Manly face manes

[v5planet]

Spending a few weeks/months in the woods? Do you let your beard grow wild and free? Do you trim it? Do you shave it? Importantly, and the thinly-concealed reason for this thread: how do you men like myself who lack the full manly facial hair capacity exemplified by the thru-hiker forum avatar deal with being outgrown by your more manly counterparts?

On week three when they are harvesting the bounty of the ecosystem newly-established in their thick face forests as power snacks on the trail, do you sheepishly stroke your paltry cheek fuzz, the patchiness and sparseness only the more striking now for your attempts at a comb-over beard? I will be. *sigh* http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/

[Marmotnj]

let it grow, Theres nothing wrong with a beard. I'm actually pre-gaming my beard so i don't have to deal with itchy beard the first 2 weeks.

[Lone Wolf]

real men don't shave

[v5planet]

But let's get back to the sad but real issue of men with inadequate facial hair coverage ...

[JustaTouron]

rogane

[Cakon]

Just do a comb over. Let the few hairs grow really long and try to position them so they best cover your face. Or you can pack out some of the spray on hair. It looks great from far away (kinda like Pam Anderson).

[v5planet]

rogane

maybe i can get hair transplant surgery ... onto my face.

[Dogwood]

.....deal with being outgrown by your more manly counterparts?

I'm missing something because I don't understand this.

I keep the Gotee but shave the rest of the beard. My beard comes in patchy and itches the crap out of me in about 2-3 wks. I also don't like the crud unshaved facial hair attracts or the way it makes my skin break out while hiking. Then, it becomes worse when you start scratching acne with dirty infected hands. I throw in a cheapy triple blade razor and one of those small traveling shaving cream cans in a resupply box every couple of wks.

I'm one of the few who do shave though. I would guess only 1 in 4 thru-hikers shave facial hair regularly.

[Cool AT Breeze]

Let it rip. I haven't shaved or trimmed in over a year.

[Bronk]

If you think your beard is patchy, its probably because you've never fully grown it out before. And people have different types of hair too. It may look patchy for the first few weeks, but if you let it grow out long enough it will fill itself in so that nobody will notice. I've usually got to get about 2 months into it to reach this stage...until then there are a lot of patchy spots...its mostly because of the texture of my hair, its more thin and wirey than big and bushy.

[Chummin' for Bear]

People can waste their testosterone growing hair if they want to, but just tell them you have a better use for yours

[Cool AT Breeze]

How is it wasted letting hair grow instead of shaving it off.

[Jester2000]

A forum jam packed with people who talk constantly about shaving ounces, but, you know, not literally.

[Tinker]

I change both my facial and head hair on a fairly constant basis. I meet folks from time to time that I've hiked with for a week in the past, and they don't have a clue who I am sometimes.
Sasquatch has posted a few pics of me in much hair and next-to-no hair modes.
I'm glad my wife married me for my money!

[Maddog]

i ain't shavin'!

[JonnyWalker]

Nobody going to mention the fact its a lot warmer inside a beard for early starters?

[Jester2000]

Nobody going to mention the fact its a lot warmer inside a beard for early starters?

Well yeah. Problem is, that tends to be the part of the trip when most people don't have large beards.

[burger]

But let's get back to the sad but real issue of men with inadequate facial hair coverage ...

On the trail, your beard isn't inadequate--it's ultralight. Just tell that to all those hikers who are carrying around a full half ounce or more of facial hair. What a waste of precious ounces!

Btw, if you want to shave on the trail, just carry a disposable razor. You can even ditch the handle to save weight. You can shave in restaurant bathrooms or at hostels. Some thru-hikers shave--you won't be the only one.

[Johnny Appleseed]

If you don't shave you will be the laughing stock of all thru hikers. Joking. Tradition dictates growing a beard. Those who did shave had to keep telling others they really are thru hikers.

[Rocket Jones]

I always have a full beard. Usually though, I keep it trimmed down to skin level.