All About Beards

Although the first razor was invented about 3,000 BC men already used to remove their facial hair long before with the use of two shells to pull the hair out. A very painful procedure of removing facial hair.

From ancient Egyptians it is delivered that they used to grow hair on their chin. Oftentimes they used henna to dye this hair. Some plaited them with a golden thread. Egyptian queens and kings wore even a false metal beard as a sign of sovereignty. The style of these beards is still to be seen on ancient egyptian paintings and statues.

Later on in ancient greek the beard was a sign of virility and being without a beard was somewhat disgraceful.

Alexander the Great changed this and introduced the custom of being clean shaven to his soldiers. The reason for this was his fear that the beard of his soldiers could be used as a kind of handle and the enemy would be able to hold his soldier while killing him.

The romans in their early time didn't know about shaving. Around 299 BC P. Ticinis brought the first barber to Rome. Very soon almost all romans were clean-shaven. It was a sign of difference between being Roman and not Greek.

Even in the Late Republic of Rome wearing a beard was still rare and it was a considered the beginning of manhood when a young man shaved the first time. This day was celebrated as a festival.
Occasions when it was allowed to grow a beard was the time of mourning. For example, Augustus did it for the death of Julius Caesar.

It was different in other cultures. In a Germanic tribe, probably the Chatten, young men were not allowed to shave until he had killed an enemy. And the Lombards have even their name from the length of their beards.

Later on, in the 15th century most men in Europe were clean-shaven. But priests often used beards as a signal that they were convinced of the doctrines of Protestant Reformation. The longer the beard, the stronger the signal.

After the early 17th century beards were not in fashion anymore at all in Western Europe and America. In 1698 Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, ordered men to shave their beards and collected even a tax on beards, to bring Russia closer to modern Europe.

Throughout the 18th century men were more or less clean-shaven and beards were unknown. This changed in the Napoleonic Era, as veterans were known as 'old moustaches' and beards with sideburns became more common. Most European monarchs were bearded, like Napoleon III. of France and Frederick III. of Germany.

In the beginning of the 20th century young men started again more and more to shave, whereas men in their 20s and 30s retained them in the form of a moustache or goatee.
During the hippie movement in the 60s beards gained again popularity, grown together with long hair.

Judaism
Shaving in Judaism is a very complex matter as it can depend on the way men are shaving. As talmudic rabbis understand what is written in the Bible in Leviticus 19:27, it is forbidden to use a razor to shave, but scissors to trim the beard. The difference of both is that the blade doesn't have contact to the skin but to the second blade when using scissors. Following this rule, some legal decisors state that Orthodox Jews are allowed to use electrical shavers to be clean-shaven, as the blades don't get in touch with the skin as well. Other prominent ones state that electric shavers perform a razor-like action and don't allow the use of them.
However, this discussion started after the invention of the electric shaver. Before almost all Orthodox Jews grew their beards. So do the Hasidic Jews still now, they don't shave and don't even trim their beards.

Christianity
In Christianity Jesus is almost in every portray shown as a bearded man, as well as Moses or Abraham. In Eastern Christian churches priests are often wearing beards, which has been required in some times for all believers. The Amish for example shave just until they get married and let the beard grow afterwards.
Members of a lot of Catholic communities, especially the Franciscan grow their beards as a sign of their mission, whereas it was prohibited in several times of the Catholic Church to wear any facial hair.

Islam
Cause of Muhammad's saying that men should grow their beards and trim their moustaches, a lot of muslims believe that growing a beard is required.
A lomger beard is associated nowadays with Sunni and a closely trimmed beard with Shi'a Muslims. The four main Sunni Schools of jurisprudence consider a beard mandantory for all men.
Muslims believe that Allah ordered Abraham to grow his beard, trim his moustache, clip the nails, shave the pubic hair and to twitch the underarm hair.

Hinduism
As for the Hindus, growing a beard depends on caste and Dharma. A lot of Hindu priests don't shave as a sign of purity, but it depends on the followed Dharma. A moustache is regarded a sign of evil and just two original idols, which are seen as bad, wear them. Most Yoga practioners keep their beards, as well as Shaivite ascetics. The latter are not allowed to own anything, also not a razor.

Sikhism
The Sikhs believe that the beards and hair in general is given by god. God created the male body with hair, thus it is against his will to remove it.

Professional airline pilots are in general not allowed to grow a beard. They have to be clean-shaven to ensure a tight seal in case that auxiliary oxygen masks need to be used.

In sports it is not allowed for amateur boxers to grow a beard for practical reasons.

In 2005 beards were banned in Irish soccer league after David Murray from Beechlawn Rovers pulled Ricky Bobby from Chanel down by his beard.

The New York Yankees had a dress code that didn't allow them to grow long hair and beards below the lip.

Some Teams in the NHL wear playoff beards. Players allow themself to grow the beards from the beginning of the playoff season until the playoffs of their team are over.

Already Alexander the Great demanded from his soldiers to be clean-shaven. This had more practical than aesthetic reasons, as Alexander had the fear that enemies could use the beard as a kind of handle to hold his soldiers while killing them.

This changed later on again and beards were not just allowed, some soldiers were even encouraged to grow a beard, like the large beards of the sappers in the French Foreign Legion.

Than, during World War I, beards came not just out of fashion, the soldiers needed to be clean-shaven to ensure the proper seal of gas masks over their faces. This is still nowadays the reason why the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps don't allow growing beards.

Nowadays through almost all countries, members of the armed forces are not allowed to grow a beard, except of some exemptions. These might range from traditional to religious and medical reasons.

There are a lot of different styles to grow a beard, starting from growing the hair above the upper lip. Its result is called a moustache. In case the hair is left just on the chin we are taking about a chin beard. A combination of both can be a goatee or a Van Dyck.

• Sideburns
  Hair growing from the temples down the cheeks. Can be also together with a moustache.
• Stubble
  A beard of very short hair with just a few days of growth.
• Chinstrap
  A beard with long sideburns that comes together at the chin.
• Soul Patch
  A very small beard below the lower lip and above the chin.
• Van Dyck
  A beard that consists of a goatee and a moustache, named after Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish painter.
• Goatee
  Normally a bunch of hair growing on the chin, like the one of a goat. Nowadays a circle beard, where a chin beard and a moustache are connected, is sometimes also referred to as a goatee.