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Post by granmaestro on Jan 24, 2014 15:41:03 GMT -5
Salutations my natural face-armored friends.
This is going to be a glimpse into my beardventure. (Frankly, I'm kind of sick of the phrase [Beard Journey]. New forum, I think we need new terminology.) The first picture I'll post here is about 4 weeks into my process. (The soul patch was a bit longer, I think I was about 2 months on that. I've trimmed it twice since then)
This is my most recent, however, I'll be uploading new ones tomorrow since that will mark my first milestone of 3 months.
 M-I-Z! Z-O-U!!! ZOU-RAH!!
(I'd like to take a moment and thank Buddyg for creating this forum. Adding attachments to posts is easier, this format is simpler, and frankly, I thought that jeff's board was getting pretty crowded.)
I've been excited about growing my beard, and I'm glad I've found forums offering advice and tips along the way. I'm always open to advice, I may not always take it, I can be quite stubborn, but I'm not going to get all butt-hurt about some criticism. I'm anxious to see what I can do over the next 3 months. Then it's on to the yeard.
Best of luck to everyone!
Be kind to yourself and someone else. |
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Post by Buddyg forum founder on Jan 24, 2014 16:13:04 GMT -5
I like that phrase BeardVenture! From henceforth that is what it will be called on the Beardedmen forum!
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Post by granmaestro on Jan 24, 2014 16:18:22 GMT -5
HA! AWESOME! Thanks Buddy!
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Post by granmaestro on Jan 25, 2014 15:40:51 GMT -5
Well guys, here's my 3 month mark. I played with the lighting a bit, as every blonde beard has to, in order to catch it on camera. I know it's not as impressive as what some of you guys are rocking, but it's the longest I've ever had it and I am proud of it. The blonde hair on my cheeks is slowly darkening and that's keeping me going. I don't know, some days I want to shave it right off, but others, I'd not trade it for $1,000. I'm more than open to criticism. I'd be happy to hear your input. |
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Post by Buddyg forum founder on Jan 26, 2014 8:48:38 GMT -5
Give it 6 months and a lot more will fill in.
Beard On
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Post by granmaestro on Feb 1, 2014 21:14:20 GMT -5
Greetings Gents,
I find myself at an impasse that, despite my best efforts, I need some advise pertaining to my face cushioning. I'm quite torn over this subject and I've been looked in an almost circular pattern of thought; if I trim my mustache now it will look better, and more intentional, however, that would be counter-productive towards my goal. My goal is to pretty close to this: 
That's a bit longer than I would want my mustache to be, but that's pretty close. Now in order achieve this should I, trim a bit off the length so that more grows in a more uniform density or let it grow until it's into its full length? Here's a half-way decent picture I just took. The lighting kind of sucks, sorry about that.
Part of me says, trim it now and even though it'll take a lot longer to achieve goal. After all, isn't bearding a marathon and don't marathons take patience and determination? On the other hand, that's about 3 weeks of growth that I'd be chopping off, and considering how slow my beard grows, do I really want to go cutting that much off now just for temporary ascetics? Besides, don't we all endure this "shaggy" look at some point of the bearding cycle? Not like you're worried about anybody's impression anyway right?
I'm quite torn here, so any advice would help. I've tried my best to think this through independently to no avail. Might just be the external environment urging me to trim it constantly. I know I shouldn't allow such fodder to find it's way into my mind, but it always seems to find its way in sometimes.
Nevertheless, I'm obviously in need of some bearded advice from the wise-beards about all of this. |
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Post by Buddyg forum founder on Feb 1, 2014 22:46:26 GMT -5
I'm no expert but I think just let it grow for a while and see how things progress.
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Post by beerdnyotas on Feb 7, 2014 1:59:13 GMT -5
Get some soft mustache wax and start training it to the sides. My buddy uses Layrite hair pomade for his handlebar. It's water based and washes right out. If you don't let it grow you'll never know what it'll do! If you are after a particular style try to achieve it before succumbing to a trim. It's true a growing a beard is like a marathon, just remember marathoners run every day. We just have to practice patience.
Beard on.
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Post by granmaestro on Feb 7, 2014 10:33:31 GMT -5
That's not scented is it? For some reason, almost all artificial scents send my allergies into overdrive. I'll sneeze non-stop if I wash my cloths with anything other than hypoallergenic or wash my face with almost any kind of soap. Suave makes a shampoo that's the only thing I've found that doesn't make my head explode. I was thinking of making some of my own wax, minus the scents. From what I've found it's just castor oil and grated beeswax, heated and mixed.
I was having a bad mustache day yesterday and almost shaved it off. Since this is my first beard, I guess it just takes getting used to having hair tickling your lips all the time. Some wax does seem to be much better than shaving. I'd just hate to waste my money on something that I can't use. I wonder if hemp oil, could replace the castor oil... I may try that. I'll keep you guys update on whether or not I burn down the kitchen.
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Post by Buddyg forum founder on Feb 7, 2014 16:51:29 GMT -5
Don't try to smoke the hemp! LOL
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Post by granmaestro on Feb 7, 2014 19:46:09 GMT -5
Ok guys, I went out and bought some pure hemp oil (I've been able to refrain from smoking it so far Buddy), beeswax and even a cool little tin for the wax. I heated up the wax and oil together in the microwave then dumped the liquid in the tin and tossed it into the fridge. After about 20 minutes, it was ready.
  
The wax came in two different forms at the market, one was a big ass block (which I wanted) but just couldn't justify $26 for 1 lb, the other was the bead-like form (shown above) sold by the ounce (so I bought 7 oz). The hemp oil was harder to track down than I thought I would be and cost more than it should for 16 oz. The tin was only a dollar (big win!). I mixed with equal parts and it came out pretty hard. It's clear it'll take a few tries before I get it right, but it works fine. All this for under $30 too. WAY cheaper than any manufactured wax, not to mention that it has NO SMELL at all. I would think that the hemp oil would make it smell like, well, hemp, but it doesn't smell like anything. Thank God! I made a second batch with a touch more oil and a couple of drops of pure honey to make it a bit softer. Unfortunately, it's hold isn't as strong, but it still works. The upside to all of this is that it's edible! Not that I would eat it, but at least I don't have to worry about it.
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Post by granmaestro on Feb 7, 2014 19:50:16 GMT -5
Here's the finished product. The oil makes it have a green tint to it, not that it really matters. It feels great to have my mustache out of my mouth and under control. I'm pretty pumped.
 
It's clear that even with this wax heavy mixture, that it'll take time to train my mustache to do what I want, but I'm happy that it's out of my mouth. HA! The handlebar curl will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Beard ho! |
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Post by beerdnyotas on Feb 8, 2014 5:54:04 GMT -5
Awesome! Might try to use a blow dryer to soften the wax a bit before you apply it. You can blow dry your stache as you comb it or atleast heat it up a bit with the wax in it to make it more supple to work with as it hardens.
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Post by granmaestro on Feb 8, 2014 11:35:22 GMT -5
Nice! Good idea. Thanks man
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Post by granmaestro on Feb 18, 2014 1:23:48 GMT -5
Well Gents, I'm seriously considering giving up on my beard and just shaving it all off. Next Saturday marks 4 months and all I've got is a goatee. I was at a party this past weekend (which is quite out of character for me) and a couple of guys actually laughed at my "beard". It's easy for them too. They all had massive beards, in a third of the time too. Just seems as though for all my work, I'm getting the worst payoff. It's disconcerting, at best. Just seems like a waste of time for me. Maybe I shouldn't have a beard.
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M-I-Z! Z-O-U!!! ZOU-RAH!!
