Fashion Brief
Occasionally it feels as if a person’s facial hair exists in a completely different zone to their face. And to the rest of their bodies. I’m thinking of Drake, whose beard almost existed as if it were the breakout star of his face and career. The brief loss of it last month resulted in a deleted Instagram and an internet outcry.
The existence of a beard is so essential to Brand Drake that he grew it back sharpish. A similar thing happened to Kit Harington when he appeared sans facial growth. Looking slightly goth-y, he drew comparisons to Adam Driver, The Crow’s Brandon Lee and even Matthew Healy from the 1975. Suddenly Harington was everybody and no one. He was his beard and his beard was him.
Think of it like a vital appendage or comedy partner: could Morecambe survive without Wise? It’s something to bear in mind when considering shaving off your beard for summer if the idea of having your face wrapped in a hair-balaclava for the hot and humid months does not appeal.
Master Barber Alex Glover champions the idea of a summer shave: “Facial hair is prone to drying and becoming crispier in warmer conditions with excess sun and sea exposure,” he says; on the pro side, “it can give you a lighter look”. But what price this lighter look? As science has taught us, it anthropologically puts you on the back foot. The appeal of the beard is caveman clear: it makes guys look more mature and masculine. Shaving it off can makes someone look as if they’ve gone through a time machine and been sent back to a visually younger (and definitely more awkward) time.
Free of beard, your face is both visually and literally softer and more sensitive. Glover says that, post beard, the face can feel a bit exposed: “keep that skin you’ve been covering for so long in top condition by exfoliating every so often.”
So if you spend more on grooming products and you end up looking as if you don’t have enough pocket money to spend on grooming products, is shaving it off actually worth it?
It’s a tough one. Glover thinks you should view it with the breeziness of getting a new haircut. “It’s just something that naturally takes a bit of time to adjust to. You can always change up your hairstyle, be it on your head or face.” Which feels like wise words to live by.
