Facial Hair

For as long as I could remember, I've always had a fascination with facial hair. I think it started when I was a kid and I would watch my dad shave; it always looked so cool to see the tiny follicles fall into the sink like dirty snowflakes. Whenever he would kiss my mom or sister, they would always complain about how the stubble hurt whenever it rubbed against them. In my head I would always think, "Dang! That's so cool! A built in defense mechanism!"
Of course, it definitely helped that all the cool comic book characters had some form of stubble. Cases in point: Gambit and Wolverine.

Note: definite 5 o' clock shadows

These were the badasses, the pimps of the Marvel Universe, and boy, did they have some sweet stubble. Back in the day (early 90's), many of the straight-laced heroes (aka lame) were clean shaven... I guess to demonstrate their acquiescence to societal norms. Heroes like Cyclops and Mr. Fantastic were such tools that sometimes I just hoped they wouldn't show up in the comics so there would be more face time for my favorites.

Note: What a tool of a pose

In recent years, comic book artists have begun adding stubble to most, if not all, of the male heroes. But, I digress.

So yeah, as a Chinese male, growing facial hair is a long, tedious, and often spotty process. Many times after shaving in the morning, my afternoon shadow looks almost exactly like it did in the morning: bare and pre-pubescent. After a couple years of shaving as often as I can, even when I don't need it, I am starting to grow thicker facial hair. Too bad I can't get the connectors yet. *sigh

But the freaking bane of my existence is that fact that I actually appear younger and much dirtier with facial hair than without. Quite possibly it's because my mustache becomes so much more pronounced than my chin hairs, but I have no clear idea of why that's the case.

A couple days ago, one of my new roomates, Yeoh, and I were discussing this very topic and we decided to see who could last the longest without shaving. It has been 3 days since then, and we are both looking quite hideous. (See below) I won't bore you with day to day updates, but will post milestone updates.


Yeoh & myself @ 3 days