Not just fashion: Why the beard will stay!

Put Beardo,

today it's going to be theoretical at the Doc's. But don't worry, my little practical beard, you're guaranteed to join the discussion on this topic. Because it's about the future of the beard! Just the other day the Doc saw another post predicting the end of facial wool. And another who prophesies that the full beard will soon be just as embarrassing as the mustache plus mullet. Do you have to take this seriously? Do these reports and prophecies have any justification at all? The Doc has his own opinion on this. And now he explains it to you!

Everything is fashion, everything is in flux...really?

Again and again, essays are written in fashion blogs, articles are published in the gossip magazines and even in daily newspapers. They all have one theme: the end of the beard is near! The reason behind it is very simple: the beard is a fad and is therefore subject to the same wave movements as all other fads. No question, the argument works and is conclusive.
But the Doc is not satisfied with such a simple explanation. Because it is simply assumed that the beard is only a fashion. Notice something, little brooding beard? Exactly. Maybe the beard is much more than carrot jeans and Prince Valiant boots.

Time works for your beard

There are three important facts that indicate that the massive beard has long since become something bigger than a fad.

1. The beard wave has lasted much longer than the usual fashion waves: namely at least eight years!
   The exact beginning cannot be narrowed down. What is certain is that the first reports in the USA can be found as early as 2009. By 2011 at the latest, the beard trend had fully arrived here too. The newspapers begin to report on the new fashion. Since then, the enthusiasm has been unbroken.
   If you look at the research, it quickly becomes clear that the beard does not want to fit into the usual pattern. Fashion is usually only limited to one season, i.e. half a year. At best, this wave lasts a full year or a little more. But no longer. According to trend research, even the next category, the Zeitgeist cycles, last no more than five to six years. So the beard has already overtaken them all.
   
   
2. The swan song for beard fashion has lasted far too long. The first article was already available in February 2013. “The trend is long gone” is the headline. And even then doubts are raised as to why there are still so many beards running around. Since then there have been reports from trend magazines almost every month that want to explain to you why it should finally be over with the beard. But one thing is certain: The beard continues to grow and thrive and is not impressed by these apparently made-up predictions.
   
   
3. Trendsetters in the beard scene have tried and returned to full beards. For example Eric Bandholz, the founder of “Beardbrand”, probably the most well-known beard label in the world. He left his mat only a few months ago and radically shaved his stately full beard. He only left his mighty mustache and thought he was following a new trend. The same with his buddy Jeff Buoncristiano, beard model and full-beard wearer of the extra class. Both have in common that they usually recognize trends fairly early on and accordingly also act as trendsetters. Both have since grown back and are back on the road to massive beards.

But what is this endless beard trend all about?

The answer is actually in the question. A trend that seems to have no end is therefore no longer a trend. The Doc thought about it for a long time and kept coming across parallels. And in connection with tattoos.
A similar development can be observed there. Except that this one started earlier.
As early as the early 1990s, tattoos became a real fashion trend that followed the same pattern as the beard now. But instead of abating again, the supposed trend became a kind of attitude to life over the years, a separate category within which separate fashion trends formed again - with the usual wave movements. Keyword: old school, ass antlers etc.
This example makes it clear where the development is headed. The fact that men wear beards with pride is now anchored in society as a whole. There's also no real way to undo it anymore. Hardly from the state side, probably not from the economic side either. Too many bearded people have been behind the bank counter for years. How and, above all, why should a strict ban suddenly be established again? In view of the degree of optical self-determination within society and its ever-widening acceptance, a reversal of this freedom of movement is unthinkable.

Instead, there will now be fashionable waves within the beard world. Own beard trends and fashions are formed, which are worn by a large proportion of men. The beard is now a matter of course, beyond all trends!

And now off to the break and breathe a sigh of relief, you little scared beards. No one will take your beard away from you anytime soon! Certainly not a trend researcher!