Thinking of growing a beard?

Guys, have you thought about growing a beard? Let me share my experiences with you.

I decided to grow my beard in October 2018, after having previously tried various growth attempts in the past. After it got to a certain length, I realized that it was quite wiry and did some research on oils and balms. I settled on an unscented balm from Rocky Mountain Barber Company, a Canadian product. One very nice and totally unexpected by-product of using the balm, is that I wipe the excess off my hands onto my elbows, and it really helps protect them from drying out like they normally do. Old man problems.

So, what's it like with a beard? Well, it brings a whole new dimension to eating. They don't call it a 'flavour saver' for nothing. When food gets on my beard, I often don't feel like wiping it gets it all, so I tend to wash it at the sink a lot after a messy meal.

I notice that I quickly formed a habit of chewing my moustache, which I used to do when I had just a moustache in my late 20s. I don't know if there's anything I can do to stop that, but I'm just dealing with it for now.

I bought myself a cheap, narrow trimmer to get hair off my upper lip and other minor adjustments. Once the beard got pretty long, Darlene said I was starting to look like a homeless person. So I went to the barber for a trim. My first and second barber visits (2 different barbers) did not produce the result I was looking for. In particular, they did a very crooked job of the trim line on my neck. It's unlikely most people would notice, but I did and that's all that matters. If you think it's hard to find a person that cuts your hair properly, I think it might be even harder to find someone who cuts your beard to your satisfaction. My 3rd visit to a barber in the Bridgeland neighbourhood (Cannibale) finally gave me a straight trim line.

I haven't quite made up my mind one way or the other as to whether the beard is permanent, but I haven't had any urges yet to get rid of it. It's been a bit entertaining to watch peoples' faces who haven't seen me since before October 2018 as they try to figure out if they recognize me or not. Most people say they like the change, but would anyone be honest enough to say otherwise? I don't know.

[Update 11 Jun 2019] The beard is gone. 8 months. That's the longest I've ever had full facial hair. Why did I shave it? A few reasons. My spouse never really warmed up to it. It made eating a bit of a mess (especially the way I eat). It made me look older than I am (as said by others). It was difficult to shape the way I wanted it. On the bright side, it made getting ready in the morning faster!