Schick Razors Goes Anti-Beard

Schick has launched a "free your skin" campaign meant to convince hipsters to ditch their beards. Because beards look like rodents. Or something.

We've Reached Peak Beard Frequency

According to an Australian study, we've reached peak beard frequency and the style pendulum will now swing back to clean shaven mugs.

"Big thick beards are back with an absolute vengeance and so we thought underlying this fashion, one of the dynamics that might be important is this idea of negative frequency dependence," said Prof Rob Brooks, one of the study's authors. "The idea is that perhaps people start copying the George Clooneys and the Joaquin Phoenixs and start wearing those beards, but then when more and more people get onto the bandwagon the value of being on the bandwagon diminishes, so that might be why we've hit 'peak beard'." "Peak beard" was the climax of the trend for beards in professions not naturally associated with a bristly chin - bankers, film stars, and even footballers began sporting facial hair.

Bears will ignore the pendulum, of course. (Tipped by JMG reader Ray)

The Presidential Council On Beards

An amusing bit of April foolery from the White House:

Today, President Obama announced the creation of the President's Council on Beards, a committee of volunteer citizens and officials dedicated to honoring our nation's history, and promoting men's health and wellness. Finding inspiration from today's visit by the renowned beard enthusiasts from the 2013 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, the President has pulled together an experienced, enthusiastic, and hairy team of council members to advise him on issues related to beard growth, health, and styles.

Photos at the link. (Tipped by JMG reader Peter)

This Is An Ad For Something

"It's not gay if you're deployed."

(Tipped by JMG reader Jeff)

Beard Font

The font's name is Alphabeard. (Tipped by JMG reader Dr. Jeff)

Beard "Fad" Hurting Razor Industry

Razor manufacturers say that sales are dropping.

Procter & Gamble says a growing preference for shaggy styles is trimming razor sales. Beards are showing up all over, from the facial hair favored by Brooklyn hipsters to the solidarity beards sported by the Boston Red Sox baseball team, which in 2013 went from last place in their division to World Series champions. P&G even called out Movember, when participants grow mustaches to raise money for prostate cancer research. The event cut into grooming sales last quarter, Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller said yesterday on an earnings call. P&G’s grooming business, which includes shaving cream, razor blades and deodorant, generated $2.12 billion in revenue during the quarter ended Dec. 31 and accounted for 9.5 percent of the company’s sales. Guys are hearkening back to a more “rugged, masculine” look, said David Wu, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group in New York. Facial hair is becoming more accepted in the workplace, he said, in industries ranging from fashion to finance. While Wu is clean-shaven, he says most of his male friends sport facial hair. Alex Mecum, a real-estate salesman in downtown Manhattan, wears “permastubble” that he maintains with a trimmer. Most of the fashion-conscious men he knows have some growth.

And how long have beards been popular with many gay men? Fifteen years? Twenty? Anyway, you still need razors to keep a beard in good shape. (Tipped by JMG reader Glenn)

This Is Canada's Bobsledding Team

Via Andrew Sullivan. Of course.

Get In The Game

From the Instagram account of the social media/sports app Fandium: "There are things you can and can't do at an NFL game and security did not like this one! #miami #dolphins #security #speedo #nfl #sunlifestadium #sundayfunday #sunday #football #sdvsmia #fandium #getinthegame."

Beards, Baseball, Boston

"There’s no point to a trimmed and well-groomed beard, which resembles exactly the sort of suburban lawn that often led to the growing of the beard in the first place. (That’s why my hero among this year’s pennant-winning crop is Mike Napoli, whose dense and colorful beard is as gonzo as his all-or-nothing, free-swinging style at the plate.) One of the beauties of the beard is that its lushness is polysemic, lending itself to an interpretive exuberance to match its flow.

"A beard is a celebration of nature that brings appearance closer to that of untamed human animals—a Rousseau-esque gesture that was crucial to the age of Aquarius, a time when long-established norms of behavior collapsed and made public life a clearer expression of formerly unspeakable private desires. By contrast, the shaven and crew-cut athlete suggests a martial fury that is joyless—a grim, self-denying efficiency that may work in war but is exactly the opposite of the essence of baseball, which, for all its competitive ardor, is playtime." - New Yorker columnist Richard Brody, writing about the world champion Boston Red Sox.

Tweet Of The Day - Nate Silver

Sullivan: "I guess I can die now."

Tweet Of The Day II - Fake Scalia

Fight Pogonophobia! NOH8!

Tweet Of The Day - Karl Frisch

No @JoeLhota4Mayor you wouldn't be 1st NYC Mayor with a beard in 100 yrs. Koch had #BessMyerson. #GoogleIt #votebeard pic.twitter.com/cBZuwxEa6Z
— Karl Frisch (@KarlFrisch) September 26, 2013

Tweet Of The Day II

Jon Hamm's majestic beard isn't getting nearly enough screen time, so here you go (with bonus Baldwin) #Emmys pic.twitter.com/cgtAJXDHUM
— REDBOOK (@redbookmag) September 23, 2013

At The Beard & Mustache Championships

Sully Bait

Crazy Eyes: 2004 Flashback

(Via JMG reader Scott)

PAC For Bearded Pols Launches

A political action committee was launched today to support candidates with beards.  The group has already filed with the FEC. Andrew Sullivan will be thrilled.

The Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy (BEARD) was founded by 30-year-old Jonathan Sessions, who sits on the Columbia, Mo., Board of Education, according to his website. “With the resurgence of beards in popular culture and among today’s younger generation, we believe the time is now to bring facial hair back into politics,” Sessions said in a statement.

Sessions notes that the last bearded major party candidate to run for president was back in 1916. And that guy lost. The last bearded man to win the presidency was Benjamin Harrison in 1888. (Tipped by JMG reader Gustav)

Crazy Eyes & Ladybird Get Festive

Charlie Crist Comes Out (As A Democrat)