People all over the world grow their beards for all sorts of reasons. Below are four interesting reasons and causes that have led men to join the beard gang.
- Awareness: We all know about Movember. This is a practice that started in 2003 where a few men decided not to shave their beards for the entire month of November in order to raise awareness for testicular cancer. This movement has only gotten larger throughout the years and men all over the world grow their beards during this month in order to promote and encourage men to get health checkups.
- No Rain, No Shave: back in 2018, a farmer in Australia vowed not to shave his beard until at least an inch of rain fell to the ground. He thought that this would only last a few months but it ended up being almost two years of no rain. He ended up shaving the beard off after the rain fell but we admire his resilience either way.
- To get women: this is the obvious one. Ever notice how the manliest men in any movie, series or book always have a beard. This is probably why society believes that a man with a beard is more ‘manly’ than one without one. They say that a beard is make up for men.
- For protection: in prehistoric times, it is said that men would grow their beards for protection in three main ways: i) For warmth: if you watch any programs set in prehistoric times, you can envision what a winter looked like (shout out to all the Game of Thrones fans). These men needed all the warmth they could get and a beard added heat to their face and neck throughout the winter. ii) As an armor: it is said that thick beards were used as protection to cushion the blows during fights. Another thing we pick up from prehistoric times is that there was a lot of fighting going on. iii) As a means of intimidation: another indicator of where the concept of a bearded man being a manly man came from. Men with beards were seen as more honorable and intimidating and would be less likely to be messed with.
Why do you grow your beard?
Mandevu’s got you through all the reasons.
Words: Ciku Kimani