What’s the beard deal?

Vanity has been generally associated with women, but times they are a changin’ and no longer are men shying away from accepting that they want to be indulgent. As Al Pacino once said, “Vanity is my favourite sin.”

A craze that many men indulged in and that seemed to have blown the world of men’s fashion was lumberjack beards, with hashtags like #Beard4Life #BeardGang #Beardlove and #InstaBeard trending all over internet. But it seems to have hit its saturation point now and a new hashtag has emerged, #BreakTheBeard. Cricketer  

Ravindra Jadeja recently challenged Virat Kohli to #BreakTheBeard but Virat replied on his Instagram account with a picture captioned, “Sorry boys @hardikpandya_official @royalnavghan @rohitsharma45 but iam not ready to break the beard yet . Great job on the makeovers though. Kudos ??.”

On the other hand, cricketers like Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Ravindrasinh Jadeja have already changed the way their beard looks and gotten rid of much of it. Now, the hashtag seems to have sparked a debate on the beard. While some are all for the look, others say it is expensive to maintain, a hassle in summers, is becoming too mainstream and is being kept to feel masculine.

Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane breaks the beard with his new look.

Celebrity hair stylist Rod Anker doesn’t agree, “I don’t personally think it has anything to do with masculinity; it has more to do with laziness to shave. But having a few days’ growth is easier to maintain than a full lumberjack beard.”

Asked if the trend of keeping a beard has become too mainstream, he adds, “Possibly, though in summer very few people have the patience to maintain the beard and skin. With pollution and perspiration it can be uncomfortable and get itchy due to bacteria on the skin caused from not washing it enough.”

While Rod suggests that a full lumberjack look can be difficult to maintain, Pulkeet, a Delhi-based  activist and beard-lover, says, “I don’t think maintaining a beard has anything to do with Masculinity; which is very subjective. A few years ago the metrosexual look was the fad, now we are on to the lumbersexual look. People with or without beards, can be well groomed or not, a beard can be as time consuming as using a straight edge for a clean shave everyday.”

Model Amit Ranjan, who also loves the beard, shares the same sentiments, “If you are in the corporate world, then you have to go clean shaven. There is no problem with sporting a beard but you should relate to it. You should know why you are keeping it. Just don’t follow the trend blindly. If you want to keep it to feel macho, something is not right. The idea was to feel carefree. If you are too polished with your beard and are spending too much time maintaining it, it beats the point. So that is not good, do things you relate to.”

He adds, “Personally I don’t like things which are very mainstream. I do trim my beard, but in the fashion world people are looking for the bearded look. Actors too have to keep it depending on the nature of their work. I think it is a necessity for models and actors, but now it has become a strong trend. So I think, change won’t hurt.”

While that is true, the grooming options available for men are already so few, points out stylist Rishi Raj. He says, “The only form of contouring men get is through a beard. A lot of men do end up looking better due to the beard. I think that is what most of the men have realised, which is why they are keeping it. Talking about a beard being high-maintenance is pointless, because women indulge in so much make-up and hair-dos. Why should men not be allowed that? A lot of us in order to look good, don’t really care about comfort or discomfort. I am very happy with my beard and it is not high maintenance. Had Virat shaved his beard, he would have looked like a chicken (no offense). If the women are happy with the beard, I don’t think any straight man is going to shave his beard, because if your consumer is happy with it, why would you go against it? So I don’t think anyone should #break anything. Hashtags come and hashtags go, we should do what we want to. And there are so many ways of feeling masculine, a beard is hardly one of them.”

That said, Delhi-based advertising professional Suvek, who recently got rid of his lumberjack beard, says, “I suddenly saw a horde of men looking the same and I didn’t want to be one of them. I am always on a lookout to be different, that is the only reason I shaved it. Now even the corporate culture has started to accept it to a certain extent, I see ponytails and big beards in the corporate setting. But I definitely feel the beard makes many people feel masculine, that can’t be denied.”

It seems masculinity and the beard have a very intertwined relationship, and as this debate unfolds online over time, one will see how strong the bond stays.