaving their heads.  So the shaved head with the goatee fad started.  As those guys aged and beards matured, more moved on to a full beard, and now the full beard is popular. 

Younger guys blessed with thick full beards are able to jump straight to the full beard.

[Goatee]

I always do what suits me, not others.

[greatnessinc]

For myself I feel like the goatee is a security blanket since I had one for so long. As I've matured (well gotten older at least) I've tried to branch out of comfort zones.
My beard started with no shave November but I liked the look so I decided to keep it going. I've received mostly positive feedback on it. The only criticism I've gotten on it has come from family members that don't like facial hair, but that has no effect on my decision to keep it.

[Razor X]

I wore the goatee for years, with and without hair.  In my case, I always wanted a full beard, but had to wait on nature for the sides to fill in enough.  I was happy with the goatee look, but that was because a full beard was not in the cards.  I think a lot of young guys find themselves in the same situation with their beard maturity, and that is what made the goatee so popular.  Guys had a fashionable option that fit their capabilities. 

I really think most guys want a full beard, but feel restricted by their growth density, family, work, or fashion.  Some thus choose something less that a full beard or clean shaven.  I am not putting down on the goatee, it is a cool look.

I think it is the same situation with head shaving.  The young guys with the goatees in the 90's find MPB starting in the 00's, and started shaving their heads.  So the shaved head with the goatee fad started.  As those guys aged and beards matured, more moved on to a full beard, and now the full beard is popular. 

Younger guys blessed with thick full beards are able to jump straight to the full beard.

When it comes to shaved heads and goatees/beards, it is really a chicken-and-egg type of situation.  My first atempt at growing a beard was when I was 23 and took a little time off work to study for the CPA exam.  I wanted to see what it would be like.  It was a full beard and grew in much more quickly than I expected.  I liked it, but I felt self-conscious about it; it still wasn't completely acceptable in a corporate setting in the early 90s, so the beard disappeared when I went back to work.  A few years later when goatees began to become popular, I made several attempts to grow one but never saw them through to completion -- again, out of self-consciousness, in part because the goatee didn't quite match the hair on my head.

It wasn't until after I shaved my head  that I managed to let the goatee grow in completely.  By that time, matching what was on top was no longer an issue.  I never considered any other style because that was the "in" thing at the time, and a full beard with a shaved head was still seen as an oddity.

I still think the shaved head and goatee combo is a classic look and it's one of my favorites.  I strayed from it solely out of a desire to shake things up a little bit.  Let's face it, the possibilities for a change in my appearance are somewhat limited, and I didn't want to shave the face completely. 

I still think a well-groomed goatee with nice, straight edges is a great look on pretty much any guy.  It's something I will probably return to at some point when I get the urge to shake things up again.

[Rusty Shackleford]

The only criticism I've gotten on it has come from family members that don't like facial hair, but that has no effect on my decision to keep it.

God forbid a guy grows facial hair because as soon as you do people treat it as an open invitation to express their negative opinions on it.  Aside from good natured trolling, is there anything else people do where their friends and family feel so free to openly insult?  Could you imagine what would happen if a man criticized a woman's haircut, makeup, fingernails, or weight?

[Rusty Shackleford]

I made several attempts to grow one but never saw them through to completion -- again, out of self-consciousness, in part because the goatee didn't quite match the hair on my head.

I can see it when a guy has dark hair and grows a ginger beard, but your beard is ginger and isn't your hair too?  What didn't match?