As most people know, I haven't had a clean shaven face for a long time. I always went around with some sort of facial hair, whether it be a mustache or a beard. But, that all changed one Sunday when I decided to chop off the lip curtains and chin drapes. Needless to say, I didn't feel like myself. Who knew that facial hair could make someone feel 'whole'.
My constant dance with facial hair started a few years back. Before seeing some friends perform, I decided I'd shave and look nice and clean. A great time was had and there were plenty of pictures taken that night. A few days later, I log into Facebook to see that I've been tagged in some new photos. Immediately, I thought these must be the pictures of that awesome night and I can't wait to relive it while flipping through them. Holy crap. Who is that weird looking dude with the tiniest mouth on this planet? Oh that's me? Well, I'm going to throw up now and never shave again. I kid you not, those were my exact thoughts when I saw what I looked like with a terrible haircut and sans facial hair. From that moment on, I vowed to never go bare-faced.
So, why did I go back on my word? Well, the simple answer is that I completely forgot that I look horrible without facial hair. Some may argue that I have no excuse to forget because I'm clean shaven in the family portrait hanging in my house. They'd be totally right, but how many times have you walked past something in your house and have forgotten it existed? If I'm honest, it would only be noticed if someone took the picture down. And that's almost exactly what happened when I finally shaved. Without my masculine mane, I realized I had made a huge mistake.
But did I? After a couple of days, I noticed that the ladies at my job had been paying me more compliments than I ever got with any facial hair. I can't remember a single instance when a girl has told me they liked my beard. The same goes for my mustache. Actually, I think girls have kept from talking to me while I had one. There were plenty of 'dig your stache, bro' from guys, but not a single girl said they liked my mustache. And that's a bit heart breaking because I seriously think I can pull one off. But the proof is in the pudding, I guess.
Now, where does this leave me? Do I keep going clean shaven and accept the attention of the ladies? Or should I let my chin hairs grow to their roots' content? Either way, my facial hair takes forever to grow in. It's been almost three weeks since I've shaved and the amount of stubble I've got going on is equivalent to that of an Italian man's after only an hour of shaving. So, I've got plenty of time to make my decision.
