Back in the 1970s mustaches and sideburns were all the rage. Obviously, facial hair became less popular in the early 2000s and many people saw mustaches and beards as unappealing. But over the past few years, we’ve seen a massive resurgence in the appeal and popularity of facial hair. A few years ago, even facial hair seemed to be reserved for hipsters and out-of-touch people still living in the past but nowadays it is virtually impossible to find a man with no facial hair at all. But the question is why facial hair became popular again and what does that entail for facial hair as an accessory and style?
Well simply put fashion trends are like a pendulum. Many trends come back and go as years go by. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the 80’s neon color palettes come back into trending fashion and even the early 2000’s obsession for denim takes back its spot in the cultural zeitgeist. So, it really is no surprise to see beards and mustaches make a massive return in the style of most men. Long gone is the era where mustaches and beards were the staples of IPA drinkers and Starbucks baristas. Nowadays a lot of people seem to take inspiration from the mustache trends of the past and the same goes for beards. So, if you walk downtown, it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see someone sporting a 1930s pencil mustache and to see someone showing off a massive Viking-style beard with beads in it. There is definitely a whole perception of facial hair, and this is not isolated to facial hair itself. Liberation in the way we see fashion has opened up the floodgates to the return of many long-gone styles that are being adapted to current-day trends.
Culturally over the past few years, there’s been a pretty significant shift in what is considered trendy or not. We’ve seen many more styles rise as a bigger place has been made for more diverse gender expression. Hence, we’ve seen a massive return of styling mustaches with wax and balms whether to make them twisty mustaches like cowboys or even brush mustaches like 1970s detectives. We’ve also seen a return of sideburns and even mutton chops. Many young men have adopted the style of metal legend Lemmy Kilmister even by bringing back the long hair and facial hair. So, as you can imagine, even the weirdest hairstyles and facial hair styles are coming back into the oddest combinations. The idea is that people can wear their hair and facial hair the way they like no matter the trends.
Following those cultural changes, there’s been an increase in marketing toward the maintenance of facial hair trends. We’ve seen companies like Dollar Shave Club blow up and many other companies of mustache and beard products become incredibly popular and present in advertising. People have started to invest more money and shampoos and conditioners for their beards and high-quality waxes for their mustaches. We’ve also had larger discourses about products such as razors and the number of videos online making comparisons like Manscaped vs Philips Norelco has reached a peak in the last few years. This might seem odd but there’s been a revival of beard care culture and even communities dedicated to treating beads and styling them. This group often regroups many people who love to share tips and tricks or simply show off the work they’ve put into their beards.
Nowadays beards are not only exclusive to men as well! We’ve seen a rise of queer expression through facial hair for example gender fluid people who love to sit on the fence between feminine or masculine expression or everything in between. Facial hair is also a great way for many trans men to finally beat their dysphoria by styling their beards and mustaches in a way that lets them feel as masculine as they want. All in all facial hair servers a lot of queer people reappropriating their styles and bodies by using it as an accessory of gender expression within society and within their community.
As you can see facial hair has come back into our culture in a big way. While of course, many fashion trends do include facial hair, there’s much more diversity in the form to present yourself, especially for your facial hair nowadays. Whether you like beards, mustaches, or soul patches everything is available to you and there is a style for you out there to fit your favorite way to style your beard and mustache. Do not let trends stop you from living out your fantasy of wearing a goatee or a handlebar mustache though, it is your facial hair and you can style it any way you want to and that is the fun of grooming it!