Tag Archives: beard photography

All About BEARDS For Twenty-seven Years

Why advocate for beards? I’ve been making the case in favor of beards online since launching All About BEARDS on January 17, 1996. It might be considered an unusual cause to support. But it’s a worthy cause, an important cause. That’s because beards mean a great deal to men who grow them. Beards also mean a lot to men who are unable to grow a beard and wish with all their might that they could grow a beard.

What about the beardless and broken hearted?

Beards mean a lot more than people realize. One’s feelings about beards can run inexplicably deep. Beards are an important part of being a man. Yet, not every man is physically capable of growing a beard. It doesn’t seem to make sense. Beards are an important part of being a man, but not every man is included. Seems unfair!

A man incapable of growing a beard is no less a man than one who sprouts an abundance of hair from his face. The man who desperately yearns to be able to grow his own beard and experience this aspect of manhood for himself often suffers in silence. Pain and frustration can run deep. Many feel sadness and depression with nowhere to turn for support. They may believe that others would view their fervent desire to be able to grow a beard as frivolous or silly. So they keep it to themselves, suffering in silence.

From the start, All About BEARDS has respected and empathized with those men who physically are unable to grow a beard. I wish I had an easy solution for them. Many long for a special cream or pill that would bring beard growth to their faces. At this time, there’s nothing quite like that available. I always recommend that you consult with your doctor if you feel that you might have a medical condition that inhibits your potential beard growth. Apart from that, you might look into methods for stimulating beard growth, keeping in mind that there are no sure “cures” for the lack of beard growth. Proceed with caution.

My best advice to all is that you make the best with what you have. Your beard growth pattern is yours and yours alone. Emphasize the strengths you have and make the most of them.

Grow your beard for those who can’t

All About BEARDS for twenty-seven years; beard image: Chris
Beard superstar Chris’ fierce beard.

Those can grow their beards should. Those who cannot grow a beard will appreciate it. Does this sound stupid? There is a lot of truth to it.

If you’re blessed with good beard genes, why not grow that glorious beard for all to see and admire? In a way, not growing that great beard is something of an insult to those who would give anything to have your beard-growing ability. I’ve not come across anyone who can’t grow his own beard being against beard-capable men growing their beards. I’ve only heard them express respect and admiration for those who can grow their beards. Those bearded guys even provide inspiration for those who cannot grow beards.

Be a source of inspiration. Grow your beard for those who can’t.

All About BEARDS: still on a mission

After twenty-seven years, beards have come a long way. I’m happy to see greater acceptance of beards and a greater prevalence of beards in the world. However, much work remains to be done. All About BEARDS will always continue its mission to advocate for beards:

  • Promote acceptance of and appreciation for beards.
  • Provide solid, helpful information on how to grow and care for your beard.
  • Work to reduce anti-beard bias.
  • Encourage and inspire men to grow their beards as they like.

All About BEARDS: selected beard photo shoot memories

On this twenty-seventh anniversary I’d like to share a look back at a sample of memories from the beards.org official photo shoots. Documenting beards through photography is an important component of the site. Scroll down for a photographic trip down memory lane. Click on any image to view larger.

The first: Paulie

First All About BEARDS photo shoot: Paulie at Guadalupe River Park at the Interstate 280 and California State Route 87 interchange, San José, California.
First All About BEARDS photo shoot: Paulie at Guadalupe River Park below the Interstate 280 and California State Route 87 interchange, San José, California.

Salvatore

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Salvatore with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Photographed at the summit of Mount Caroline Livermore, Angel Island State Park, California.
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Salvatore with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Photographed at the summit of Mount Caroline Livermore, Angel Island State Park, California.

Brian

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Brian at the Embarcadero, San Francisco, California.
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Brian at the Embarcadero, San Francisco, California.

Michael and John

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Musicians and friends Michael, left, and John, right, showed up in freezing weather for joint and separate beard photo shoots along the Riverfront Heritage Trail, Kansas City, Missouri.
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Musicians and friends Michael, left, and John, right, showed up in freezing weather for joint and separate beard photo shoots along the Riverfront Heritage Trail, Kansas City, Missouri.

Nate

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: From SA to SF, longtime friend and correspondent from South Africa, Nate Maingard did a photo and video shoot for the site during a visit to the USA. Mission Dolores Park, San Francisco, CA
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: From SA to SF, longtime friend and correspondent from South Africa, Nate Maingard did a photo and video shoot for the site during a visit to the USA. Mission Dolores Park, San Francisco, CA

Conner

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Conner did a mid-winter beard photo shoot at Lake Fayetteville Park, Fayetteville, AR.
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Conner did a mid-winter beard photo shoot at Lake Fayetteville Park, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Vicente

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Big beard in the big state of Texas: Vicente.
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Big beard in the big state of Texas: Vicente.

Scott

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Scott at the Minnesota State Fair, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Scott at the Minnesota State Fair, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Virgil

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Amazing bearded barber Virgil. Tulsa Arts District, Tulsa, OK
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Amazing bearded barber Virgil. Tulsa Arts District, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Wade

All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Wade met up for a great photo shoot with his fantastic beard. Boomer Lake Park, Stillwater, Oklahoma
All About BEARDS photo shoot memory: Wade did a photo shoot with his fantastic beard at Boomer Lake Park, Stillwater, Oklahoma.

It’s been twenty-seven years. Grow your beard!

I wish to thank all of the friends, fans, and site contributors that I’ve met over the years. You have been a blessing. Thank you.

Grow your beard!

Chris: beard thick and strong

Chris is a great guy with a really great beard. Chris’ beard is one that some would rightfully call a heavy beard. His beard is exceptionally thick and the area it covers is broad. With beard growth so dense, Chris prefers to keep it trimmed short during the months of hot weather. Even with his beard trimmed short, it’s always impressive. His beard growth is so strong that after just a couple of days without shaving, it looks like he’s grown a proper beard already.

Last month, I saw Chris by chance at the Tulsa Tough cycling event. An avid cyclist, Chris has participated in the Tulsa Tough race in the past. This year he just came to watch. He kindly offered to do some more photos for beards.org that afternoon as well as the following day. The weather on both days was bright sunshine and brutal heat. But Chris cheerfully braved the heat so that we could get some new photos. Some sample shots from both days appear in the gallery below.

It had been quite a while since I’d last seen Chris. This time his beard had just been freshly trimmed down short for the summer heat. Along with the trim, his beard had been shaped down a bit with the neck line a little higher and the cheek line lower, presenting a crisp, well-defined short beard. During the photo shoot, he showed me a photo from last winter in which he had he had let his beard all grow, substantially. The difference was amazingly impressive. One of these days, we finally need to do a photo shoot with Chris’ full-on winter beard! Meanwhile, the summer version of Chris’ beard, thick and strong, is pretty impressive, too.

Click on any of the images below to view a larger version.

See more of Chris

View more photos of Chris with his incredible beard here:

Chris’ awesome, industrial-strength beard

Bearded at night: Chris

Maybe a great beard is just what you need this year

Beard update: Chris

Virgil, bearded barber at work

Award-winning barber Virgil is seen here cutting hair at Tapered Barber Shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stay tuned for more on Virgil and his story in an upcoming feature. Thanks go to Virgil and Tapered Barber Shop for this photo opportunity.

Virgil, great bearded barber!

Virgil is an award-winning barber.  He sports a majestic full beard and does great things for the community. Yesterday Virgil was kind enough to participate in a photo shoot for beards.org. Some sample photos from yesterday are below. Click on any of the images to view a larger version. Stay tuned for more on Virgil, his beard, and his story.

Twenty-one years, all about beards

All About BEARDS celebrated its twenty-first anniversary on January 17, 2017. This video featuring photos and video from selected beards.org photo shoots marks the momentous occasion!  Many thanks go to all of the site’s friends from throughout the years.

Wade’s beard: Wow!

Published: September 16, 2016.
Last updated: May 3, 2024.

Wade kindly participated in a beards.org photo shoot yesterday.  Here are some sample photos from the session.  Click on any image below to view larger. (Click “X”, the back button, or press the ESC key to return.) Stay tuned for more!

Wade's beard
Wade's beard
Wade's beard
Wade's beard
Wade's beard
Wade's beard

Thanks, Wade!

beard update: Chris

I recently saw Chris riding his bicycle.  He agreed to pause for some quick photos.  We then planned to meet again the next day to take more.  Here are some shots from the first quick photo session.

Click on any image below to view a larger version.

See more of Chris

View more photos of Chris with his incredible beard here:

Chris’ awesome, industrial-strength beard

Bearded at night: Chris

Maybe a great beard is just what you need this year

Chris: beard thick and strong

Three miles from Paisley Park

Scott

This beards.org photo shoot with Scott took place three miles from Prince’s Paisley Park.  And I did not know it at the time.  What’s more is that I’d driven right by Paisley Park on the way to and from the photo shoot without even noticing it.  I was a visitor to the area.

Scott wanted a photo shoot at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  He even sprang for the fee for the Arboretum’s photography permit.  It was a perfect location for a photo shoot.  Little did I know, however, that we were in Prince’s neighborhood.

Following the shock of Prince’s sudden passing this week, I was curious to learn more about his Paisley park studio and residence.  I was surprised to discover that it is right next to Arboretum Boulevard, the main route to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.   According to Google maps, it is a distance of three miles from Paisley Park to the Arboretum.

I never would have been considered to be a big Prince fan.  I liked “1999” and “Little Red Corvette” well enough to buy the album.  Apart from that, I was familiar with some of his music by hearing it played on the radio.  But I did not really follow him.

I never saw Prince with a beard.  I took notice when he appeared with surprisingly dense stubble, sculpted into designer shapes.  I would have liked to see him grow it all out at least once.

Now that he is suddenly gone, I’ve learned a lot more about him.  I admire his fierce independence as well as his extraordinary musical talent.  What really surprised and pleased me were the numerous accounts of the many ways he interacted with and remained a part of his hometown community.

I’ve gained a new appreciation for Prince and wish that I’d done so while he was still alive.  I’m sorry that I passed by his house twice in one day without even knowing it was there or that he might have been there.

Rest in peace, Prince Rogers Nelson.

Maybe a great beard is just what you need this year.

all about beards' twentieth anniversary
Today is the site’s twentieth anniversary!

It began with the heartfelt desire to communicate to the world that beards should not only be accepted, they should be appreciated and encouraged.  This also included the objective of providing would-be beard growers with useful beard-growing information, inspiration, and support.

Building strength through numbers, the idea was to get as many men as possible to grow their beards.  The more beards there are, the more common a sight they become.  Over time, this leads to greater acceptance of beards as “normal”.  And the more acceptance beards gain, pervasive anti-beard bias begins to subside more and more.

Chris' amazing beard progress

It is deeply gratifying to know that all about beards has encouraged thousands of men all around the world to grow their beards.  Even though not all have kept their beards, each one counts as a victory because at least they all got to experience what it is like to grow your beard and be a bearded man.  It is also gratifying to hear from these newly-bearded men how proud they are of their beards and how great they feel about themselves with their beards.

Just as important as encouraging men to grow their beards has been providing them with the information needed to grow their beards properly and to avoid common beard-ruining mistakes.  Whenever I see a man in the beginning phase of growing a beard who has already badly misshapen the nascent beard, I am reminded that the site’s information on how to properly grow a beard still needs to spread further.

Chris' amazing beard progress

All about beards launched on the worldwide web twenty years ago today on January 17, 1996.  It started out on AOL member web space where it began to grow and thrive.  The original URL, now-defunct, was http://members.aol.com/beardguy .  All about beards moved to its new permanent home at beards.org on January 20, 2005.  To this day, all about beards continues to use the original beardguy@aol.com email address for regular correspondence.

Heartfelt thanks go out to all of the site’s loyal friends, supporters, and contributors.  Thanks for bearing with me as the site is going through some more growing pains.  The plan is for all about beards to keep growing and get better and better.

Chris' amazing beard progress

If after twenty years of all about beards you have not yet grown your beard, what are you waiting for?  all about beards guide to growing a beardMaybe a great beard is just what you need this year.

This post is illustrated with sample photos from another beard growth progress photo shoot with Chris a few days ago.  Chris’ amazing beard growth is just getting started and is making fast progress.   Click on any photo to see a larger version.  Use your browser’s back button to return to this page.

Chris' amazing beard progress

See more of Chris

View more photos of Chris with his incredible beard here:

Chris’ awesome, industrial-strength beard

Bearded at night: Chris

Beard update: Chris

Chris: beard thick and strong

Bearded at night: Chris

Chris recently raised his beard’s cheek line that had been fairly low.  The new beard growth for the higher cheek line is now perfectly even with the previously-existing beard growth.  So Chris is now ready to let it all grow out together.  His beard is very powerful.  So, watch out!

Last night, Chris braved cold temperatures, wind, rain, and the dark of night to get some new photos of his beard’s progress.  Above are some sample shots.  Click on an image above to view a larger version.

See more of Chris

View more photos of Chris with his incredible beard here:

Chris’ awesome, industrial-strength beard

Maybe a great beard is just what you need this year

Beard update: Chris

Chris: beard thick and strong