1800–1880s – beards maketh the man Big hairy beards were all the rage in the middle decades. The bushier the beard, the more virile the man, some people believed. In an age as obsessed with health issues as our own, some people claimed that good beards meant good health.
It keeps their neck warm sort of like a scarf. Remember, most people in the 1800s lived in the northern parts of the Us where the weather is much cooler, and having a beard or neckbeard provides natural insulation and warmth.
The face of an Englishman before 1650 was likely to be hairy, but beards and moustaches disappeared from male faces across Europe from the last decades of the seventeenth century because of the trend to look more youthful, smooth, polite and refined, as well as the rise of wig-wearing.
During the American Civil War, beards became popular, simply because the men didn't have the luxury of time to shave. Many kept the beards after, and almost all of the Presidents up to Woodrow Wilson had facial hair.
Shaving became a necessity due to hygiene and equipment such as gas masks. After the war, veterans brought the habit home, and it stuck. A shaved face as became the standard for the modern, tidy, professional man. Having a beard, unless one was of old age, was looked down upon and considered inappropriate.
“The Romans didn't remove body hair to look beautiful, they did it for cultural and religious reasons – men removed it as a sign of purity,” said Viren Swami, a professor of social psychology and an expert in body image at Anglia Ruskin University.
The beard provides the face with protection from the elements, and a natural shield from the more delicate parts of the face around the mouth and lips. Next, prehistoric men grew their beards for protection. The thick, rich beards that they could grow were so full that they helped cushion blows to the face.
Your mid-20s to 30s are often considered the golden years for beard growth. As a matter of fact, most men don't hit peak beard growth until their early to mid thirties. This is when testosterone, the hormone primarily responsible for facial hair growth, peaks.
The beard was reintroduced to mainstream society by the counterculture, firstly with the "beatniks" in the 1950s, and then with the hippie movement of the mid-1960s. Following the Vietnam War, facial hair exploded in popularity.
Russia. As part of his drive to modernise and Westernise Tsarist Russia, Peter the Great imposed a beard tax in 1698 to encourage Russian men to shave off their beards. Men who kept their beards but refused to pay the tax were forcibly shaven.
Historical appearance
Scholars have also suggested that it is likely Jesus had short hair and a beard, in accordance with Jewish practices of the time and the appearance of philosophers. The earliest depictions of Jesus from the Roman catacombs depict him as free of facial hair.
It should also be noted that the distribution and density of beard hair in adult males of China and other East Asian countries are much less compared with adult men of other races [22] . It also is common for East Asian men to shave their beards for personal hygiene [23]. ...
Among the various Hispanic nations of the New World, the Mexicans have a particularly large amount of native American blood. The native Americans are descended from Siberian tribal peoples, and like most East Asians, do not grow full beards.
The majority of presidents of the United States have been clean-shaven, including the Founding Fathers. Between 1861 and 1913, all but two presidents (Andrew Johnson and William McKinley) wore either beards or mustaches during their tenure in office.
Beards were a symbol of manhood, authority, and social status in biblical times. They represented strength and virility, distinguishing men from boys.
In the past, he adds, a man unable to grow a beard could have been seen as suspiciously unmasculine. From the 1700s until around 1850, beards fell out of fashion due to myriad changing social values. Clean-shaven jawlines became associated with the faces of polite gentlemen. The Victorian period was the opposite.
There is no specific ethnicity that can't grow facial hair, but East Asian individuals, such as Japanese and Chinese, tend to have less facial hair and slower growth rates compared to other ethnicities.
Shaving the beard is muthla (mutilation). Verily the Prophet ﷺ has prohibited muthla. The great Imam of Madinah, Imam Mâlik is reported to have said: The sin of shaving the beard is not only a kabîra (major sin), but it is also bagi (open offence).
A full beard is often associated with masculinity and ruggedness. Men who sport this style tend to be confident and self-assured and may even be seen as leaders in their social circles. Since a full beard doesn't require much maintenance and grooming, men with this style are likely to be slightly laid back.
Starting at around 30 years old, beard growth in men typically begins to decline. Testosterone production begins to drop by a few percentage points every year and DHT levels decline. This will eventually lead to a thinning out of the beard. Again, how fast this progresses can be very different from person to person.
Most men do not reach their full beard potential until the age of 35. That's right, 35. If you are younger than 35 then your beard has yet to reach its full potential. Plenty of guys have gone through their 20s thinking they can't grow a full beard.
The simple truth is: the more you let your beard grow out, the thicker it'll continue to grow. Combine that with maturation and over time many of the patches you might experience early on will slowly start to fill in and your mustache might just end up connecting with the rest of your facial hair over time.
The last bearded man elected president of the United States was Benjamin Harrison, in 1888. The last president with any facial hair whatsoever was William Howard Taft, elected in 1908.
If you have not met any Native Americans yourself, you may have a stereotype that Native Americans do not have facial hair—only because that is what most of the photos online (and movies) want you to believe. However, Native Americans with beards do exist.
Beard is a 24/7 Sunnah you are carrying with yourself. By keeping beard you look different from disbelievers, this has been emphasized in various Hadiths of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for instance said, “Cut your moustaches and leave your beards. Be different from the people of scripture,” (Muslim).