Shaving

I own a beard
I do not "have" a beard...
There is a fashion at this point in time, for young men to grow beards. These beards are a serious commitment to the young men who grow them. Beards are a sign of masculinity, to them, and must be cultivated, groomed, fashioned, and  sculpted. The presence of a Barber, or at least a Hairdresser, (note the capitals), is required to ensure that the necessary care is taken of the facial growth, in order to ensure the maximum effect of a fashion accessory which, by it's very nature, is designed to obscure your attractiveness to the opposite (or same, I don't give a stuff), sex.

I own my beard.
It is mine.
It has been my beard since 1983.
My wife and all my children have never seen me without my beard.

Note that I do not say "A beard", but "MY beard".
My beard has been short, long, scruffy, unkempt, tidy, tiny, and has gone from almost black to almost grey, but it has never been gone. It has remained, because it is part of who I am.

My beard is an integral part of my persona. I cannot imagine being without it.

Now here's the kicker. Something as precious to me as my beard must surely require my attention, right?
Wrong.

I brush my beard morning and night, when I brush my hair. I wash it when I wash the rest of me. Rarely does a hairdresser touch my beard. My Wife and kids give me a set of hair clippers for Father's Day every now and then, when my old ones give up. I maintain my beard myself.

Perhaps a lot of young men with beards treat theirs as I treat mine. That's great.
Many do not.

I have no right to judge, and I am just an aging guy with what I like to believe is a modicum of taste, but to the seriously beard-centric guys out there, I would like to offer a few words of insight:

A beard is a commitment. You grow a beard to see how it suits you. You keep a beard because it adds to who you are.
If the beard you grow requires you to change your hairstyle, fashion sense, lifestyle, or hair-care options, then it is probably wrong for you.
If the beard you grow causes people to respect you more, to compliment your looks, or to want to be seen with you, then you may have struck a winner.
I have been told that people cannot imagine me without a beard... That's good, because I can't either.

I regard that as fair indication that a beard is right for me.
My father only grew a beard once in his life, to the best of my knowledge. I was about 15 years old, and the centenary celebrations of his home town included a beard growing competition, which he duly entered. He did not win, but it was an impressive effort, and I could see how it would suit him.

He didn't keep the beard. My Mother didn't like it, for one thing, but the other, more important reason was that he did not feel it suited him. I understood his reasoning completely.
My Father was a clean-cut man, physically and in personality. He had nothing to hide, nothing that required any kind of screen, and so a beard didn't suit him. He wasn't completely comfortable with a beard.

This is not to say that people with beards are hiding something. My Father was over fifty when he first grew a beard. It just didn't suit the man he had become.

I own a beard. It is part of me. When you meet me, what you see is what you get. A good beard ADDS to your personality, emphasises who you are, and makes you more confident.
A bad beard hides your personality, detracts from who you are, and gives you something to hide behind. It can back-fire on you.
Be strong, not fashionable. Look at yourself and ask;"Do I really need a beard?"
If you think you do; try it, but be honest with yourself. There are so many men sporting great big lumberjack beards today, who will be scouring the internet in 25 years  time, trying to find the photographs that show them to be the pale-skinned, heavy-bearded fashionistas that they wish they never were.
I made my fashion mistakes, and I know they will haunt me, but at least I do not still wear those mistakes. When you grow a beard, it becomes part of you, and it remains part of you even after you shave it off.
I made mistakes with my beard. I didn't look after it, I grew it too long at times, and I hid behind it.
A beard cannot be your shield. A beard is a sign of your confidence in yourself.

If a beard suits you, then keep it. Make your beard a part of what you show the world.

If your beard doesn't suit you, then admit it. This is not Ancient Gaul, not having a beard is no shame. In fact, not having a beard makes you braver than the guy who keeps a bad beard. It means you tried it and were strong enough to admit it didn't suit you.

Many fine young men that I know have decided that a beard is not for them. That makes me proud.

So, just because I look fantastic owning a beard, that doesn't mean you do. Be honest with yourself.

And don't even start me on the "Top-knots", or "Man Buns" thing....