Battle of the Beards

Well folks, they did it. There were some serious doubters out there, but despite a few rough patches the boys pulled through to the very end of November.

But this begs a major question. This is the Battle of the Beards after all, not “Beau and Stephen exaggerate their stubble” month.

A week in, we had lofty dreams of styling the hair into elaborate patterns. But either our expectations were unrealistic or there is something about newspaper that counteracts testosterone.

Still, I suppose there is something to be said about stepping up to No Shave November. The itching, the scratching, the odd clumps that don’t completely come in. Plus, not everyone looks good in a beard. Some people look like pediphiles. But both Beau and Stephen made sure to wear the beard and not let the beard wear them.

Or did they?

The final determination of our month-long experiment now rests in your hands, dear readers (and seeing the comments left on this site sometimes, that is nothing less than terrifying.)

You decide. Is Stephen’s stubble bringing sexy back, or is Beau’s facial hair more worthy of being crowned victor?

Visit our Facebook page to cast your vote.

Beau

After shaving, I must admit the difference is noticeable.

And although it took me a while to shave last night, I missed the beard a little bit once I looked in the mirror.

It’ll definitely take some getting used to in terms of interacting with my co-workers, all of whom said I looked remarkably younger minus the beard.

But, my face still appears to be a prime topic of conversation when people talk to me, something I got used to throughout the past month.

Either way, it’s been a fun run, and I’m actually glad I ended up participating in the competition.

Stephen

Well, it’s all gone now. This morning, December 1st, I shaved for the first time in a month. It was quite rewarding, I have to say, and after a relatively poor beard-growing performance I was beyond ready to finally shave.

Now that I have shaved I feel like I look like a little kid, though, honestly. People in the campus pod said that Beau looked noticeably younger without his manly man beard, and I have to agree.

We’re now just looking boyishly innocent with our freshly shaven faces, as opposed to the scruffy characters we used to look like.

The one downfall, though, is that I felt the harsh winter breeze on my face as I came into work today. Not that I had an outstanding beard before to protect me from the cold temperatures, but at least it was something.

I do have to be thankful that I wasn’t blasted by any readers on the comment section (that I know of?) throughout the past month. I was recently informed that someone didn’t agree with some things Beau put in an earlier post, and they let him know about it, so that’s pretty funny.

Another thing I forgot to include in the last post is a special thanks to everyone in the State News photography department, they’ve been willing and enthusiastic about helping us out all month, and obviously they were behind the pictures in every post.

My next mission is to re-grow the goatee that I’ve gotten so accustomed to having — beards just aren’t my thing.

Welcome back, beard fans. We took a brief hiatus while our boys feasted on some turkey and mashed potatoes, but we’re back!

Unfortunately, Stephen is still on vacation. So for today, the spotlight is on Beau. His brother, who has sported a beard in the past, approved of Beau’s new appreciation for facial hair. Naturally, Beau took the time to reflect on his families comments.

Look for a special edition of the beard blog tomorrow, where Stephen will recount his wonderful Thanksgiving weekend as a newly-bearded man.

Beau:

After returning from a nice, relaxing five-day break from work, I was surprised to find my colleagues in the newsroom said they noticed quite a bit of beard growth.

I can’t say I wasn’t pleased with the complements, but I’m now to the point where I’m looking forward to shaving this week.

The Thanksgiving holiday did give me the opportunity to reconnect with a lot of family who had previously known about this competition, but hadn’t seen me in person.

My aunt and uncle were pretty impressed with my beard and its relative thickness.

My brother, himself a fellow beard-grower, said my beard looked better than his – quite the praise from someone seven years my senior.

He also gave me some beard-growing advice; surprisingly, this led to a 15-minute conversation on the merits and drawbacks of beards.

The thing that stuck with me the most was what he said about a beard’s real-world positives.

“A beard gives you respect from your elders, and credibility with blue-collar workers,” he said.

This definitely stood out to me from our discussion, and the next time I deal with a fellow beard-wearer, I’ll keep it in mind.

This week in Battle of the Beards our boys compare themselves to some celebrities who also sport facial hair. Their choices are interesting, to say the least. Beau compares himself to Robert Downy Jr. and Stephen idolizes Adam Sandler’s goatee.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Because these beards are gettin’ hot.

Stephen:

I finally got around to cutting my hair, and today when I came into the office a few people told me my beard is looking better. Go figure.

I think it’s really just some kind of mental effect, sort of like reverse psychology or something that makes them think because there’s less hair on my head they perceive more hair on my face.
Anyway, at the end of the day the beard isn’t really my thing. If you’ve been following this blog you probably figured that out, too.

The goatee is really my facial hair styling of choice, and therefore today’s post is themed: great men with great goatees.

First, I’ll start with my man Adam Sandler. Sandler is one of my favorite actors of all time and is responsible for some of the greatest movies this world has ever seen. Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Waterboy … the list goes on.

Sticking with great actors, Denzel Washington’s goatee in Training Day is pretty good stuff. Once again, that is an amazing movie.

Katt Williams. Probably my favorite comedian right here, if you haven’t heard him, YouTube him immediately.

Despite an almost disrespectful attempt at the goatee, I have to throw Orlando Bloom bloom goatee.jpg on the list because I watched The Lord of the Rings about a week ago. Sadly, Legolas was slaying orcs cleanly shaven.

Guy Fieri is a staple on Food Network and hosts one of my favorite shows, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He’s got bleach-blonde hair and is usually wearing Oakleys on the back of his head, but his goatee is impressive.

Saving the best for last, Super Bowl champion and head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin . Tomlin doesn’t exclusively rock the goatee, however, but his facial hair game is always strong. As long as he keeps leading Pittsburgh to victory, goatee or not, it’s all fine with me.
That’s it for the list, hopefully you enjoyed it.

I was actually asked today by somebody to continue the shaving drought until the end of the year. I politely declined because I’m not going to look like The Jimmer.

Beau

As the days go on, I’ve continued to get a lot of compliments about my beard, something I didn’t expect.

It seems like the weekend led to a big boost in both the quality and quantity of my facial hair, something I didn’t expect.

And it got me thinking: I wonder how my beard stacks up against some notable celebrities with beards?

After browsing some photos, I must say I’m still woefully behind the caliber and quality of some beards. Take Jude Law, for example. His full beard is pretty impressive, I must say.

For a well-refined look though, Robert Downey Jr. stacks up pretty well.

Sadly, I’m neither a movie star, nor blessed with extraordinarily groomed facial hair, so for now, I’ll stick with what I’ve got.

Our two favorite State News gentlemen are more than halfway through their beard growing adventure, and I must say, the experience has been a fun one for everyone in the newsroom.

After Wednesday’s post, both Stephen and Beau are left a little bitter about what the ladies of campus desk had to say about them. Despite their displeasure with the guest bloggers, the two vow to carry on.

Most people are surprised they’ve both kept it up for so long. But we have faith that they will stick to their guns.

With the midway point done and over, we’ve posted the first day pictures along with the updated photos from yesterday afternoon. Gotta say, Beau is pulling into the lead, but there’s still time for Stephen to surprise us all.

Stephen:

I took quite a thrashing in the last blog post by my Campus desk peers. After reading that post I was left stunned and extremely discouraged.

No, not really though, I actually enjoyed the roast it was all in good fun. I know the ladies really enjoyed it too, not mentioning names (Kelsie) but some were really ready to let the shots fly when she heard about the opportunity.

So we’re now more than halfway through this race and I feel like I’m nearly being lapped by Beau sadly. I’ve got to give it to him, the man has a nice beard going right now. A beard suited for a man named Beauregard, indeed.

I’m not throwing in the towel yet, I’m just hoping I’ve got a second-half spurt in me and that my follicles haven’t gotten complacent after almost 20 days.

Beau:

After the demoralizing blow delivered to my ego and my beard by Academics Reporter Kelsie Thompson in the last blog, I have to admit that my confidence is struggling.

After reading Kelsie’s scathing critique, I even considered going back on my promise to not make fun of her home land, the Upper Peninsula.

But, I’m above all that. So, I will instead reiterate my commitment to winning this competition. I’m not even considering shaving now, and frankly, I regret ever showing that weakness.

It hasn’t been easy, though. My beard is growing by the day, and with that will come challenges related to care and hygiene, I’m sure. For now, I’m in a pretty good place.

With Thanksgiving less than a week away though, keeping my beard clean will become a priority.

As promised, the ladies of campus desk have decided to guest blog for us today, giving their perspectives on this battle of the beards.

It’s been a torrid time in campus desk. With Beau and Stephen both working there, Campus Editor Megan Durisin, Academics Reporter Kelsie Thompson and Student Government Reporter Rachel Jackson have been left to sit and listen to the boys struggle with their competition. Whether it be the fighting between the two, the complaining of itching or the heated opinions of the rest of the newsroom, these gals have endured it all.

And here’s what they have to say about it.

Megan:

When we first started out the Beard Challenge on campus desk, I expected things to have gotten a little hairier and scarier by today — the halfway point of No Shave November.

Stephen’s beard looks about the same as it did during the other 11 months of the year and Beau’s looks a lot more trim and sophisticated than what I expected to happen after a solid 15 days of no shaving.

Personally, I’m starting to doubt the ethics of this competition a little bit. I wouldn’t be surprised if Beau is trimming his stubble down a little bit every night to keep his beard looking like the kind that would look nice with a glass of red wine and a copy of The Economist. And if Stephen started popping back a few beard growth pills soon to keep up with his facial hair foe, I think we all might let it slide.

As one of the three ladies of campus desk, I think we’ve been able to see the extra testosterone these guys are displaying in other ways besides just the facial hair growth. Beau’s been hitting us all with extra doses of AC/DC trivia, Stephen’s been writing about construction and soldiers, and both of them have been picking on Kelsie for being a Yooper at a much higher level than normal since we flipped the calendar to November.

I can’t wait to see how the battle of the beards plays out for the last 15 days of the month. We’ll just have to wait and see if both of them — (cough, Beau) — have what it takes to keep their beards going that long.

Kelsie:

The boys have finally reached the midpoint of No Shave November, and I have to say, I’m not impressed.

I have the seat located right in between these two little girls who spend a majority of their time complaining about itchiness and irregular growth while I am hard at work. It is not the most pleasant of experiences.

Although Beau’s beard is gaining momentum, he has publicly displayed weakness. Men with beards do not show weakness. I am pretty sure that is a rule in the book of mankind. Now this makes me question his commitment to the competition and whether or not he can make it through the remainder of the month. On another note, beards don’t mesh well with sweater vests. and it is only a matter of time before he is banned from the perimeter of all public schools and Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Stephen’s beard is pathetic, I expected a lot more out of him. I am almost embarrassed that I took his side in the beginning and am now convinced that he lacks the testosterone levels of the average male.

Hopefully these little girls can fully transform into men by the end of this month, but at this point, the odds are not in their favor.

Rachel:

After two weeks of No Shave November, I am certain of one thing: I am so glad I can’t grow facial hair.

I’ll admit sometimes I’m jealous of men being able to craft elaborate hair creations, like this guy, the winner of the 1991 Beard and Mustache Championships. But mostly I’m just glad to not have to go through the hassle of shaving every day.

Of course, during No Shave November, it’s possible I would prefer shaving to hearing complaints about not being able to shave every day.

Every day during the past two weeks, we three ladies of Campus Desk— Kelsie, Megan and myself — have witnessed the slow but steady growth of facial hair on beard opponents Beau and Stephen.
Also every day, we are subjected to frequent updates on how much the boys want to shave, how itchy their beards are and how disappointed Stephen is that his beard is inferior to Beau’s.

To be fair, the boys have taken the competition very well, if somewhat submissively. I’m not sure they appreciate the beard battle as much as the rest of us do, but it’s amusing nonetheless.

I am somewhat surprised, though, that Beau has become — and likely will remain — the leader. His beard is far more rugged than Stephen’s is, which has surprised us all.

Now, at the halfway point, I am anticipating the next two weeks and watching for some serious beard growth. And not-so-secretly hoping Beau’s will be long enough to braid by the end.

Stephen Brooks

We’re coming up on the halfway point of No Shave November, and I must say I’m a little bit disappointed in my growth at this point. I honestly expected a better beard attempt than this when I first started.

Although, I’ve never gone without shaving for 30 days, and there’s still time left. I’ve never gone without shaving this long and never attempted to grow a beard, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

I’m starting to lose a little confidence as it feels like more people are jumping ship on me every day and hoping on the Hayhoe bandwagon. To add insult to injury I was asked again last Thursday if I shaved… thanks Kyle.

I was going to theme this blog about all the positive things that have come from this, but I’m struggling to think of many.

It’s not like I’ve got a ton of free time on my hands now or anything without worrying about shaving. Really there are no positives that I can come up with right now. I’m just getting more scraggly by the day.

Beau Hayhoe

We are approaching the halfway point of this month, and as before, I’m still clearly out in front in this contest.

It hasn’t been without its challenges, however.

My face is itchy, and the beard is starting to turn into a bit of a hassle in terms of comfort.

But I won’t back down from these issues. I’m confident my beard growth will continue to flourish, and I’m confident I’ll keep winning.

Who might it be?

Once again, we join our bearded friends Beau and Stephen. The end of the week has brought some turmoil to our gentlemen. With emotions running high, the question remains: Will they cave?

Rumors say Beau has been contemplating the idea. Stephen has been embracing Beau to shave it off. The newsroom keeps up their encouragement, mostly because we want to see the ridiculousness of full-capacity beards. And we want to style them in some way. We’ve got a list of potential ideas.

Some staffers around the newsroom have decided to chime in on their feelings about the competition. Cops and Courts Reporter Kyle Campbell said as of right now it appears Beau is in the lead. His beard, Campbell said, is even and more “rugged.”

“I think it’s going well,” he said. “He’s got something going on.”

Diversity Reporter Josh Mansour echoed Campbell’s thoughts, saying if he were to judge on just beard alone, he’d give the nod to Beau as well. Although, he does admit the rumors surround Beau allegedly considering shaving it off do not surprise him.

“He’s very consumed with look and comfort,” Mansour said. “His beard provides neither.”

Intern Julia Nagy said despite a majority of staff support leaning toward Beau, she said she can’t discount Stephen.

“He’s lagging, but he might be a black horse candidate coming out of nowhere at the end,” she said.

We shall see. There’s only 20 days left of No Shave November. If that seems like a long time, that’s because it is.

Also: Next week look out for the ladies of Campus Desk, home to both Beau and Stephen, as they guest blog to discuss their ideas about the competition.

Stephen:

Earlier today in the newsroom Beau showed his first sign of weakness. He was discussing how much longer he thought he could go on and pondered the prospect of going another 20 days without shaving.

This is clearly a moral victory, as I believe I’ve fallen behind in the early beard race. Seeing his confidence waver like that was welcomed, in fact I told him how terrible his beard looks and that he might as well shave tonight.

I don’t think he took the bait, sadly.

Before the competition began everyone was siding with me saying that I would be able to outlast Beau over the long haul of the competition, hopefully that remains true.

Also, to answer a common question, I did experience itchiness for the first time this morning. That seems to be all anybody wants to know about.

It’s only a third of the way through the competition, so at this point I’m just looking forward to see what we look like after 20 days.

Beau:

After 10 days, I have to say, my beard is really getting quite itchy. I’ve now gone longer without shaving than at any point in my life, and the difference is noticeable.

I can’t even begin to think about what I might look like at the end of this month.

Apparently, that led to some rumors swirling around the newsroom that I was considering shaving. And to that I say: No way. I’m in this contest for the long haul, and more importantly, I’m in it to win it.

That means no shaving — for the rest of the month.

After all, that’s what this contest is all about.

The beard growing might have just begun, but the boys still have a long way to go. Competition is still going strong.

Several staffers have commented on what it will be like once the beards are at full capacity. How should they style them once they’ve reached full growth potential?

For specific styles, I’ve found a glorious website which not only give you tips on how to groom and maintain your beard, but it shows many different styling options. Personally, I vote for the “friendly mutton chops.”

We stumbled across a website which gives some fun activities to do with full-grown beards. Some benefits it highlights are the appearance of being smarter and using it as a blanket in the cold.

Once we come the end of November, we might have to do a beard photoshoot showing all the fun activities that our staffers can do with their new facial hair. I’m seeing a lumberjack portrait in the near future.

This week we’ve also added some close-up shots. Our Assistant Photo Editor Josh Radtke thought our readers might want to see the beards in all of their glory. Good call, Josh.

Stephen:

It has now been officially a week without shaving and it still looks like I’m trailing Beau in the early portion of the competition. I can’t lie, I’m a little disappointed in my growth after 8 days, I thought it would be better than this.

In fact, I’ve already had a few people tell me it looked like I shaved. That was discouraging.

I’m going to have to regain my confidence as it feels like most people are on Beau’s side in the early stages. I’m confident that I can make a late comeback as the days go on because it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

I’ve got to get a haircut likely sometime this week, maybe cutting my hair will just push my body into a full-fledged follicle growth mode. We’ll see, only time will tell.

Beau:

After two more days of competition, my beard is really starting to grow in thick. A lot of people around the newsroom have definitely noticed, and I think it’s safe to say I’m still leading the competition.

Although people have asked Stephen if he’s been shaving, I know that I have a long battle ahead of me. We’re not even 10 days into this competition, so I think he eventually will catch up.

It’ll be interesting to note how my beard develops as we pass the breaking point — I’ve never let my beard grow past about 10 or 11 days, so we’ll really get a chance to see what that looks like.

Beard season is in full swing.

It’s amazing how quickly a week passes. The beards are coming along nicely, but for full growthage and consistency of beard, it appears as though Beau is pulling into the lead.

A newsroom discussion does beg a question: Are you a night shaver or a morning shaver? Most men surveyed in the newsroom said they prefer night shaving, as it coincides with their night showers. Most girls surveyed said they shower in the morning, but, as they do not have beards to shave, didn’t have that factor in their morning routines.

These beards really have started a significant amount of hygienic philosophical debate. So I ask you, State News readers, shave at night or shave in the morning?

Let the debate rage on.

Stephen:

Almost a full week since my last shave, and the competition is starting to become real.

The longer, bristle-like hairs on my face are now longer and becoming more noticeable, by the end of this week things should be a lot more interesting. Most people have asked if its itchy — it’s not. I have noticed the area that was once occupied by my goatee pre-competition is growing in fastest, no real surprise there.

I think Beau’s growth might have surpassed mine over the weekend to take an early lead. I know he took a trip to West Virginia on Friday, a state that is home to many legendary beards, so I’ll attribute his slight advantage to that.

Luckily it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re only six days into the month. There’s still a lot of beard left to grow.

Beau:

Between the last photo and this current edition, I would say there definitely has been a noticeable change. That’s rather surprising, because prior to that, my beard growth had been slightly lagging. Now, I can safely claim I’ve pulled ahead in the competition.

I’m definitely eager to keep this up, but also nervous, because it appears my beard is now growing at a pretty quick pace.

At this rate, I’ll look like Santa Claus by the end of the month.

The boys have started to come into their beards. Competition across the newsroom has gotten heated — they both claim that they will be the ultimate victor in this facial hair fight.

Staffers have started to take sides, and the newsroom is divided. Will our boy Beau boast the most bodacious beard? Will seasoned staffer Stephen steal the support with his stubble?

Only time will tell.

Stephen Brooks:

It’s now day three of No Shave November and not much has changed.

Sadly the nice, smooth feeling of being freshly shaven has been replaced with annoying stubble. I can’t say I’m particularly happy about that.

The progress on the actual beard is minimal, though. It’s barely noticeable at this point in the process, like I said more annoying than anything.

Although, in two weeks I’ll probably be wishing it was only stubble still when the growth really gets underway. I’m still interested to see what that’s going to look like.

Beau Hayhoe:

After three (nearly four) full days of No Shave November, I can say I’m not too surprised with the “results” so far. Normally, I only shave about once a week, so I expect the real shock will come after about day ten or eleven.

For the time being, things seem pretty normal. The main reaction has come from my family; my aunt says she can’t wait to see the Thanksgiving Day picture, and I agree.