Bear(d) your masculinity

Jasmine Singh

Besides a number of imaginative and creative designs, some unimaginative ones too, showcased at the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week 2016, when the male models on designer Shantanu and Nikhil’s show The Mutiny paraded on the ramp wearing turbans and sporting free-flowing long beards, men in and around Chandigarh and Punjab couldn’t resist twirling their moustache in pride for being in sync with the trend.

Looked at as a mark of manhood (this is one exterior mark), these flowing beards make a man more responsible, and how...

Trust a man with beard

Well, we’ve heard that you can always trust a man with long beard (open to debate). As Chandigarh-based Piyush Malhotra shares, “If you call a long flowing beard a style statement, well, then this is one statement with which comes the responsibility to behave like a man. Beard makes a man look mature, like someone who has a good life experience behind him.”

Wise, wiser, wisest

Internationally-famed Sikh model Waris Ahluwalia caught eyeballs for his turban and flowing beard, which, of course, could be a matter of religion. But when many non-Sikh boys decide to let a thick long beard grow on their face, it is a matter of personal choice. This, in fact, is becoming a choice for many, for various reasons though. Chandigarh-based Vikas has his reasons for sporting a long and flowing beard, which are not philosophical at all, “I am a perfectionist, after every saloon visit, I would crib about the hair dresser not cutting beard properly...so, I let it grow long, without any grooming,” he adds. Amrit Mann, Punjabi singer in many ways has become a trendsetter for a flowing beard.

You’re great

It can be noticed that some great thinkers, saints, philosophers of the world were men with long, flowing beards- Alexander III of Russia, Napoleon III of France, Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, all sported one. Beard has been related with the notion of valour and masculinity. Manish Bajaj has walked the ramp for many top designers, including Manish Malhotra in 2015. “I was asked to grow a long beard for a print adv on baby food, a thought which was unsettling. After all I was shooting for a baby food ad. So, the script-writer told me, we want the father (that’s me) in the ad to look like a responsible and brave man,” Manish shares.

Taking care

Here’s something you wouldn’t know, the Mesopotamian men of Semitic origin (like the Babylonians) devoted a great deal of their time oiling and dressing their beards. They used tongs and curlers to make patterns on their beard. Hair stylist, Ahmed Rashid from Mohali smiles on hearing this bit of social anthropological fact!

n Trimming and shaping is very important.

n A moisturising shampoo is a preferred option.

n Market has options for beard oil as well; it will make the hair softer and shinier.

n Don’t forget to grow a moustache!

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