LAWTON, Okla. (AP) - The beard is taking over the male population, one scruffy face at a time.
Its history is fraught with peril - a long war against scissors, trimmers and razors - and it’s been used to indicate socio-economic status, religious affiliation or, simply, one’s “coolness.”
Once reserved for wealthy gentlemen (the beard tax was a reality), beards are now an everyman accessory, customizable - not just in style - but also in décor.
Last summer saw beards decorated in flowers, reminiscent of Woodstock, the male equivalent of the female’s flower crown.
Men have gone beyond the beard and realized it for the fabulous facial accessory it is - the perfect addition to an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (see Buzzfeed’s 12 Beards of Christmas), an on-the-go Christmas tree (add Beard Baubles to Santa’s list) - the beard is making its way into holiday celebrations one way or another thanks to proud beard-bearing men like Lawton’s own Derek Spencer.
Spencer, 34, is relatively new to the bearded band of brothers; he started growing his now 8-inch-plus beard only two years ago, The Lawton Constitution (https://bit.ly/1DEytcm ) reports.
Spencer coordinates his beard with each holiday: ornaments for Christmas; lights for New Year’s; hearts for Valentine’s; gold coins for St. Patty’s.
The festive trend is one Spencer never intended to start.
“Somebody tagged me in a post on Facebook, and my daughter saw it,” Spencer said, explaining the chain of events that led him to decorate his beard for the first time last Christmas. “She was like, ’Dad, you’ve got to do this. My Christmas party is coming up. You should show up at my Christmas party with decorations in (your beard)’’’.
Spencer’s initial reaction to his 10-year-old’s request: “I’m not doing that.”
His daughter did not relent, and after a week or so the idea finally grew on him.
He presented the task to his hairdresser, who assured him she could make it happen.
The day of the party, Spencer went to JC Penny to have Christmas ornaments strung through his beard.
“I showed up at 10 a.m.,” Spencer said, recalling the immediate hours after his appointment. “The party wasn’t until 2.”
That left some down time.
“I walked around the mall, took like, 25 pictures with random people, made some new friends on Facebook off of it,” Spencer said. “So that was interesting.
“You know when you walk through a store or walk down the mall and people have that disgruntled … look on their face,” Spencer said, describing the initial reactions to his bauble-filled beard, “I can walk by and, first, they get the surprised look, like ’What has he got on his face,’ and then they smile and it’s like ’Hey, good job’ and they just keep on walking, or they want to talk to me - why I do it, what made me start - so it’s interesting.”
No stranger to attention, Spencer’s beard has its own Facebook page - a joke orchestrated by a couple of his friends.
“I got an invite to it three days after it was up and running,” Spencer said. “I didn’t know anything about it.”
The page has over 200 likes and is only one of several ways Spencer’s beard draws attention to the already noticeable man.
“For me, it’s different because I’m not a flashy kind of person,” Spencer said of the reactions of those who saw him that first day. “I kind of stand out in a room anyways.”
Spencer is tall and bald and his beard is red - he gets noticed without trying.
“I’m normally bigger than everybody in the room. So I normally stick out anyways and when I do something like this, it just goes overboard.”
What once was a loving father’s attempt to placate his daughter, Spencer’s newfound hobby is a way to celebrate each holiday in his own uniquely hairy way.
“It’s all for fun,” Spencer said. “When I did it for Christmas, I told everyone I was just trying to be festive, trying to spread some Christmas cheer.”
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Information from: The Lawton Constitution, https://www.swoknews.com
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