Whether you choose to follow National Beard Growing Month (November) or MaBeGroMo, growing a beard is one of the simplest, zero-effort, macho things you can do. As someone who has been growing an annual winter beard for years now, I highly recommend it.

The FAQ

There are a lot of excuses that men use to not participate in annual beard growth, and I’ve compiled a FAQ to help them overcome their excuses and have a pretty rewarding experience. If you’re on the fence about growing a beard, check The Beard FAQ.

Beard Type Chart

If you’re looking for some ideas on how to shape your facial hair to fit your style, check out my updated and expanded chart of facial hair types. All the old favorites are there, as well as some more modern styles.

Beard Type Descriptions And Examples.

If you’re looking for more detailed descriptions and examples of some of the beard types in the beard type chart, check out my List of Beard Types. So far, I’ve managed to provide personal examples of 19 of the 34 beard types listed.

Beard Shaving

Every year, I try to have a little fun while shaving my beard off and attempt to demonstrate as many known beard types as I can.

2003: Beard Shaving 2003
This was the first documented case of beard shaving on record, and there are a lot of beard types represented.

2004: Beard Shaving 2004
In the second year, my beard was a lot less rowdy, but I did manage to represent both the Klingon beard and the Star Trek sideburns.

2005: Unavailable
Beard Shaving canceled by a freak barber accident.

2006: Beard Shaving 2006
After getting it in my head that I looked like a 70’s camp counselor, I started laughing and dropped my camera. The camera broke, leaving me with only two fully bearded pictures for the year.

2007: Beard Shaving 2007
I finished off a couple more of the beard types including the Balbo, the hollywoodian, and the anchor.