The big reveal

[LightDrizzle]

AIBUto wonder about what will happen when the beard fashion finally bites the dust. There must be thousands of people who have never seen their partner's chin and jawline except in childhood photos, and a lot of sculpting can be achieved with facial hair.

Are there any Mumsnetters who lived through this in the 80s? I remember when a 50 year old colleague finally shaved his Uncle Knobhead beard off in the early 90s, he'd had it since the 60s because he was self-conscious about his slightly crooked jaw, he looked great and so much better without the (crap) beard and I think the feedback made him sad that he had stuck with it all those years. It made me realise that unsurprisingly some men do use beards to flatter or disguise their features. Is it hard to adjust to such a radical change? I know colouring and cutting hair is radical, but I think we are much more attuned to and focussed on faces.

My DM has never seen DF without a beard, only 1 or 2 childhood photos of him. It would be very weird to see him without it!

DH had a beard when we met. He shaved it off a couple of weeks into our relationship. I didn't want him to - I liked it (was a short almost designer-stubbly beard). I didn't like it at all when he was first clean shaven. But I got used to it pretty quickly.

A friend's DH had to shave his beard off for a part in a play. She "screamed and wouldn't look at him till he grew it back" according to her. Poor bloke. I didn't even notice he had a beard! I had to think hard before writing this whether the issue was he had grown one or shaved it off. Gawd!

I've been with my DH since he was 18, over a decade. He's been clean shaven and bearded many times during our relationship. He's not hiding anything I haven't seen before under his beard, but we both prefer him with one. I think beards are generally pretty attractive though.

My dad is 70 and has had a beard since his 20s (so before it was cool!) I've never seen him without one and have always wondered what he'd look like.

DH keeps his beard relatively neatly trimmed but is never allowed to shave it off. He didn't have one when we got together - I was very anti-beard at that point - and then grew one when on holiday. I made asked him to shave it off and was very upset when he did because it turns out he's much handsomer with a beard. So the beard stays forever and ever.

I hate the beard trend! Ruins most of the men I would otherwise find attractive, and especially those awful victorian explorer-type, combed "silky" beards . I do quite like short stubble, like on Hugh Laurie in House drool but anything approaching an actual beard is just bleurgh.

I think you have a great point OP, a lot of women won't know what shape their OH's face is at all. My ex has a beard to cover his face shape, he doesn't like his chin. And objectively (aside from my loathing of beards) he does look better with it.

But if and when the beard trend does bite the dust, I'll rejoice. Cannot blimming wait.

Stupid question of the day. If a bearded man has tanned skin, wouldn't shaving off the whiskers leave a big white patch on his lower face?

That's what happened to my dad when he shaved off his moustache after about 25 years. Big white stripe under his nose! When it evened out, though, he looked much better without it.

As a bearded man, I think 95% of all men look better with beards.

DH has always had some facial fuzz since I met him 28 years ago. I had never seen his face without anything less than a small goatee, kept asking him to shave but he always refused, on my 40th birthday he came in the room smiling, I kept saying what you smiling at, he did the head tilt, the cough and finally in exasperation said Can you not see??? I finally realised he was clean shaven, and looked about 12 tomake things worse he went to work and no one noticed, eventually one woman who kept looking at him all day asking was he ok, looked pale etc etc finally said AH Mr eccles has shaved his beard off, other woman looked up and said Mr eccles had a beard? I was PMSL

I am not a beard fan . Especially with the man bun combo.

I always think they would look better without a beard. Like there's a handsome man in there waiting to be discovered.

They should do a makeover show where they shave them off and instantly look better.

When I was little, my dad shaved his huge beard off and I screamed when I saw him for the first time. It really didn't look like him at all, he looked horrible. Obviously I adjusted over time.

DH looks so much better with a beard. He shaved it all off not long after we met and was like a different person! Was so glad when he grew it back!

My dh was starting to resemble Mr Twit.

Unfortunately, he had a tragic shaving incident and set the clippers too low. He had to shave it all off.

He's in the process of growing it all back. I love stubble, I'm not a fan of beards particularly but he likes it so I let him get on with it. I'd be pissed off he enforced how I wore my hair. He does make sure he keeps it groomed though thank goodness.

The Guardian's Tim Dowling's wrote a column about shaving his off this week.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/30/day-retrieved-face-from-behind-beard-bearded

My dad first shaved his beard off for charity when I was 14. I was horrified. He looked like a stranger. A stranger with a pale lower face where the beard had been. He grew it back a few years later, thank goodness. Dh was clean shaven when I first met him but has had a beard for years now and I hope he never wants to shave it off in the future. I love beards.

I like a beard. Not a big, full hipster one, but just a bit of a "Grr, This Is A Man" beard. Especially on a bald man. A man with no hair on his head/face at all is a little off putting to me.

They're quite sexy.

I really like beards, so am hoping current fashion remains for a while!
I can't stand moustaches on their own though

My husband looks dreadful without a beard.

He had his beard before all this hipster stuff, though.

... He grew it back but basically she couldn't unsee it and they split up within a year. He did look much better with the beard.

That's terrible. What a shallow woman.

Love beards. My OH has recently shaved for work reasons. Not so keen even though I first met him beardless.

It's pretty similar to a woman not going make up free in front of partner for ages I think.

This thread gas reminded me, I must book myself in to get my menopausal chin threaded.

My DP has had a beard for 9 1/2 years, I've been with him for 10.

I don't know what I would do if he shaved, probably scream .

Mr Elbows has a beard, not a full on zz top number but just enough to be rugged and fwoar. I can't speak to him if he cuts it too short, it's just not right. I blame my own father for my Freudian beard issues. I have only ever seen my father without a beard once (he got burny stuff on it so it had to come off) and I was basically traumatised!! I love a beard as long as it's not Mr Twit or some wanky hipster silky beard oil job.