Hipster beard is a beard-wearing look typical of the Hipster’s subculture. This style is recognizable by a long beard, maintained in the manner desired. Some carry it more or less unkempt, without too much trimming but orienting its shoot, with longer hairs on the chin and the underside of the jaw than on the cheeks for example. Others, on the contrary, take the greatest care of it, and often ask the help of a barber to define perfectly their hipster beard and to draw out the contours. It will then often be nicely rounded, perfectly smooth and neats with a shaving oil. The hipster beard is usually worn with a modern haircut, but reminiscent the hairstyles of the 50s, 60s or 70s to perfect the retro style.

As Christopher Oldstone-Moore writes it in his book “Beards and Men”, "the history of men is literally written on their faces”. The question at hand - to grow a beard or to shave - not only tells us a lot about ourselves as individuals, but also about our culture as a whole.

The cultural evolution of wearing beard: from ancient civilizations to Hipsters

A panoramical view of wearing beard through history

In ancient Egyptian civilization, beard had a divine connotation, being linked to the image of the Osiris god. The most powerful men of the empire used to plait their beard with lapis lazuli and other precious gemmas. The Pharaons, moreover, wore some fake beards that were secured to their chin in order to show their status as living gods. Untreated beard was a sign of the poor class.

In ancient Greece, beard was meant as a sign of virility and manhood. They used to wear very thick and long beards and they also punished the cowards by shaving them in public. A man not wearing beard was consider woman-like.

Ancient romans were usually clean-shaven. This was a way in which they wanted to distinguish themselves from the Greeks.

Young romans used to rub olive oil on their face in the hope of growing beard, in fact, the first time they were able to shave was considered as the beginning of their manhood.

Men of the Germanic tribes used to grow full beard. It was a symbol of dishonor to be shaved.

Their beards were so showy and large that the enemies were at the same time afraid and astonished by the greatness of their facial hair.

During the Middle Ages, bearded men were the knights and the nobles beard-wearing was meant to be a sign of masculinity. In the eighteenth century beard became unpopular and men started to get shaved. In fact, the so-called men-of-letter as well as some of the most famous thinkers of the time, were all good shaved. Beard-wearing was seen as a way to hide the face, which gained a lot of importance in terms of aesthetical beautiness. It was in this century that, thanks to the invention of cast steel, the production and the commercialization of razors spread out. Shaving creams, aftershave scents and lotions became very popular. Nineteenth century brought another change in terms of beard-wearing styles. This was the century of the explorations, of the maximum raise of the British empire. British soldiers, who used to wear mustaches, became a model of masculinity and strength, and men begun to imitate their style. Explorers also, very popular at that time, were seen as an example of courage. Those brave men, who left their motherland to discover unexplored territories, couldn’t get shaved of course. In a few years their look became popular among British men as an expression of pride.

The beard nowadays

With the birth of the hipster subculture, beard has become a trait of distinction: “all hipsters play at being the inventor or first adapters of novelties: pride comes from knowing, and deciding, and what’s cool in advance of the rest of the world.”[1] In fact, in the last years, this trait has spread out in the whole society. The beard is one of the main signs, the idea of homelessness, Although it could seem untreated, they really take of their beard, that they consider as a feature of unicity and must have. A scientific explanation to the fact that more and more men are growing their beards is that facial hair seem to attribute power and strength, being more attractive for women and appearing more dominant and aggressive to the other men.

The hipster' s psychological and cultural motivations for wearing a beard

The fact hipsters choose to wear a beard to complete their look style can find its origins in the “Movember” Australian movement which in 2012 launched a challenge of not shaving or cutting the mustache throughout the month in November, in order to raise public awareness and increase the funds for research into male diseases such as prostate cancer.

An other theory explains that the wearing of the hipster beard is due to a symbol of maturity and wisdom. Wearing a beard should be a way to show its maturity through a virility that necessarily passes through an assumed hairiness. The hipster goes against the flow of a youthism adept society. The hipster's beard, virile and natural, can also be a symbol of wisdom. Indeed, the ancient philosophers, and their divinities in their mythology, were accustomed to wear a beard or to be represented with. In Egypt, it was an attribute of power. In other words, the history has codified the wearing or not of the beard and fashioned modes. Moreover, in India and in the Middle East, the beard and the mustache are still considered as a sign of strength and wisdom.

Secondly, wear a beard can also be a way for hipsters to reconnect with nature, and to accept itself as it has created us. The different beard movements along time, in some way, are an attempt to re-orientate manliness toward nature, or the natural. This was very explicit at the Hadrian era who was following the teachings of Stoic philosophy, explicitly in favor of beards as it was considered as a way of following the rule of Nature. According to that, Hadrian was deliberately wearing a beard as he was thinking that he could become a wise emperor for the reason that he followed the rules of nature. He indicated that by growing his beard, and everybody followed suit.

Then, the rebirth of the beards through the hipster movement can also be seen as a reorientation or a way to rethinking the image of man. Currently, like in other beard movements, men are rethinking what it is to be a man, and how to represent oneself. In the actual Western societies in which the gap between masculinity and femininity is less important than it was before, the hipster beard can be seen as a way for man to reaffirm their masculinity through a way that women cannot borrow. The men are rethinking masculinity and it makes sense that they would at least consider the possibility of facial hair as a way to think about the nature of manhood. Men play the metamorphosis with their beard like women can do it easily throughout colorations or well-thought hairstyles. Moreover, the wearing of a beard is a way to move away from the corporate expectations, what is a central concern of the hipster subculture.

Industries’ innovations for beard care

The strengthening of this trend arises also the need of specific products for beard care. Most of shampoos and conditioners that were sold in the market were more recommended for head hair and not for the beard. So we can say that this kind of trend has opened opportunities for a relatively new sector of the male grooming market. Many firms started to expand their production, trying to develop solutions for men care products for beard.

In Italy, there are some firms that are innovating their products in order to serve this emerging market. People who cares about their personal aspect and particularly the beard, ask for specialized and specific products that help to maintain the beard clean, hydrated and manageable.

An example of a modern Italian brand could be Hipsteria : born in 2015, it is entirely dedicated to beard care with specific products.

Other industries that are more and more specialized in this field are Evonik, Deborah with the new capsule ‘Bioetyc men’, Proraso (also with its barbers around the world), Gordon, Dear barber the professionals. These are only some of the firms that are expanding their activities also to the world of bearded men, but there are many more that understood the importance of serving this target in a strategic marketing view.

As we can read on the Evonik’ website, the brand “provides an inspiring selection of innovative formulations and new product ideas for shampoos, conditioning lotions and on-trend theme oils for male grooming”[2].

In general, for all these brands, the aim is to offer innovative and efficacy products for beard care, created by experts of the field; most of them offer also natural and biological products in order to satisfy also ones who give importance to the health of their skin and at the same times cares about the environment.

Beard shapes’ style

Sales in physical stores are not the only way to assist bearded men. As to give an example, Gillette, that is one of the most important brand of razors and other personal cares products, has a dedicated part of its website (Gillette.com) to face shaving tips, giving advices and explanations about how to shape the ideal beard style using specific razors of the brand. In addition, there is another special section of the website where there are some shorts videos about the most fashionable facial hair styles and the techniques to reproduce these styles while making use of creams, clear shave gel and razors.

Brands like Braun, Philips, Remington, only to cite some of the most known in this field, and other new brands, dedicate part of their websites to this topic: the health of the beard is central, with the addition of suggestions and recommendations to make facial hair stylish, trying to follow the trends of the moment. Articles in blogs and video are commonly used by brands to promotes their products and give a visual experience of how they work.

Beard jewellery

Care of the beard is not the only relevant aspect of this trend. In fact, also facial hair accessories are very common between bearded hipsters. This is another way to express personality and originality, in addition to the different styles of shapes and grooming that men could choose. Krato Milano could be mention as example: as we can read in the website, “Krato is the only jewelry brand that offers one-of-a-kind jewelry collection exclusively for bearded men”[3]. Jewels must be comfortable to wear and functional at the same time, in order to be firmly attached onto the beard.

Diamonds have always be best friends of women but with this new trend they are becoming also best friends of men.

Barbershops

Specialized barbershops are rising in popularity around the world. Personalization and uniqueness are the code for a customized level of service. Some barbershops are organized with an old school atmosphere, but these places are current and modern more than ever. Like hair, also beard has different styles, sizes and shapes and barbershops become real beauty salons where experienced barbers adapt the traditional techniques of this profession to the demands of the modern bearded men. There’s something to serve all tastes: specific products, special shapes, exceptional styling but also massages and particular treatments for beard and skin.

Going to the barber could be an opportunity to relax and live an unique experience at the same time.

References

Books :

• “ Modernity and Self-identity : Self and Society in the Late Modern Age”, Anthony Giddens, Stanfor University Press, California, 1991

• “The New Gnostics : The Semiotics of the Hipster ”, Elley, Benjamin, University of Canterbury, 2014.

• “Beards and Men : The revealing history of facial hair”, Christopher OLDSTONE-MOORE, 2015

• “One thousand beards. A cultural History of Facial hair”, Allan Peterkin

• “The Renaissance beard : masculinity in Early Modern England”, Will Fisher, Renaissance Quarterly 54, no 1 (spring 2001)

• “The accelerated Development of Youth : beard growth as a Biological Marker”, Moller H., Comparative Studies in Society and History, 29(4), pp 748 – 762

Articles :

• "Hipsterism is over and passed... meet London's new urban adult tribes”, EveningStandard, 2014 : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/11501340/Science-explains-why-hipsters-grow-beards.html

• "Science explains why hipsters grow beards”, The Telegraph, october 2015 :

• "The hipster is dead. Long live the hipster”, The Gardian, october 2015 : https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/oct/03/hipster-social-phenomenon-commercial-success

• “Your Beard Is Saying a Lot More Than You Think”, Esquire, January 2016 : http://www.esquire.com/style/grooming/q-and-a/a41359/of-beards-and-men/

• Hipster (Contemporary subculture), Wikipédia, last modification in february 2017 : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(contemporary_subculture)

• “Per barbe impeccabili arriva la capsule collection Deborah Group”, Settember 2016 : http://www.revebeauty.it/2016/09/08/hipster-barba-prodotti/

• “PELO E CONTROPELO”, Antonella Armigero, marzo 2015, Club Milano : http://www.clubmilano.net/2015/03/barbieri-saloni/

• “Late-modern hipsters, New tendencies in popular culture”, Bjørn Schiermer, October 2013

• “Demythologizing Consumption Practices : How Consumers Protect Their Field-Dependent Identity Investments from Devaluing Marketplace Myths”, Zeynep Arsel, Craig J. Thompson; J Consum Res, 2010.

Websites :

• Gillette.com

• braun.com

• Proraso.com/it

• Remingtonproducts.com

• http://www.dearbarber.co.uk/

• https://kratomilano.com/

• www.hipsteriaitalia.it

• corporate.evonik.com

• Www.usa.philips.com

• http://www.gordonshaving.com/it/

Notes

[1]. The New York Times “The Hipster in the Mirror”

[2]. corporate.evonik.com

[3]. https://kratomilano.com/

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