Growing a Beard might just help you get through this!

The onset of Covid-19 has brought out a lot things, from a wave of people documenting their lives in quarantine to a multitude of trends and social media challenges. One such trend is growing a Beard. Now before you say that this could just be a side effect of people being home and being lazy, hear me out.

There is something with Beards and un-settling circumstances. Growing a Beard has long been linked with difficult or uncertain circumstances in addition to being fashion statements. Growing a Beard has also been linked to some amazing movements like the No-shave November movement that highlights Men’s health particularly Cancer. Historically, Beards have been used as common grounds when fighting for a unified goal. As Christopher Oldstone-Moore, author of “Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair” signifies that “Quest Beards’ are indeed a common phenomenon and that soldiers and explorers grew them to bond over a unified purpose.

The psychological connotations of growing a beard have been aptly used by many writers and film makers to portray what words often can’t e.g. transitions through difficult phases of life, transition to adulthood, manliness, power, adventure and the list continues. So when Jim Carrey recently said his quarantine Beard is a meaningless transformation we couldn’t help but disagree.

Beards provide a sense of control, a psychological assertion that anything is possible, much like in movies. For example when Bruce Wayne aka the Dark Knight re-emerged from the pit, he did so sporting a beard that had payback written all over. I know, I know he didn’t really have a choice, he was in a pit after all but this brings me back to my point where Beards are used to communicate or rather validate what the character is trying to portray in the first place. Bruce Wayne could have had a beard to begin with but being clean shaved and re-emerging with a beard only reiterated a comeback with the stark difference.

So growing a Beard during this pandemic might not be such a bad idea after all. A Beard can provide one with a sense of control, a sense of dress-up in a way where you can be anyone you want!