It’s true!  I’ve done quite a bit of observational study on this issue and have come to this conclusion: the longer your moustache, the fuller your beard will be perceived.  You can leave your beard the same length it has always been.  If you want people to really be impressed by the fullness of your beard, all you have to do is let that ’stache grow.

Let me speculate a bit as to the reason why.  I have to say that the robustness of a man’s beard is inversely proportional to the amount of his mouth left unobscured.  By that I mean, the less of your lips we can see, the bigger your beard seems.  The thing is, the hair on your chin has nothing to do with this!  Thus many people will look at your hidden mouth and think, “Dang, that’s a big beard!”  When in actuality the cheek and chin hairs may be barely longer than an electric trimmer guard.  I

Here’s how dedicated I am to your beard dedication.  I had a nice long moustache to compliment my beard just moments earlier. But to illustrate my point, I set my electric clippers to a 6 and knocked the ’stache back, taking “before” and “after” pictures for your comparison.  As you can see from the pics below, the effect is most pronounced when the beard is viewed in profile; although, this could just be an attribute of my own beard and not a universal truth.  Keep in mind that I did not touch my beard at all between photos (although I could probably use a little tidying around the edges.)

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think?  Can you see a difference?

(Time to start growing that sweet ’stache back…)

My mom is obviously a big fan of The Beard Coach, and she’s a lover of beards in general.  Thus I was not entirely surprised when she sent me this article clipped from my hometown newspaper, The Gleaner.

Isn’t sending newspaper clippings one of the best things moms do?  It lets you know that she’s thinking about you and also gives you the opportunity to learn a little something at the same time.  It makes me a bit sad to think that with the decline of the printed news, my wife may not be able to send our future children newspaper clippings.  A link in an email just isn’t the same, but I guess it’ll have to do.

Anyway, if you enjoy reading about the amazing beard contest that was held in my little hometown back in the 1960s, leave a thank you to my mom in the comment section.

(click for a super close-up view)

Name: Joey “Punjab” F.

First beard grown at age: Around 17

How long have you had your current beard? 2.5 months

Why do you wear a beard? Because the bearded look suits me.  And beards are awesome.

What do you like best about being bearded? I just like the look of it.  A guy with a beard looks better than a guy without.

Briefly tell your favorite beard-related story. In my younger days I can remember when I had my first really full beard I ventured out to a local store. There was an older man that approached me and proceeded to tell me one of the dirtiest/funniest jokes that I’d ever heard.  I can’t remember what the joke was now, but I remember wondering why he decided to tell me of all people. It must have been the beard.

What is your best advice for guys who are currently trying to grow their first beard? Don’t give up.  I know that sometimes it feels like it’s going nowhere, just hang in there.

A recent issue of Outside magazine contained an “Editors’ Choice Awards” article in which the editors listed all the greatest things they could think of.  Some examples of things listed are sledding, PBR, great survivial stories, and rope swings.  However, it was number two on the list that caught my attention – winter beards.

Now anyone who has read my Beard Manifesto knows what I think of the winter beard.  And now so do the subscribers of Outside.  Because I wrote the editors and told them what’s up.  And guess what?  They recognized the wisdom and knew that it was worth sharing with their readers.

You’ll notice they chose not to cite me as the source (probably because they saw through my obvious efforts to sneak in free promotion for the site).  However, you’ll notice a certain original phrase I also used in The Manifesto.

So now, I present you with the first words from the Beard Coach ever published in a mainstream magazine.