Beard or no beard....

GeekyGuyAZGeekyGuyAZ Phoenix, AZMember Posts: 384
When my wife met me 18 years ago I had a beard. I had one for the first 16 years of our marriage.

I decided to shake things up. I shaved it off and have gone clean shaven for the past few years. My wife seems really bothered by it. She keeps asking me to grow it back. I refuse. 

I'm wondering if I'm making a stand about something stupid and if I should just give in and grow it back? In my mind the whole beard shaving thing was to make me appear more professional (and younger). But maybe the beard did contribute to my attractiveness and is more a part of me.

So do I grow it back and cave to her request or do I stick to my guns and do it my way?
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Comments

  • Monkeys_UncleMonkeys_Uncle RuralGold Men Posts: 4,045
    cinnamon said:
    This seems to me to be the equivalent of wearing sweatpants and bunny slippers around your spouse.
    I think that might be true if you're talking about one of those bushy unkempt Duck Dynasty beards (although I know some women who are into that).   I trim mine once or twice a week and shave above and below it every other day.  It only takes slightly less time and maintenance than a clean shave.   I don't really do it to save time or effort, but because I think it looks better.

    "My advice to you is get married:  if you find a good wife you'll be happy, if not, you'll become a philosopher." -Socrates

    [Deleted User]HildaCornersnewredpillrecruit
  • GeekyGuyAZGeekyGuyAZ Phoenix, AZMember Posts: 384
    I work in IT and I have done either the goatee and mustache or the full beard. If you go to the following you can see the styles I'm referencing:


    I personally think the cleaned up goatee and mustache look best. I kept it trim with a beard trimmer and shaved neck and face. As far as perception of co-workers a number of them do have the goatee and mustache look. We do have some that have longer more wild styles but that would not be my personal style. Additionally my boss's boss does do the goatee and mustache so there is professional precedent.

    Looks like I'll have to get another beard trimmer.


  • AngelaAngela Silver Member Posts: 592
    edited March 2014
    Deleted
  • 3rd_and_Long3rd_and_Long Member Posts: 2
    I work in finance. I can't grow a full beard because I don't grow enough on my cheeks. I also have lighter hair. But I do leave enough so that I have few days of growth. My wife likes it, and I have gotten compliments from some coworkers. One reoccurring issue I have is my wife complains that it scratches her. 

    I agree, if your wife likes it, you should grow it out. It the same as me wanting my to have long hair and her not cutting it all off.
    AngelaAngeline
  • GeekengineerGeekengineer Sandy EggoGold Men Posts: 1,720
    I just asked @JellyBean what she prefers me to have in the way of facial hair.  She says she likes it when I mix it up (sometimes I have just a goatee, sometimes a beard-ish growth, sometimes a pseudo-mustache and beard-ish growth (my facial hair is somewhat Team America-esque, if you get the reference)).

    So, I have decided to grow a goatee.  Right now.  Just watch me.


    JellyBean is my wife.
    newredpillrecruitPhoenixDownPurple
  • growingafamilygrowingafamily chicagoSilver Member Posts: 1,841
    edited March 2014
    I'm not a fan of the goatee and mustache look. Is your wife? I'd be disappointed if my husband said "sure I'll grow back the beard, honey" and did that instead. But he wouldn't because he knows I hate it.
  • ZoroasterZoroaster Silver Member Posts: 735
    My goatee is a compromise position between a full beard (which I can't stand) and clean-shaven (which just doesn't look right).

    Clean shaven was OK when I had hair. Now, my face just looks weird and featureless without any facial hair. Hair all over my face drives me nuts with the itchiness ... and just looks unkempt. So: well-trimmed goatee FTW.
  • TemplarTemplar WashingtonSilver Member Posts: 3,371
    edited March 2014
    ..image.
    newredpillrecruitHildaCornersZoroaster
  • AngelineAngeline planting seedsCategory Moderator** Posts: 14,501
    Facial hair itches??
    "Speak your truth." - Scarlet
    Remember to play!
    Do the right thing, whether anyone is watching or not.
    Be married, until you are not.

    Email address: angeline.greenwood@att.net
  • TemplarTemplar WashingtonSilver Member Posts: 3,371
    mine doesn't
  • LHKLHK USASilver Member Posts: 319
    Beards vary in coarseness and itchiness. Mine is very coarse and itchy if I let it grow, which I don't for reasons mentioned earlier. If your beard is too itchy, do a google search on beard oil, it should help soften the beard andake it more comfortable.

    LHK
    JellyBeanAngeline
  • Natalie_LorinNatalie_Lorin Southern USSilver Member Posts: 979
    Goatees are meh.

    Beards are awesome.

    Clean shaven is.......I don't know if I've ever seen my husband clean shaven actually. I just know he grew his goatee out into a full beard one time while he out of town. When he turned up my doorstep I think the first words out of my mouth where "You are never allowed to shave ever again."
    [Deleted User]HildaCornersPurple
  • liquidliquid Brooklyn, NYSilver Member Posts: 1,785
    My husband had a beard when we started dating. He had to shave it off when he became a cop, and he has never been allowed to have a beard since. In my opinion, hr is much hotter with a beard, but I undersatand that he just can't have one, so I don't think about it much.

    The day he retires he can start growing a beard again and it will probably be totally grey (he's blond and his beard was reddish - it was awesome!) so we may not like it, but I am looking forward to finding out.
  • LordVaderLordVader VirginiaSilver Member Posts: 360
    My wife has expressed a STRONG preference for me clean-shaven. Does not like beards, and scruff is like sandpaper (and since I love to rub my face against hers, and against other areas of her body...).

    That's a good thing for me, because the men in my family don't really grow facial hair well.
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