Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal has a dark, gorgeous beard that matches his fierce attitude and deadly, well groomed fighting skills. Jorge Masvidal (born November 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist competing in the UFC’s welterweight division. He won the UFC BMF title, which was created specially for his fight against Nate Diaz. A professional since 2003, he holds the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history, at 5 seconds, and has won UFC Performance of the Night four times. As of July 8, 2019, he is number 3 in the UFC welterweight rankings

Disappearing Necklines: Full Beards Leading the Pace

by Bill Alley, Media Director, Beardsley and Company

One of the jobs a Beard Advocate gets to enjoy is reviewing endless photos of bearded guys who take their individual look to its zenith. During this year I’ve been finding what the definition of ‘zenith’ looks like as men are snapping head shots of their whiskers without any edge of a neckline.

Taking to more research, curiosity drove the keyboard to search the frequency of neckline free beard growth. A few inferences are popping up in searches but overwhelmingly the idea of keeping the fullest of facial hair possible has not made bigger waves...yet. Much of what comes up these days as suggestions say ‘adopt this practice to perfect your neckline’ or ‘jawline vs. neckline’ whisper suggestions of how much of your beard will become sink residue. It appears the big, bushy, beautiful beard is somehow capped to a certain size.

Far too many examples are out there to prove otherwise. Men of any age had no persuasion of a ‘neckbeard’ finding itself out of favor until such were showing up on social media. To that end conformance to a neckline is being resisted with growing regularity to achieve ‘premium beard mass’ for those able to grow such. I guess it’s my place to call this fact out.

Last issue I spoke of the school landscape that keeps many bearded youth conformed to double edged madness. The formative years of youth are not given much of a chance to adopt beard-positive role models and acceptance when ‘hygiene’ lessons of the classroom largely gives our boys over to Gillette and Barbasol. Again, where are our beard organizations coming to the rescue?

I’ve found a great article from Info Aging for your consideration. They take the question of the pros and cons of a neckline and give great weight to the fullest beard possible—completely ‘neckline free’. Seven points are made that will offer the best confidence-building pathway to the rest of your hirsute appearance.

2020—A New Decade, and More of it Will Be Bearded

by Bill Alley, Media Director, Beardsley and Company

First, In this decade beards have been the advancement and the hero of the return of the confident, natural male. Cajoling the facts have been the companies responsible for the destruction of the male image—the razor peddlers—calling we the bearded every foul thing imaginable to embarrass us into the facial striptease. Thankfully, reality of the most aggressive feature of the man—his whiskers—placed the naysayers in check, if not checkmate. Losses keep piling up as the masters of male maligning lose $8 billion annually (according to the latest 2019 financial reports from Proctor & Gamble alone) while beard products and care have surpassed $10 billion in 2016.

We have personally witnessed a massive attitude change in cultures from Western business shedding the razor and tie standard to full Beards from the assembly line to the CEO office. Central Asia, particularly India, has used the power of their film industry (“Bollywood”) to change the attitudes and faces of males decidedly Bearded. Several articles written here also captured the great successes of Far East men having the genes to grow impressive whiskers through the ages. The worldwide liberation of the face of men grows, and with it, a brotherhood quietly thickens.

Being at the forefront of Beard Advocacy, the past 32 years has given so many good signs. Dads have kids who love the fatherly facial frock, and sons will go so far as to don a fake beard to see a glimpse of adulthood. Ladies have taken to whiskers and made very declarative statements about their bearded boys being the symbol of male machismo. Among brothers, co-workers and friends the Beard is a part of conversation and planning—from grooming to fundraising to clubs and organizations. Could you ever imagine a shaving club? Seems pointless...because the loss of a manly trait is nothing to celebrate.

When this face was embraced in its intended form, I felt all that. 1987 was very different than 2020. We’ve got way too many distractions, divisions and diversions. The Beard adds a healthy dose of immunity to dehumanization. The world’s centuries support manhood in our essence—and the age of artificial intelligence the Beard is the shield that keeps us grounded in a true nature, tied to the origins of life.

For those who still insist the ‘real man’ is hidden amongst his facial shrubbery, here’s a fact. One of our Beardsley Champions in 2019—Jose Martinez of Killeen, Texas—shares a story about his own action and reaction to and from his mother who wanted a ‘clean shaven’ son for her birthday: “I’m not sure if Tammy told you I shaved my beard because my mother asked to see me clean shaven for her birthday.  Needless to say, she also asked me to never, ever shave again.  The point of that story is I used the shampoos and conditioner while I was re-growing my beard.  They helped prevent the dreaded beard itch.  The beard wipes were a God send during the re-growth as well.   It is not nearly as long as it used to be but it is coming along nicely, thanks to your products.   Thank you again!  You have made a customer out of this guy.”

 Just had to add Jose’s praise of Beardsley for easing him back to his bearded reality. We don’t have the new photos yet, but since he and wife Tammy are only a few miles from my office, I will see if we get a progress photo album.

Guys: if anyone asks you to shave for ANY reason...DON’T. There is no reason why you should cave in for the sake of being facially naked, a good sport in some fundraiser that disfigures you for months, and create a very uncomfortable situation to kids, pets and others. “Changing it up” thoughts should be seriously questioned as to why the need: are you feeling deficient in compliments? Do you need to call instant attention to yourself? Or has pressure to conform given in to the plan of expensive devices, razor burn and a boyish stance being a preference to the individual every whisker on your face creates? Carbon copy anything neutralizes individual excellence; the shorn are indistinguishable in a group. The bearded have the great advantage in being singled out among the horde of similarly distinguished fellows.