Last night during a brief visit to a major shopping mall, within about fifteen minutes I saw two different full beards with natural cheek and neck lines. In a post last year, I commented on how full beards with both the cheek and neck lines left natural are rarely seen. The perceived social pressure to shape them — at least the neck line — is pretty powerful. It’s so powerful that guys are often so quick to shape them that they do it prematurely and wreck their beard-growing attempts. About the only ones who let the beard go all natural are the homeless. It need not be that way.

Both of the full beards seen at the mall were neat and well-groomed. They looked completely respectable and presentable indeed. The natural cheek and neck lines gave them a distinctive and, well, “natural” look. The men were not scroungy at all. They were well-dressed fathers with young children.

The all-natural look with natural cheek and neck lines may not work for every guy, but guys should not be so afraid to try it. Give it a try and see how it does. When giving it a try, don’t make a half-hearted attempt and give up after a few days. Let it grow out enough to catch up with the rest of the beard. If more guys have the courage to go for the all-natural full beard, the look will gradually gain more acceptance. Go for it.

Once in a while, unexpected gems come along in the entries submitted for the beards of the world gallery. For his entry in the gallery, Derrick included a cool beard poem. Click on the photo above to go to Derrick’s entry and read his poem.

Andy has grown a lot of beard and is wondering now what to do with it.

Andy’s grown his beard fairly long, as seen in the first two views. Then he trimmed it down to the length seen in the third view. He’s thinking about changing up his beard style some more and is looking for some suggestions. If you think you know what beard style would be best for Andy, please comment. (Comments are held in moderation to keep out the automated spam comments. I’ll approve your real comments as soon as I see them. Your patience is appreciated!)

Great beards are for everyone! It’s true. While it’s also true that not everyone can grow a great beard, everyone can enjoy the sight of a great beard. A great beard rarely fails to command attention and impress. What’s more is that great beards serve as great inspiration to others to grow their beards, too. For those with less abundant beard growth, great beards frequently still inspire them to grow what they can and to make the most of their facial hair potential. If you’ve grown a great beard, congratulations and thanks! If you can grow a great beard but haven’t, start growing now! Others will benefit from the inspiration of your example.

Check out this video on YouTube in which a guy with a big beard gets his head shaved, but the beard is spared:

Happy New Year to all from all about beards!

Later this month, the site will mark its eleventh anniversary on the web. That’s eleven years of helping and encouraging men all over the world to grow their beards. And we’re just getting started.

Beards have been gaining momentum in recent years. Let’s keep it up! The start of a new year is a great time to start growing a new beard. If you’ve got a beard to grow, head over to the growing a beard page and start growing! Know someone else who has a beard to grow? Send him to the growing a beard page, too, with lots of encouragement. May 2007 be the best year for beards yet! Happy bearded new year!

The most difficult thing about growing a beard is dealing with the comments of others. Okay, that may not be THE hardest thing, but it is definitely among the most difficult. Depending on your situation, you may find that the comments on your new beard are all supportive. That would be the best-case scenario. And that scenario does happen. In the worst-case scenario, however, people may declare all-out psychological warfare in an attempt to defeat your beard-growing efforts.

People are resistant to change and they all have opinions. When you grow a beard, you are changing the image that they have of you and they often would prefer that you not do that. They usually also have an opinion on beards that they feel compelled to share with you, like it or not. It’s often surprising how free people feel to criticize a new beard when similar criticisms of other physical features would generally be considered off limits. What should you do? Be prepared to stand your ground. When growing a new beard, make a commitment to yourself to see it through for at least six weeks. Make it a steadfast rule that you will not cave in, no matter what kinds of remarks or complaints are lobbed at you. You must psychologically prepare yourself for an onslaught of comments. Stand firm. Grow your beard!

Far too many newly-grown beards get hacked off in fits of self-doubt after receiving some insensitive, negative comments. Don’t let this happen to you. After people learn that you are not spineless and that you are committed to growing the beard, the commentary will usually ease up. It may even all become positive feedback. Some of the harshest critics may find that they actually like your beard! You’ll never learn that, however, if you let the beard critics win.