The Pandemic Beard
March 2020 - The economy is in turmoil, scared Kiwis are stockpiling toilet paper and travellers are self-isolating. A subset of the population begins a journey, a right of passage of sorts, a once in a lifetime opportunity to put their manliness to the test and grow a lockdown beard. This fabled beard often referred to as a ‘pandemic beard’ will meet three major obstacles. The Itch, The Wife & The Job.
Obstacle no.1 – ‘The Itch’
If your balls itch are you going to cut them off too? Persistence, perseverance and delayed gratification. All key ingredients to gaining anything worthwhile. Quit now at your peril. Winter is coming, there is no better time to grow a beard.
Obstacle no.2 – ‘The Wife’
At some stage she will say ‘yeah, that’s not going to work for me.’ Wash your beard, give it a trim if you need to. Growing a beard is not an excuse to be complacent and let yourself go.
Obstacle no.3 – ‘The Job’
Sir John Graham, former All Black Captain, Headmaster of Auckland Grammar had a rule as manager of the Black Caps, either you’re cleanly shaven or growing a beard. Now is not the time to play around with the stubble game. Are you in or are you out?
Fast Forward to the present day – April 2021.
At the end of the day a beard is not everybody’s cup of tea. Many a man will bow to the pressure of their significant other, to social norm and expectation. Remember, when we talk to our Grandparents they unlikely will speak of regrets in their life of the things that they did, rather the things they did not do.
Growing a beard can be an awkward experience. Some people have strong opinions on them and are not shy to let you know all about it. Men will often admire the majesty of it, while women will have reservations about its cleanliness. You will go out to a bar and strangers will want to stroke it and then you will have children run away from you in fear at the supermarket.
Growing a full bead comes with many trials and tribulations. Errant self trims that result in taking it all off and starting from scratch, the realisation that the barber has better tools and experience and is therefore worth every penny in the longer term maintenance. Learning curves, all of them.
Beard Oil plays a vital role in the beard grooming process. Without it you will probably experience an itchy beard, full of dead skin build up and hair that has become coarse. Beard Oil will nourish, soften and tame the beard hair making the beard look glossy and well groomed. The oil will mositurise the skin underneath and help promote healthy stronger hair growth. Beard Oil can work its magic throughout the stubble to beard stage.
This can come down to personal preference but we recommend that you apply the beard oil immediately after showering. A little goes a long way with beard oil, only a couple of drops is required. Combined with a decent comb through or brush and you will be good to go for most of the day or the evening.
The question that will be is will you choose to triumph through this period of societal recalibration or return to the hairless days of yesterday?