It hasn't even been that long

Well, it's that point of the month where we've had some people drop out already. It's mostly been girls, and I'm not going to name any names, but they only lasted until yesterday (the 3rd)! This gets one thinking about some of the factors behind No Shave November. I've heard mainly two poor reasons why people a)quit early and b)don't start in the first place.

1st - "It will be too uncomfortable, it will itch too much"
-This is not a very good reason because there are tons of people who get itchy when they are growing their hair that itch, and they stick with it. Plus that itchy phase doesn't last very long.


2nd - "It's too gross, people will see my hair"
-This is the excuse most often used by the girls. It actually brings up a very good discussion. My response to this excuse is that November is pants month anyways, so it's not a big deal. So if girls can wear pants for the whole month, and not even have anyone see their leg hair, then they have even less to worry about then the guys. The guys have their facial hair out for public viewing every single minute of they day. And yet, it's much more "socially acceptable" for guys to be growing their facial hair than for girls to be growing their leg hair.

There's really only one excuse that I've found to be acceptable for not participating, and that is for work reasons.

If you are doing No Shave November still, good work, and if you've made it this far, it's only a few more weeks until you can shave.

One of the best things about facial hair

If I were to pick one thing that made No Shave November absolutely worth it, I would say that it gives me a chance to stroke my face in contemplation. I have already found myself giving the beard a good ol' rub when in the process of thinking, and it's not even a full beard yet. Maybe the most surprising part of that phrase is the fact that I actually think.

Either way though, it would be very interesting to find out why people do that. It probably even relates to Rodin's "The Thinker" where thinking is associated with some sort of hand to face connection.

All I know is that I can feel very sophisticated with this beard.

Wikipedia

As my friend Alex noted in the comment of this post it seems that Wikipedia thinks that No Shave November is a hoax, and that no one actually participates in it. Well they are obviously wrong, and its quite a tragedy. I'd like to ask anyone that can to leave a message for the person that deleted this Wikipedia article. The link is here. Just let them know that No Shave November is a real thing, and the article should be restored.

Facial Hair and American Presidents

We unfortunately do not currently have a President who has embraced the wonders of facial hair and I doubt President Bush will be participating in No Shave November. While this may be a very real tragedy, we can find solace in the fact that previous Presidents have had the courage to sport the hairy face. Here's a little website that discusses this in frightening depth.

http://explorers.whyte.com/presbeards.htm

Especially this being election month, I think politicians should think about using No Shave November as part of their platforms. In fact, I think if there were a Presidential candidate in the 2008 election who decided to either sport facial hair or at least participate in No Shave November, I think he would have a good shot at winning. (Of course, this is assuming that the Presidential candidate is a male). If a female candidate were to participate in No Shave November during the campaign, I would totally vote for her.

It's underway

When I woke up this morning, I was very tired for some reason. Part of it might be that I ended up sleeping in a little longer than normal, and that always seems to make me more tired. But either way, when I realized that No Shave November had finally started I felt relieved and happy, which helped me wake up a little bit.

My normal routine is to shave immediately after showering, as the skin and hair on my face are quite moist (I shave with a razor). It was really nice to be able to just shower and get on with my day, plus I was running a little bit late anyways. So really, not shaving gives you more time in the day to do other things that are much more important. Wow, the more I think about it the pros side is much longer than the cons side of the No Shave November list.

The start of a beautiful thing

Well, in some places in the world it is already November, so hopefully those people have already shaven, and are ready to go the rest of the month without doing so.

If you are joining in the celebration of hair this month, or if you are just wondering about all the hoopla, keep checking the No Shave November blog to find out about all things facial hair, and updates on how my friends and I are coping with the new addition to our faces (and legs for the girls).

This month is going to be exciting, and this blog is the place to be.

Facebook Groups

There are a number of Facebook groups dedicated to this wonderful month. Check them out by searching for "No Shave November" in Facebook.

The countdown is on

Tomorrow is the last day to shave!

Here is a recap of the rules.

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-Guys - No shaving of the face

-Girls - No shaving of the legs

-In the United States - Keep the hair growing until Thanksgiving. (This way you can look fresh and clean for family)

-You are allowed to trim at 15 days, however, this is strongly discouraged.

-Rest of the world - You are asked to participate until the end of the month, besides, it'll help you stay warm.
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