Statistics

[Colin]

This post made me think of that old saying "Never trust anyone with facial hair, they are probably hiding somethig"

Did you ever notice that most politicians, lawyers, car salesmen, and real estate agents are clean shaven?

[RockyR]

I think the answer is simple... it takes a certain kind of man to wear a kilt. A man with pride... a man with a sense of self... a man with a LOT of testosterone. That testosterone is so high in fact that beards just MAGICALLY APPEAR on guys in kilts.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

[Blu (Ontario)]

...That testosterone is so high in fact that beards just MAGICALLY APPEAR on guys in kilts....

And sometimes kilts just magically appear on guys with Beards.

[philbo]

What a popular discussion this turned out to be.

Anyways, I'm with Rufus. I tend to have a winter coat for the colder months, but when the snow melts I like to trim down a bit for mating season. Perhaps I'm really hiding part of my face out of insecurity about my looks, which may simply be a way of saying that I think I look better with a beard. If I shave, people ask me if I'm still in high school, and my kids get displeased with me. None of my relatives have beards (or kilts for that matter) so I'm kind of the oddball of the bunch. Do the rest of you come from bearded or clean-shaven families?

[Graham]

Further to what i said before, beards on men are something which occur naturally. It is what Nature or God intended (depending on your belief). Beards happen at a certain age, and to greater or lesser degrees.

Now my point is this, from the view of liking "natural things", if I am to change the 'natural order of things' I must have a reason.

For me, i cannot find a good reason to remove my beard.
Some reasons I have heard are:
1. Respectability, feeling that a beardless face serves this. (really depends on the times, a 100 years ago, beards were most respectable).

2. Retaining "youthful looks", wives are usually the motivators for this excuse).

3. Cleanliness, hence the expression "clean shaven".
This of course is nonsense. A face is only as clean as the frequency of washing, whether there is hair on it or not.

The benefits of a beard have already been outlined, but another disadvantage for me is the sheer waste of time it represents. It's 35 years since I last shaved, but I remember that it took a bit of time out of each day.

As you can now see, I'm a fan of beards

[GMan]

Graham,

You a fan of beards? I would have never guessed it. I really doubt that I will shave mine off, it definetly is natural for me, and with the kilt a double natural.

Glen

[Casey]

Graham,

You have a very nice beard. If I could grow one of that quality, I would definately never shave again.

But you have given cause to reflect.

Casey

[kiltedscot]

Interesting to consider the association between kilts and beards. As a Scot who has worn kilts for the past fifty years and a beard for over forty of those years, I find RockyR's theory the most plausible!

[The Kilted Chef]

but another disadvantage for me is the sheer waste of time it represents.

Which allows one more kilting time...

[bubba]

My wife tells me my beard is like barbed wire and she hates that. She won't even kiss me unless I shave. Says it hurts. Now, I'll admit my facial hair is pretty tough even when it gets longer which means I shave. I like the kissing more than I hate the shaving