"Go Beard Or Go Home!"

My friend Matthew from the band Transatlantic FM recently confirmed that he will play in the upcoming 2010 Beard Ball (I promise... details soon... patience!). In speaking with him, he confirmed that his band is willing to play for free - with all proceeds going to charity - so long as we kept the Beard Ball to beards-only.

See Matt's argument here:

Hi Riss,

I only ask that people with mustaches and goatees be prohibited from entering the Beard Ball.
Let me explain:

You see, the mustache and goatee are the fanny- pack and visor of the facial hair world.  

1. Fanny-packs: if you have a lot of stuff to carry; get a backpack. If you don't; just put it in your pockets. There is no reason to have a fanny- pack.


2. Visors: either wear a hat or wear a headband. There doesn't have to be a middle option for this.  

Shave everything or shave nothing. Go beard or go home!

Well, Matthew, as much as we would love to hire my 6'7" brother to work the door & instill this rule, we're open to all sorts of facial hair creativity. We don't judge at B-A-B... o.k. that's not entire true... but on this night.... let us remember.... if you're judging, you're not loving.

It's for charity for Christ's sake!

 

Soul (Patch) For Sale

Recently, Michael Iaconelli put his sexy soul patch up for public auction via eBay. Bidding for the facial hair ended on December 3rd (with the highest bid resting at $405.00)... and those at Build-A-Beard are still scrambling to find out who won the whimsical whiskers. All proceeds did go to New England Center for Children, a nonprofit that specializes in the treatment of autism.

Read more at: ESPN.


As always, B-A-B supports the trend of growing it for worthy causes. #saynotoshaving

 

The Credit Goes to You, sir

In this economy everyone is worried about their credit score, the possible loss or theft of identity, piling up credit card bills, late the credit card payments and of course the associated rates that drain our finances without fail each month… as such we here at Build-a-Beard wanted to provide our readers with a safe, trusted and hairy option of whom to trust in this turbulent environment.



As you can see, the beardo below used to swim in credit card debt, but he was able to lower his interest rate and get help with his monthly payment dates… he never thought that he’d be able to pay down his credit card bills, but he was able to join thousands of Americans who have gotten out of debt… and so can you.

 

**Claims in this pop-up ad are not substantiated or verified by Build-a-Beard**

 

 

The New Year Resolution Beard

As we get deeper into the holiday season, we here at Build-a-Beard encourage you to endorse our petition (official petition not included) for support of facial fluff for all mankind (we take the ‘man’ part seriously)… This year, please consider making growing a BEARD your failed New Year Resolution.


Due to this cynicism, we always have to stand up, recognize and support those brethren that are indeed fighting the good fight, sticking to it and following up/following through. So... Hello, unkempt, mega beard that's been around since January 1st, 2009, and the 20 y/o NYU student, with interests in Stockholm, that you are attached to. We salute you!

Beard Head!

 

It's December in NYC and it is freezing, but whether you're sporting a clean face (ew) or rockin' out with some beard love... one needs protection from the elements... and what better force to protect your facial hair (or fake like you have it) then the Beard Head. Yes, you read correctly - the Beard Head.
For just $29.99 you can purchase a knitted beard face in numerous styles, colors & cuts - pirate, lumberjack, etc (or our personal favorite - the yellow viking).
Check out: BeardHead.com and place your holiday order now. PLUS there is also a pink beard for the ladies.

 

 

 

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Stroke It - Before You Text It

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Our friends at Beard Revue brought to our attention that our bearded brother, James Lipton is now starring in Give It A Ponder by LG. (Side: click that link - no, seriously - it's a beard that speaks to you - and there is nothing cooler than a beard talking w/o a face who strokes his own damn facial hair).

The best video of the bunch:


 

Celebeardity (See What We Did There?)

Last night, James Eugene "Jim" Carrey tweeted at us and not only that - called us a bastard - because we plan to steal his beard emoticon :)} (genius). Up to this point, we have neglected the Canadian-American actor and stand-up comedian's scruff, but no longer.

Here's our proof and formal request to Jim -- We want to interview your beard! What inspired you to grow? Do you enjoy being on Jim's face? Do the ladies love you? Etc. Etc. Have your people call our... humble staff.



FTW!

(PS: We still admire your work from the In Living Color days, btw).

 

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VaynerMedia - Now Is The Time To (Grow Beards)

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It was brought to our attention by our staff writer and friend, Russ Marshalek, that the employees at VaynerMedia were rocking some p-r-e-t-t-y sweet facial hair persuasions at Gary & AJ Vaynerchuk's office. #crushit

And although the highly talented Gary has been saturating our airwaves and personal NYC island with ways to "cash in on your passion," he is not crushing it when it comes to his beard. In fact, he should prob stop concentrating so much on how to help others "build brand equity," and start concentrating on ways to grow a 'stache.... or even some scruff! #crushitFAIL

Example:

Lucky for him, B-A-B decided to interview the bearded fellas that make the day-to-day run smoothly for his brand consulting agency with a penchant for social media. Special thanks to Sam Taggart who submitted his fellow employees, but did not participate. Wonder why?
(Editor's note: a while after our post, Gary did grow a beard... and then... well... go see for yourself)
So without further ado...

Title: Web Developer (VaynerMedia)
Random Fact: I've had some kind of facial hair since my senior year of high school.
Worth Noting: When I do shave, I use a 1940s Gillette Aristocrat Razor.
B-A-B Thoughts: We like the way you shave, Caleb. No, seriously - we're highly impressed with the choice in your instrument. *raises martini glass to you or odd cup of yellow substance as in the picture below.

Name: Marcus Krzastek
Title: Project Manager (VaynerMedia)
Rockin' It For A Cause: Protest of Turkish non-recognition of the Armenian genocide.
B-A-B Thoughts: We're not sure what lil' project is happening on your face, specifically below your lip, but you're definitely not managing it. Also, the sweater... dude... come on it's 2009.

Name: Matt Sitomer
Title: Chief of Staff (VaynerMedia)
View Askewniverse Fetish: First grew the beard so I could be Silent Bob for Halloween in 2004, and everyone told me to keep it.
B-A-B Comment: Respect points on the Kevin Smith love, but you need to get that beard thicker and grow it over your upper lip. Also, stop posing like it's MySpace.

Title: CTO (Cork'd)
Why You Want To Sleep With Him: I dream in German
B-A-B Comment: Winner!!! We heart your pirate look - bonus points for the perfectly tweaked ends - although we had to look past your almost-too-much-asymmetrical-haircut, odd bathroom background, and shameless use of iPhone.

 

Tiger Woods - Join US!

We don't need to report on Tiger Woods' recent headline news, but it is interesting to note that Mr. Woods has an endorsement deal with Gillette - our mortal enemy - among Nike, Accenture, AT&T, American Express and others - totally more than $100 million annually. More importantly, as this recent blog post by Heckler Spray points out -

"If we can't trust Tiger, then what are we going to do with our faces? We'll have to grow beards, that's what. We hate beards. Damn you, Tiger Woods."

 

Gillette users - your days are numbered. Welcome to the bearded side.


 

Combing Is Not A Chore

With the holidays fast approaching, a nice stocking stuffer sure to make your bearded warrior smile is a comb specifically designed for his facial creativity. Not only a practical gift for your hairy loved ones, but also a polite way to say... keep it clean & comb it. Note: This will also help you relax into the conversation of when it is - and is not - appropriate to whip out the beard/'stache comb. Perfect example of combing excess & grooming fail: Example A.

Our trusted B-A-B staff put in one Google search of effort and discovered that a wide-tooth comb works best to remove bearded tangles, but feel free to follow it up with some brush strokes for total overall smoothness.

Additional suggestions are below - all which can be purchased: here.

The Show Off

 

 


The Basic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wide-Tooth

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Morning Cup Mustache Stroker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Recommended For Use at Breakfast Table

Grow A 'Stache - Raise Some Cash

As someone who grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia - I am taking a moment to focus on Mustaches for Kids - the Philly chapter - to let you know that as of yesterday, 16 growers were announced from the area. You can find them: here. (To sponsor a specific grower's 'stache, click on the gentleman's name on the list and make a donation).

Through the years, Mustaches for Kids has enlisted the efforts of hundreds of brave of Growers who, collectively, have raised over $150,000 for charities such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Children's Hospital of New Orleans, and San Francisco's Legal Services for Children.

'Stache Bash is happening on Saturday, December 12th at National Mechanics @7:00 pm. For those lucky 16 participating, please come in all of your “stachey” glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

On the road: Beards of Pasadena

Being on the road in lovely Pasadena, California over the weekend, we sought the opportunity to post the inaugural Build-A-Beard’s west coast excursion photo-bonanza extravaganza. With the Pasadena population hovering around 150k, how could we not find enough of our own to result in a pictorial?

 This centerfold (named such because the photos being centered, duh) includes a dozen of hairy, warm-blooded and open minded gents who don’t need much introductions. Some are passing through; others are permanent residents of the City of Roses, but all of them are out and about getting down with their facial fluff all around town.

 While the order was informally determined by perceived overall surface area and length, please do not look at this as a ranking, rather only as a salute. This first shot, found on the campus of Caltech, represents an idealistic view of our kin: Integrity, Creativity, Tenacity...

As a side note, through this exercise we have found that there is no better ice breaker than asking strange men to take a cellphone photo of their chin... our results of this endeavor are below.



Thank you all for participating... rock on, and keep on rocking those kickin' styles!



























Do you want to send us your own facial hair hunting excursions? We would love to hear from you! Tweet at us or comment your hairy heart out.

 

 

Facial Stats and Metric Facials

 

Dear Beardos, heed my word... While we are winning the battle of facial hair adoption, we are losing the war of beards vs mustaches vs goatees.

Wahl Clipper Corp. has crunched the numbers and did the math (Shocker 101: a beard trimmer maker putting out a study on facial hair growth) and here are their results:

64 million proud men nationwide sport facial hair for at least part of the year (YAY!). The goatee tops the facial hair ranks with 25 million (really?). The mustaches cashed in on 17 million men (and god knows how many women)… but our favorite, the beard, only mustered 13 million brave souls this year...

So gents, what are we doing wrong?! You have to ask yourself, are you with us or against us? This guys gets it, and is ready to rumble… are you?

 

Keep It Clean

"It's a good idea to use beard shampoo on your hair, but not a good idea to use hair shampoo on your beard." - Check.

Beardsley is a company that offers specific beard shampoo. The company claims that Beardsley's mild-flavored botanical formula makes it a pleasure for a man to wash his beard as often and as thoroughly as he likes. It also works on mustaches (duh).

Buy a bottle - let us know if it works better than say... Suave.