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{{Short description|Hair on the chin, lower face and neck}}
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{{Redirect|Five o'clock shadow|the a cappella group|Five O'Clock Shadow}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
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| Caption     = A bearded man
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A '''beard''' is the [[hair]] that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, beards are most common among [[Puberty|pubescent]] and [[adult]] males,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Puberty: Changes for Males {{!}} Sutter Health |url=https://www.sutterhealth.org/pamf/health/teens/male/puberty-changes-males |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=www.sutterhealth.org}}</ref> though some women also develop them.

Attitudes toward beards have varied across history, shaped by [[Culture|cultural traditions]] and [[fashion]] trends.<ref name="Innes 2021">{{cite book |last=Innes, Jr. |first=William C. |year=2021 |chapter=Part I: Hair as Symbol |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gUIsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |title=Religious Hair Display and Its Meanings |location=[[Cham, Switzerland]] |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |series=Popular Culture, Religion, and Society. A Social-Scientific Approach |volume=4 |pages=13–52 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-69974-1 |isbn=978-3-030-69974-1 |issn=2509-3231}}</ref> Several [[religions]] require or encourage the wearing of beards, while other societies have associated them with<ref name="Innes 2021"/> masculinity, [[Masculinity|virility]], [[virtue]], [[beauty]], [[wisdom]], [[Physical strength|strength]], [[fertility]], [[sexual prowess]], and high [[social status]].<ref name="Innes 2021"/> In contrast, in cultures where beards are uncommon or unfashionable, they may be linked with poor hygiene or eccentricity. Beards can also provide environmental benefits, including protection from cold weather and sun exposure.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.piedmont.org/living-better/are-there-health-benefits-to-having-a-beard|title = Are there health benefits to having a beard?}}</ref>

==Biology==
The beard develops in human males during [[puberty]]. Beard growth is linked to stimulation of hair follicles in the area by [[dihydrotestosterone]], which continues to affect beard growth after puberty. Dihydrotestosterone also promotes [[Hair loss|balding]]. Dihydrotestosterone is produced from [[testosterone]], the levels of which vary with season. Beard growth rate is also genetic.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Randall VA |title=Androgens and hair growth |journal=Dermatol Ther |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=314–28 |year=2008 |pmid=18844710 |doi=10.1111/j.1529-8019.2008.00214.x |s2cid=205693736 |doi-access=free | issn = 1396-0296 }}</ref>

===Evolution===
[[File:Baerte ohne text.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Different types of beards: 1) Incipient 2) Moustache 3) Goatee or Mandarin 4) Spanish-style 5) Long sideburns 6) Sideburns joined by a moustache 7) Style Van Dyke 8) Full beard.]]

[[Biology|Biologists]] characterize beards as a [[secondary sexual characteristic]] because they are (mostly) unique to one sex,<ref>"The Battle of Stamford Bridge" ''1066 Mosaic DVD'', n.d. Accessed May 3, 2025. </ref>
yet do not play a direct role in reproduction. [[Charles Darwin]] first suggested a possible [[evolution]]ary explanation of beards in his work ''[[The Descent of Man]]'', which hypothesized that the process of [[sexual selection]] may have led to beards.<ref>{{cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles |title=The Descent Of Man And Selection In Relation To Sex |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2004 |page=554 }}</ref> Modern biologists have reaffirmed the role of sexual selection in the evolution of beards, concluding that there is evidence that a majority of women find men with beards more attractive than men without beards.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dixson |first1=A. |title=Sexual selection and the evolution of visually conspicuous sexually dimorphic traits in male monkeys, apes, and human beings |journal=Annu Rev Sex Res |year=2005 |volume=16 |pages=1–19 |pmid=16913285 |last2=Dixson |first2=B |last3=Anderson |first3=M |doi=10.1080/10532528.2005.10559826 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Geoffry F. |chapter=How Mate Choice Shaped Human Nature: A Review of Sexual Selection and Human Evolution |title=Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology: Ideas, Issues, and Applications |editor-last=Crawford |editor-first=Charles B. |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1998 |pages=106, 111, 113 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Skamel |first=Uta |chapter=Beauty and Sex Appeal: Sexual Selection of Aesthetic Preferences |title=Evolutionary Aesthetics |editor-first=Eckhard |editor-last=Voland |location=New York |publisher=Springer |year=2003 |pages=173–183 |isbn=3-540-43670-7 }}</ref>

[[Evolutionary psychology]] explanations for the existence of beards include signalling sexual maturity and signalling dominance by the increasing perceived size of jaws; clean-shaved faces are rated less dominant than bearded.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Puts | first1 = D. A. | title = Beauty and the beast: Mechanisms of sexual selection in humans | doi = 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.02.005 | journal = Evolution and Human Behavior | volume = 31 | issue = 3 | pages = 157–175 | year = 2010 | bibcode = 2010EHumB..31..157P }}</ref> Some scholars assert that it is not yet established whether the sexual selection leading to beards is rooted in attractiveness (inter-sexual selection) or dominance (intra-sexual selection).<ref>{{cite book |last=Dixson |first=A. F. |title=Sexual selection and the origins of human mating systems |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |page=178 |isbn=978-0-19-955943-5 }}</ref> A beard can be explained as an indicator of a male's overall condition.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Randy |last1=Thornhill |first2=Steven W. |last2=Gangestad |title=Human facial beauty: Averageness, symmetry, and parasite resistance |journal=Human Nature |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=237–269 |doi=10.1007/BF02692201 |year=1993 |pmid=24214366 |s2cid=24740313 }}</ref> The rate of facial hairiness appears to influence male attractiveness.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Barber |first=N. |title=The Evolutionary psychology of physical attractiveness: Sexual selection and human morphology |journal=Ethol Sociobiol |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=395–525 |doi=10.1016/0162-3095(95)00068-2 |year=1995 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Etcoff |first=N. |title=Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |year=1999 |isbn=0-385-47854-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/survivalofpretti00etco }}</ref> The presence of a beard makes the male vulnerable in hand-to-hand fights (it provides an easy way to grab and hold the opponent's head), which is costly, so biologists have speculated that there must be other evolutionary benefits that outweigh that drawback.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zehavi |first1=A. |last2=Zahavi |first2=A. |year=1997 |title=The Handicap Principle |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/handicapprincipl0000zeha/page/213 213] |isbn=0-19-510035-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/handicapprincipl0000zeha/page/213 }}</ref> Excess testosterone evidenced by the beard may indicate mild [[immunosuppression]], which may support [[spermatogenesis]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Folstad |first1=I. |last2=Skarstein |first2=F. |title=Is male germ line control creating avenues for female choice? |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=109–112 |year=1997 |doi=10.1093/beheco/8.1.109 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>Folstad and Skarsein cited by {{cite book |last=Skamel |first=Uta |chapter=Beauty and Sex Appeal: Sexual Selection of Aesthetic Preferences |title=Evolutionary Aesthetics |editor-first=Eckhard |editor-last=Voland |publisher=Springer |year=2003 |pages=173–183 }}</ref>

==History==

===Ancient and classical world===

====Phoenicia====
[[File:Anthropoid sarcophagus discovered at Cadiz - Project Gutenberg eText 15052.png|thumb|160px|right|Phoenicians gave great attention to the beard, as can be seen in their sculptures.]]

[[Phoenicia]], the ancient Semitic civilization centered on the coastline of the Eastern Mediterranean (modern-day [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]] and [[Israel]]), gave great attention to the hair and beard. It was arranged in three, four, or five rows of small tight curls, and extended from ear to ear around the cheeks and chin. Sometimes, however, in lieu of the many rows, we find one row only, the beard falling in tresses curled at the extremity.<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite book|last1=Rawlinson |first1=George |title=History of Phoenicia |url=https://archive.org/details/historyphoenici01rawlgoog |year=1889 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co}}}}</ref> There is no indication of the Phoenicians having cultivated mustachios.

====Israelites====

[[Israelites|Israelite]] society placed a special importance on the beard. Many male religious figures mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]] are recorded to have had facial hair. According to biblical scholars, the shaving of hair, particularly of the ''corners of the beard'', was a mourning custom.<ref>''[[Peake's commentary on the Bible]]''</ref> The religious cultivation of beards by Israelites may have been done as a deliberate attempt to distinguish their behaviour in comparison to their neighbours, reducing the impact of foreign customs (and religion) as a result.<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia">''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> The [[Hittites]] and [[Elamites]] were clean-shaven, and the [[Sumer]]ians were also frequently without a beard;<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia, Beard">''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Beard''</ref> conversely, the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] and Libyans shaved the beard into very stylised elongated [[goatee]]s.<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia, Beard" />    [[File:Black Obelisk, Jewish delegation to Shalmaneser III.jpg|thumb|center|upright=4|The Israelite king [[Jehu]] kneels before [[Shalmaneser III]] as carved on the [[Black Obelisk]]. He and the Israelite delegation are distinguished from the Assyrians by distinctive beards.]]

====Mesopotamia====
[[File:Gilgamesh Statue Sydney University Statue4.14th.JPG|thumb|upright=.6|Statue of [[Gilgamesh]] with elaborate beard]]
[[Mesopotamia]]n civilizations (Sumerian, Assyrians, Babylonians, Chaldeans and Medians) devoted great care to oiling and dressing their beards, using tongs and curling irons to create elaborate ringlets and tiered patterns.<ref name="Motamedi">{{Cite book |last=Motamedi |first=Mohammad Hosein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGmQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA586 |title=A Textbook of Advanced Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Volume 2 |date=2015-04-22 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-953-51-2035-3 |language=en}}</ref>

====Egypt====
While generally ancient Egyptian fashion called for men to be clean-shaven, during at least some periods the highest ranking Ancient Egyptians grew hair on their chins which was often dyed a reddish orange with [[henna]] and sometimes plaited with an interwoven gold thread. A metal false beard, or [[Regalia of the Pharaoh#Beard|postiche]], which was a sign of sovereignty, was worn by kings and by [[queen regnant|queens regnant]]. This was held in place by a ribbon tied over the head and attached to a gold chin strap, a fashion existing from about {{BCE|3000 to 1580|link=y}}.<ref name="Motamedi" />

====Greece====
[[File:Aristotle Altemps Inv8575.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Aristotle]] with a beard]]
The [[ancient Greeks]] regarded the beard as a badge or sign of virility; in the [[Homeric epics]] it had almost sanctified significance, so that a common form of entreaty was to touch the beard of the person addressed.<ref>See, for example, Homer ''Iliad'' 1:500–1 and 8:371.</ref> According to [[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]] in these ancient times the moustache was shaven, leaving clear the space around the lips.<ref name="smith" /> It was only shaven as a sign of mourning, though in this case it was instead often left untrimmed.<ref name="smith">{{cite book|last=Smith |first=W. |date=1890 |title= A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |publisher=William Wayte |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=barba-cn}}</ref> A smooth face was regarded as a sign of effeminacy.<ref>{{harvnb|Peck|1898}} cites Athen. xiii. 565</ref> The [[Sparta]]ns punished cowards by shaving off a portion of their beards.<ref>{{cite book| last=Ephraim |first=D. |author-link= |date=1989 |title=Classical Sparta. Techniques behind her success |location=London |publisher=Routledge |page=14 |isbn=0-415-00339-3}}</ref> Greek beards were also frequently curled with [[tongs]]. Youngsters usually did not grow a beard, moreover wearing a beard became optional for adults in the {{BCE|5th and 4th century}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adkins |first1=L. |last2=Adkins |first2=Roy A. |author-link= |date=2005 |title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece |location=New York |publisher=Facts on file |page=453 |isbn=0-8160-5659-5}}</ref>

====Macedon====
In Ancient Macedonia, during the time of [[Alexander the Great]] (r. 336–323 BCE) the custom of smooth shaving was introduced. Alexander strongly promoted shaving during his reign because he believed it looked tidier. Reportedly, Alexander ordered his soldiers to be clean-shaven, fearing that their beards would serve as handles for their enemies to grab and hold onto. The practice of shaving spread from the Macedonians, whose kings are represented on coins, statues, etc. with smooth faces, throughout the whole known world of the Macedonian Empire. Laws were passed against it, without effect, at Rhodes and Byzantium; even [[Aristotle]] conformed to the new custom, unlike the other philosophers, who retained the beard as a badge of their profession. Due to this, a man with a beard, after the Macedonian period, implied a philosopher; there are many allusions to this custom of the later philosophers in such proverbs as: "The beard does not make the sage." Due to this association with philosophers, who lost reputation over time, the beard acquired more and more a negative connotation, as in Theodore Prodromos, Lucian of Samosata and Julian the apostate (who wrote the Misopogon, i.e. "beard hater")

====Rome====
Shaving seems to have not been known to the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] during their early history (under the kings of Rome and the early Republic). Pliny tells us that P. Ticinius was the first who brought a barber to Rome, which was in the 454th year from the founding of the city (that is, around {{BCE|299|link=y}}). [[Scipio Africanus]] ({{BCE|236–183}}) was apparently the first among the Romans who shaved his beard. However, after that point, shaving seems to have caught on very quickly, and soon almost all Roman men were clean-shaven; being clean-shaven became a sign of being Roman and not Greek. Only in the later times of the Republic did the Roman youth begin shaving their beards only partially, trimming it into an ornamental form; prepubescent boys oiled their chins in hopes of forcing premature growth of a beard.<ref>{{harvnb|Peck|1898}} cites Petron. 75, 10</ref>

Still, beards remained rare among the Romans throughout the Late Republic and the early Principate. In a general way, in Rome at this time, a long beard was considered a mark of slovenliness and squalor. The censors [[L. Veturius]] and [[P. Licinius]] compelled [[M. Livius]], who had been banished, on his restoration to the city, to be shaved, to lay aside his dirty appearance, and then, but not until then, to come into the [[Roman Senate|Senate]].<ref>{{harvnb|Peck|1898}} cites Liv.xxvii. 34</ref> The first occasion of shaving was regarded as the beginning of manhood, and the day on which this took place was celebrated as a festival.<ref>{{harvnb|Peck|1898}} cites Juv.iii. 186</ref> Usually, this was done when the young Roman assumed the ''[[toga virilis]]''. [[Augustus]] did it in his twenty-fourth year, [[Caligula]] in his twentieth. The hair cut off on such occasions was consecrated to a god. Thus [[Nero]] put his into a golden box set with pearls, and dedicated it to [[Jupiter Capitolinus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Peck|1898}} cites Suet. Ner.12</ref> The Romans, unlike the Greeks, let their beards grow in time of mourning; so did Augustus for the death of [[Julius Caesar]].<ref>{{harvnb|Peck|1898}} cites Dio Cass. xlviii. 34</ref> Other occasions of mourning on which the beard was allowed to grow were appearance as a ''reus'', condemnation, or some public calamity. On the other hand, men of the country areas around Rome in the time of [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]] seem not to have shaved except when they came to market every eighth day, so that their usual appearance was most likely a short stubble.<ref>Varro asked rhetorically how often the tradesmen of the country shaved between market days, implying (in chronologist E. J. Bickerman's opinion) that this did not happen at all: "quoties priscus homo ac rusticus Romanus inter nundinum barbam radebat?",[http://archimedes.fas.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/dict?name=ls&lang=la&word=nundinus&filter=CUTF8 Varr. ap. Non. 214, 30; 32] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051754/http://archimedes.fas.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/dict?name=ls&lang=la&word=nundinus&filter=CUTF8 |date=2016-03-04 }}: see also E J Bickerman, ''Chronology of the Ancient World'', London (Thames & Hudson) 1968, at p. 59.</ref>

In the {{CE|second century|link=y}} the Emperor [[Hadrian]] (r. 117–138), according to [[Dio Cassius]], was the first emperor to grow a full beard; [[Plutarch]] says that he did it to hide scars on his face. This was a period in Rome of widespread imitation of Greek culture, and many other men grew beards in imitation of Hadrian and the Greek fashion. After Hadrian until the reign of [[Constantine the Great]] (r. 306–337) all adult emperors appear in busts and coins with beards; but Constantine and his successors until the reign of [[Phocas]] (r. 602–610), with the exception of [[Julian the Apostate]] (r. 361–363), are represented as beardless.<ref name="smith" /> The wearing of the beard as an imperial fashion was subsequently revived by Phocas at the beginning of the 7th century and this fashion lasted until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

====The "philosopher's beard"====
In Greco-Roman antiquity the beard was "seen as the defining characteristic of the philosopher; philosophers had to have beards, and anyone with a beard was assumed to be a philosopher."<ref>Citing Lucian's Demonax 13, Cynicus 1 – {{cite book|title=The art of living: the Stoics on the nature and function of philosophy|first=John|last=Sellars|year=1988|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Limited|location=Burlington, VT}}</ref> While one may be tempted to think that [[Socrates]] and [[Plato]] sported "philosopher's beards", such is not the case. 
Shaving was not widespread in Athens during fifth and fourth-century BCE and so they would not be distinguished from the general populace for having a beard. The popularity of shaving did not rise in the region until the example of Alexander the Great near the end of the fourth century BCE. The popularity of shaving did not spread to Rome until the end of the third century BCE following its acceptance by [[Scipio Africanus]]. In Rome shaving's popularity grew to the point that for a respectable Roman citizen, it was seen almost as compulsory.

The idea of the philosopher's beard gained traction when in 155 BCE three philosophers arrived in Rome as Greek diplomats: [[Carneades]], head of the [[Platonic Academy]]; [[Critolaus]] of [[Aristotle]]'s [[Lyceum (classical)|Lyceum]]; and the head of the [[Stoicism|Stoics]], [[Diogenes of Babylon]]. "In contrast to their beautifully clean-shaven Italian audience, these three intellectuals all sported magnificent beards."<ref name="Sellars">{{cite book |title=The art of living: the Stoics on the nature and function of philosophy |first=John |last=Sellars |year=1988 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Limited |location=Burlington, VT}}</ref> Thus the connection of beards and philosophy caught hold of the Roman public imagination.

[[File:Epicteti Enchiridion Latinis versibus adumbratum (Oxford 1715) frontispiece.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Epictetus]] stated he would embrace death before shaving.]]

The importance of the beard to Roman [[philosopher]]s is best seen by the extreme value that the Stoic philosopher [[Epictetus]] placed on it. As historian John Sellars puts it, Epictetus "affirmed the philosopher's beard as something almost sacred...to express the idea that philosophy is no mere intellectual hobby but rather a way of life that, by definition, transforms every aspect of one's behavior, including one's shaving habits. If someone continues to shave in order to look the part of a respectable Roman citizen, it is clear that they have not yet embraced philosophy conceived as a way of life and have not yet escaped the social customs of the majority...the true philosopher will only act according to reason or according to nature, rejecting the arbitrary conventions that guide the behavior of everyone else."<ref name="Sellars" />

Epictetus saw his beard as an integral part of his identity and held that he would rather be executed than submit to any force demanding he remove it. In his [[Discourses of Epictetus|Discourses]] 1.2.29, he puts forward such a hypothetical confrontation: {{"'}}Come now, Epictetus, shave your beard'. If I am a philosopher, I answer, I will not shave it off. 'Then I will have you beheaded'. If it will do you any good, behead me."<ref name="Sellars" /> The act of shaving "would be to compromise his philosophical ideal of living in accordance with nature and it would be to submit to the unjustified authority of another."<ref name="Sellars" />

This was not theoretical in the age of Epictetus, for the Emperor [[Domitian]] had the hair and beard forcibly shaven off of the philosopher [[Apollonius of Tyana]] "as punishment for anti-State activities."<ref name="Sellars" /> This disgraced Apollonius while avoiding making him a martyr like Socrates. Well before his declaration of "death before shaving" Epictetus had been forced to flee Rome when Domitian banished all philosophers from Italy under threat of execution.

Roman philosophers sported different styles of beards to distinguish which school they belonged to. [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynics]] used long dirty beards to indicate their "strict indifference to all external goods and social customs.”<ref name="Sellars" /> Stoics occasionally trimmed and washed their beards in accordance with their view "that it is acceptable to prefer certain external goods so long as they are never valued above virtue.”<ref name="Sellars" /> [[Peripatetic school|Peripatetics]] took great care of their beards believing in accordance with Aristotle that "external goods and social status were necessary for the good life together with virtue".<ref name="Sellars" /> To a Roman philosopher in this era, having a beard and its condition indicated their commitment to live in accordance with their philosophy.

====Celts and Germanic tribes====
[[File:Charles IV-John Ocko votive picture-fragment.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]]]]

Late Hellenistic sculptures of [[Celts]]<ref>Examples (both in Roman copies): ''[[Dying Gaul]]'', ''[[Ludovisi Gaul]]''</ref> portray them with long hair and mustaches but beardless. [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] reported the [[Celtic Britons|Britons]] wore no beard except upon the upper lip.

The [[Anglo-Saxons]] on arrival in Great Britain wore beards and continued to do so for a considerable time after.<ref>''The National Cyclopedia of Useful Knowledge'', Vol III, (1847) Charles Knight, London, p. 46.</ref> Among the [[Gaels|Gaelic]] Celts of Scotland and Ireland, men typically let their facial hair grow into a full beard, and it was often seen as dishonourable for a Gaelic man to have no facial hair.<ref name="Connolly-prologue">{{cite book |title=Contested island: Ireland 1460–1630 |last=Connolly |first=Sean J |year=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=7 |chapter=Prologue}}</ref><ref name="Gerald">[http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/topography_ireland.pdf ''The Topography of Ireland'' by Giraldus Cambrensis] (English translation)</ref><ref>Macleod, John, ''Highlanders: A History of the Gaels'' (Hodder and Stoughton, 1997) p. 43</ref>

[[Tacitus]] states that among the Catti, a [[Germanic people|Germanic]] tribe (perhaps the [[Chatten]]), a young man was not allowed to shave or cut his hair until he had slain an enemy. The [[Lombards]] derived their name from the great length of their beards (Longobards – Long Beards). When [[Otto the Great]] said anything serious, he swore by his beard, which covered his breast.

===Middle Ages===
In [[Middle Ages|Medieval Europe]], a beard displayed a [[knight]]'s virility and honour.
The Castilian knight [[El Cid]] is described in ''[[The Lay of the Cid]]'' as "the one with the flowery beard".
Holding somebody else's beard was a serious offence that had to be righted in a duel.
The punishment for pulling off someone else's beard was the same as for castrating him.<ref name="Larraín">{{cite journal |last1=García Larraín |first1=Federico |title=El Honor En El Poema De Mío Cid |journal=Revista de Humanidades |date=2014 |issue=30 |pages=103 |url=https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=321232867005 |access-date=3 May 2023 |trans-title=Honor in the Lay of the Cid |language=es |format=PDF |issn=0717-0491 |quote=Lacarra nota que el castigo por mesar la barba era equivalente al castigo dado al que castraba a otro}}</ref>

While most noblemen and knights were bearded, the Catholic clergy were generally required to be clean-shaven. This was understood as a symbol of their celibacy.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, Arabian men would apparently shorten their beards and keep big mustachios. Muhammad encouraged his followers to do the opposite, to grow their beards and trim their moustaches, to differ with the non-believers. This style of beard subsequently spread along with Islam during the Muslim expansion in the Middle Ages.

===From the Renaissance to the present day===
{{Original research section|date=June 2009}}

Most Chinese emperors of the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644) appear with beards or mustaches in portraits.

In the 15th century, most European men in both the church and the nobility were clean-shaven. In the 16th-century beards became fashionable, particularly following the [[Reformation]] where many rulers, nobles and religious reformers grew long beards to distinguish themselves from the usually clean shaven Catholic clergy. By the mid 16th century most Catholic clergy also adopted beards. [[List of popes|Every pope]] from [[Pope Clement VII|Clement VII]] (pope 1523–1534) to [[Pope Innocent XII|Innocent XII]] (pope 1691–1700) would also sport facial hair. Some other beards of this time were the Spanish spade beard, the English square cut beard, the forked beard, and the stiletto beard. In 1587 [[Francis Drake]] claimed, in a [[figure of speech]], to have [[singed the King of Spain's beard]]. This trend can be recognised during this period for example amongst monarchs of leading European countries, where the shift can be seen between clean-shaven Holy Roman Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] as well as King of Aragon [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] and their bearded successor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], clean-shaven King of England [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] and his bearded successor [[Henry VIII]] and clean-shaven King of France [[Louis XII]] and his bearded successor [[Francis I of France|Francis I]].

During the Chinese [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1911), the ruling [[Manchu]] minority were either clean-shaven or at most wore mustaches, in contrast to the [[Han Chinese|Han]] majority who still wore beards in keeping with the Confucian ideal.

In the beginning of the 17th century, the size of beards decreased in urban circles of Western Europe with the shape also becoming more pointed. By the middle of the century men usually wore a mustache or a pointed goatee. In the later part of the century, being clean-shaven gradually became more common again amongst the upper classes, so much so that in 1698 [[Peter the Great]] of Russia ordered men to shave off their beards, and in 1705 levied a [[beard tax|tax on beards]] in order to bring Russian society more in line with contemporary Western Europe. Throughout the 18th century essentially all upper class and most middle class European men would be clean shaven.<ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/beard-tax Beard Tax: Information from]. Answers.com. Retrieved on 3 January 2011.</ref>

At the end of the eighteenth century, after the [[French Revolution]], attitudes began to turn away from the upper-class fashions of the previous century particularly among the lower classes. During the early-nineteenth century, most men, particularly amongst the nobility and upper classes; went clean-shaven. However, the shifts which had begun during the revolutionary period began to creep their way into first the middle and then the upper classes and this included the gradual return of facial hair. This is seen in the 1810s and 1820s with many men adopting [[sideburns]] or side whiskers which gradually grew in size in the ensuing decades. Facial hair also became more common amongst servicemen in Western armies during this period with the 'regimental mustache' becoming a common association with the soldiers of the time. 

This was followed by a dramatic shift in the beard's popularity following the [[Revolutions of 1848]], with it becoming markedly more popular.<ref name="Jacob Middleton 2006">Jacob Middleton, 'Bearded Patriarchs', History Today, Volume: 56 Issue: 2 (February 2006), 26–27.</ref> Consequently, beards were adopted by many monarchs, such as [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph I]] of Austria (r. 1848 - 1916), [[Napoleon III]] of France (r. 1852 - 1870), [[Alexander II of Russia]] (r. 1855 - 1881), and [[William I, German Emperor|William I]] of Germany (r. 1861 - 1888), as well as many leading statesmen and cultural figures, such as [[Benjamin Disraeli]], [[Charles Dickens]], [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], [[Karl Marx]], and [[Giuseppe Verdi]]. This trend can be also recognised in the United States, where the shift can be seen amongst the [[List of presidents of the United States#Presidents|presidents during and after the Civil War]] in the period of 1861 - 1913. Before [[Abraham Lincoln]], no President had a beard;<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z6vCGbf66YC&pg=PA59 |title=Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |author=Sherrow, Victoria |year=2006 |pages=59 |isbn=9780313331459 }}</ref> after Lincoln until [[William Howard Taft]], every President except [[Andrew Johnson]] and [[William McKinley]] had either a beard or a moustache. Since 1913, when [[Woodrow Wilson]] became president, all presidents have been clean-shaven to the present day. In 2025, [[J.D. Vance]] became the first U.S. Vice President with facial hair since the mustachioed [[Charles Curtis]], who left office in 1933. With Vance's beard forming a part of his image and defining the debate on facial hair in politics for the modern era.

The beard became linked in this period with notions of masculinity and male courage.<ref name="Jacob Middleton 2006" /> The resulting popularity has contributed to the stereotypical Victorian male figure in the popular mind, the stern figure clothed in black whose gravitas is added to by a heavy beard. [[File:Gillette advert in the Literary Digest, June 9, 1917.jpg|thumb|upright|Gillette advert in the Literary Digest, 9 June 1917]]

In China, the revolution of 1911 and subsequent May Fourth Movement of 1919 led the Chinese to view the West as more modern and progressive than themselves. This included the realm of fashion, and Chinese men began shaving their faces and cutting their hair short.

By the early-twentieth century, beards began a slow decline in popularity. Although retained by some prominent figures who were young men in the Victorian period (like [[Sigmund Freud]]), most men who retained facial hair during the 1920s and 1930s limited themselves to a moustache or a [[goatee]] (such as with [[Marcel Proust]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Vladimir Lenin]], [[Leon Trotsky]], [[Adolf Hitler]], and [[Joseph Stalin]]). In the United States, meanwhile, popular movies portrayed heroes with clean-shaven faces and "[[crew cut]]s". Concurrently, the psychological [[mass marketing]] of [[Edward Bernays]] and [[Madison Avenue]] was becoming prevalent. The [[The Gillette Company|Gillette]] [[Safety razor|Safety Razor]] Company was one of these marketers' early clients. The phrase ''[[wikt:five o'clock shadow|{{visible anchor|five o'clock shadow}}]]'', as a pejorative for stubble, was coined circa 1942 in advertising for Gem Blades, by the American Safety Razor Company, and entered popular usage. These events conspired to popularize short hair and clean-shaven faces as the only acceptable style for decades to come. The few men who wore the beard or portions of the beard during this period were usually either old, Central European, members of a religious sect that required it, or in academia. This case of affairs would last all the way until the late-1960s.

The beard was reintroduced to mainstream society by the counterculture, firstly with the "[[beatnik]]s" in the 1950s, and then with the [[hippie]] movement of the mid-1960s. Following the [[Vietnam War]], facial hair exploded in popularity. In the mid-late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, beards were worn by hippies and businessmen alike. Popular musicians like [[The Beatles]], [[Barry White]], [[The Beach Boys]], [[Jim Morrison]] (lead singer of [[The Doors]]) and the male members of [[Peter, Paul, and Mary]], among many others, wore full beards or mustaches. The trend of seemingly ubiquitous facial hair in American culture subsided by the early-1980s, as political conservatism became dominant.
[[File:Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charles Evans Hughes]], 11th [[Chief Justice of the United States]] from 1930-41]]
By the end of the 20th century, the closely clipped [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] beard, often with a matching integrated moustache, had become relatively common. From the 1990s onward, fashion in the United States has generally trended toward either a goatee, [[Van Dyke beard|Van Dyke]], or a closely cropped full beard undercut on the throat. However, clean-shaven remained the most common style overall, in part due to successful advertising campaigns of Gillette. In 2010, the fashionable length approached a "two-day shadow".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/03/28/latest-in-facial-hair-the-two-day-shadow/ |work=Chicago Tribune |title=Latest in facial hair: The two-day shadow | first=Alexia |last=Elejalde-Ruiz |date=28 March 2010}}</ref> The 2010s decade also saw the full beard become fashionable again amongst young [[Hipster (contemporary subculture)|hipster]] men and a huge increase in the sales of male grooming products.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scotsman.com/news/careless-whiskers-why-beards-are-back-in-fashion-1-3224369 |title=Careless whiskers: Why beards are back in fashion |work=scotsman.com |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-date=8 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408131506/http://www.scotsman.com/news/careless-whiskers-why-beards-are-back-in-fashion-1-3224369 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Members of the United States government have notably been historically clean-shaven. The last [[President of the United States|President]] to wear any type of facial hair was [[William Howard Taft]] (1909-13).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://qz.com/914048/presidents-day-when-was-the-last-time-a-us-president-had-facial-hair-not-in-100-years/ |title=It's been more than a century since a US president had facial hair |last=Kopf |first=Dan |website=Quartz |date=19 February 2017 |language=en |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Stories Behind Everyday Things |publisher=Reader's Digest |year=1982 |isbn=0-89577-068-7 |location=United States of America |pages=36}}</ref> [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[JD Vance]] wears a beard, but he is the first VP to have any since [[Charles Curtis]], (1929-33) who had a mustache. The last member of the [[United States Supreme Court]] with a full beard was Chief Justice [[Charles Evans Hughes]], who served on the Court until 1941. Since 2015, a growing number of male political figures have worn beards in office, including Speaker of the House [[Paul Ryan]], and Senators [[Ted Cruz]] and [[Tom Cotton]]. JD Vance is also the first member of a presidential ticket to wear facial hair since [[Thomas Dewey]] in 1948. However, unlike Dewey, Vance was successfully elected in 2024.
{{-}}
<gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Friedrich Engels portrait (cropped).jpg|[[Friedrich Engels]] exhibiting a full moustache and beard that was a common style among Europeans of the 19th century
File:Johann Strauss II (3).jpg|[[Johann Strauss II]] with a large beard, moustache, and [[sideburns]]
File:Thomas Swann of Maryland - photo portrait seated.jpg|Maryland Governor [[Thomas Swann]] with a long [[goatee]]. Such beards were common around the time of the [[American Civil War]].
File:Black and white portrait of emperor Meiji of Japan.jpg|[[Emperor Meiji of Japan]] wore a full beard and moustache during most of his reign.
File:Johannes Brahms portrait (cropped).jpg|alt=|[[Johannes Brahms]] with a large beard and moustache
File:Walt Whitman edit 2.jpg|[[Walt Whitman]] with a large beard and moustache
File:Tolstoy Leo port.jpg|[[Leo Tolstoy]] with a large beard and moustache
File:WG Grace c1902.jpg|English cricketer [[W. G. Grace]] with his trademark beard
File:CheyFidel.jpg|Cuban revolutionaries [[Che Guevara]] (left) and [[Fidel Castro]] (right) with patchy beards
File:Ned Kelly in 1880.png|The [[Ned Kelly beard]] was named after the bushranger, [[Ned Kelly]].
File:January 2025 Official Vice Presidential Portrait of JD Vance.jpg|[[JD Vance]] is the first bearded [[Vice President of the United States]] in nearly 100 years.
</gallery>

==In religion==
Beards also play a [[Symbol|symbolic]] role in several [[List of religions and spiritual traditions|religious traditions]].<ref name="Innes 2021" />

In [[Greek mythology]] and art, [[Zeus]] and [[Poseidon]] are always portrayed with full beards, but [[Apollo]] never is. A bearded [[Hermes]] was replaced with the more familiar beardless youth in the {{BCE|5th century}}. [[Zoroaster]], the ancient Iranian prophet and founder of [[Zoroastrianism]], is always depicted with a long beard. In [[Norse mythology]] and art, [[Odin]] and [[Thor]] are always portrayed with full beards.

===Christianity===
[[File:A01 5873.JPG|thumb|right|[[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] monk with a full beard playing the [[semantron]]]]
[[File:Antiochian Orthodox Founders, 1923.jpg|thumb|right|[[Antiochian Greek Christians|Rûm]] founders of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]]]

[[Iconography#Christian iconography|Iconography]] and [[Christian art]] dating from the 3rd century onwards almost always portray [[Jesus Christ]] with a long beard. In paintings and statues most of the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|biblical patriarchs]] and [[Prophets of Christianity|prophets]] of the [[Old Testament]], such as [[Moses]] and [[Abraham]], and the [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples of Jesus]] in the [[New Testament]], such as [[Peter the Apostle]], appear with beards, as does his predecessor [[John the Baptist]].<ref name="marginal">{{cite book|last=Meier|first=John|author-link=John P. Meier|title=Mentor, Message, and Miracles (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Vol. 2)|publisher=Anchor Bible|year=1994|volume=2|isbn=0-385-46992-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mentormessagemir00john}}</ref> However, Western European art generally depicts [[John the Apostle]] as clean-shaven, to emphasize his relative youth. Eight of the figures portrayed in the painting entitled ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] are bearded. [[Mainstream Christianity|Mainstream Christians]] believe that [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] {{bibleverse-nb|Isaiah|50:6|NASB}} is a prophecy foretelling the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]], and as such, as a description of Christ having his beard plucked by [[Passion of Jesus|his tormentors]].

====Eastern Christianity====
In [[Eastern Christianity]], members of the [[Priesthood (Eastern Orthodox Church)|priesthood]] and [[Eastern Christian monasticism|monastics]] often wear beards, and religious authorities at times have recommended or required beards for all male believers.<ref>Note for example the [[Old Believers]] within the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] tradition: {{cite encyclopedia |last= Paert |first= Irina |editor-first= John Anthony |editor-last= McGuckin |editor-link= John Anthony McGuckin |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity |title= Old Believers |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JmFetR5Wqd8C |access-date= 28 October 2014 |year=2010 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |volume=2 |isbn=9781444392548 |page=420 |quote=Ritual prohibitions typical for all sections of the Old Believers include shaving beards (for men) and smoking tobacco.}}</ref> Traditionally, [[Saint Thomas Christians|Syrian Christians]] from [[Kerala]] wear long beards. Some view it as a necessity for men in the Malayali Syrian Christian community because icons of Christ and the saints with beards were depicted from the 3rd century onwards.

====Western Christianity====
At various times in the history of the [[Western world]] and depending on various circumstances, the [[Catholic Church]] permitted or prohibited facial hair (''barbae nutritio'', literally meaning "nourishing a beard") for [[Hierarchy of the Catholic Church|its clergymen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02362a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia entry |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> A decree of the beginning of the 6th century in either [[Carthage]] or the south of [[Gaul]] forbade clerics to let their hair and beards grow freely. The phrase "nourishing a beard" was interpreted in different ways, either as imposing a clean-shaven face or only excluding a too-lengthy beard.<ref>{{harvnb|Constable|1985|pp=103–114}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nicholas |last=Rogers |chapter=English episcopal brasses, 1270–1350 |editor-first=John |editor-last=Coales |title=The Earliest English Brasses: patronage, style and workshops, 1270–1350 |location=London |publisher=Monumental Brass Society |year=1987 |isbn=0-9501298-5-2 |pages=8–68 (18) }}</ref> In relatively modern times, the first pope to wear a beard was [[Pope Julius II]], who in 1511–12 did so for a while as a sign of mourning for the loss of the city of [[Bologna]]. [[Pope Clement VII]] let his beard grow at the time of the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome in 1527]] and kept it. All his successors did so until the death in 1700 of [[Pope Innocent XII]]. Since then, no pope has worn a beard.

Beards have been associated at different dates with particular [[Religious order (Catholic)|Catholic religious orders]]. In the 1160s [[Burchard of Bellevaux|Burchardus]], abbot of the [[Bellevaux Abbey|Cistercian monastery of Bellevaux]] in the Franche-Comté, wrote a treatise on beards.<ref>''Apologiae duae: Gozechini epistola ad Walcherum; Burchardi, ut videtur, Abbatis Bellevallis Apologia de Barbis''. Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis LXII. Edited by R.B.C. Huygens, with an introduction on beards in the Middle Ages by Giles Constable (Turnholt: Brepols, 1985). Translation: McAlhany, J. ''Beards & Baldness in the Middle Ages: Three Texts''. (Brooklyn, NY: Leverhill, 2024), pp. 43-115.</ref> He regarded beards as appropriate for lay brothers, but not for the priests among the monks. In about 1240, [[Alberic of Trois-Fontaines]] described the [[Knights Templar]] as an "order of bearded brethren"; and, on the eve of the [[Knights Templar#Arrests, charges and dissolution|suppression of the order]] in 1312, out of nearly 230 knights and brothers questioned by the papal commissioners in Paris, 76 are described as wearing a beard (in some cases specified as "in the style of the Templars"), while another 133 are reported to have shaved their beards, either in renunciation of their vows or in a bid to escape detection.<ref>{{harvnb|Harris|2013|pp=124–125}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Helen |title=The Knights Templar: a new history |publisher=Sutton |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7509-2517-4 |location=Stroud |pages=48, 124–27 }}</ref> [[Randle Holme#Randle Holme III (1627–1700)|Randle Holme]], writing in 1688, associated beards with Templars, [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knights]], [[Order of Saint Augustine|Austin Friars]], and [[Gregorian mission|Gregorians]].<ref>{{harvnb|Harris|2013|p=127}}</ref> Most [[Latin Church]] clergy are now clean-shaven, but [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]] and some others are bearded. Present [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|Canon law]] is silent on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McNamara|first1=Edward|title=Beards and Priests|url=http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/beards-and-priests|website=Zenit news agency|date=13 January 2015|access-date=13 January 2015}}</ref>

Although most [[Protestantism|Protestant Christians]] regard the beard as a matter of choice, some have taken the lead in fashion by openly encouraging its growth as "a habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial" ([[Charles Spurgeon|C. H. Spurgeon]]).<ref>Spurgeon, C. H., ''Lectures to My Students, First Series, Lecture 8'' (Baker Book House, 1981) p. 134.</ref> [[Amish]] and [[Hutterite]] men shave until they marry, then grow a beard and are never thereafter without one, although it is a particular form of a beard (see [[Visual markers of marital status]]). [[Diarmaid MacCulloch]], professor of [[Church history|ecclesiastical history]] at the [[University of Oxford]], writes: "There is no doubt that [[Thomas Cranmer|Cranmer]] mourned the dead king ([[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]])",<ref>{{cite book |last=MacCulloch |first=Diarmaid |author-link=Diarmaid MacCulloch |year=2017 |orig-year=1996 |title=Thomas Cranmer: A Life |location=New Haven, Connecticut|publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |edition=Revised |page=361 |isbn=978-03-00-22657-7}}</ref> and it was said that he showed his grief by growing a beard. However, MacCulloch also states that during the [[Reformation Era]], many [[Protestant Reformers]] decided to grow their beards in order to emphasize their break with the Catholic tradition:
{{blockquote|it was a break from the past for a clergyman to abandon his clean-shaven appearance which was the norm for late medieval priesthood; with [[Martin Luther|Luther]] providing a precedent [during his exile period], virtually all the continental reformers had deliberately grown beards as a mark of their rejection of the old church, and the significance of clerical beards as an aggressive anti-Catholic gesture was well recognised in mid-[[Tudor England]].}}

<gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Johannes Bessarion aport012.png|[[Basilios Bessarion]]'s beard contributed to his defeat in the [[1455 papal conclave|papal conclave of 1455]].<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Soykut|first1 = Mustapha|chapter = Chapter Nine: The Ottoman Empire and Europe in political history through Venetian and Papal sources|editor1-last = Birchwood|editor1-first = Matthew|editor2-last = Dimmock|editor2-first = Matthew|title = Cultural Encounters Between East and West, 1453-1699|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U5zTAHQfI4MC|location = Newcastle-upon-Tyne|publisher = Cambridge Scholars Press|date = 2005|page = 170|isbn = 9781904303411|access-date = 2014-10-28|quote = [...] Bessarion later embraced the Catholic faith and in 1455 lost the election to become Pope with eight votes against fifteen from the cardinals. One of the arguments that was used against the election of Bessarion as Pope was that he still had a beard, even though he had converted to Catholicism, and insisted on wearing his Greek habit, which raised doubts on the sincerity of his conversion.}}</ref>
File:Titian - Pope Paul III - WGA22962.jpg|[[Pope Paul III]] (Alessandro Farnese), [[Bishop of Rome]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 1534 to 1549.
File:Thomas Cranmer.png|[[Thomas Cranmer]], Archbishop of Canterbury and architect of the [[English Reformation]], wore a long beard in his later years.
File:Thomas Bramwell Welch.jpg|[[Thomas Bramwell Welch]] was a [[Methodism|Methodist]] minister and [[Temperance movement|Temperance activist]]
File:Solanuscasey.jpg|Roman Catholic [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin friar]], blessed [[Solanus Casey]] (1870–1957)
File:Amish Man in straw hat, suspenders, and shenandoah beard.jpg|An Amish man with a [[Shenandoah (beard)|Shenandoah]] beard
</gallery>

====The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints====
[[File:Brigham Young by Charles William Carter.jpg|thumb|upright|Many early LDS Church leaders (such as [[Brigham Young]], pictured) wore beards.]]
[[File:Lorenzo Snow 2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lorenzo Snow]], Mormon missionary and [[List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|fifth president]] of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]

Since the mid-20th century, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) has encouraged its male members to be clean-shaven,<ref name="oaks">{{cite journal|last=Oaks|first=Dallin H.|author-link=Dallin H. Oaks|title=Standards of Dress and Grooming|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1971/12/standards-of-dress-and-grooming?lang=eng|journal=[[New Era (magazine)|New Era]]|date=December 1971|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]}}</ref> particularly those that serve in [[Priesthood (LDS Church)|ecclesiastical leadership positions]].<ref>{{citation |first= Peggy Fletcher |last= Stack |author-link= Peggy Fletcher Stack |date= 5 April 2013 |title= How beards became barred among top Mormon leaders |url= http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56042739-78/beard-beards-byu-church.html.csp |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref> The church's encouragement of men's shaving has neither scriptural nor theological basis, but stems from the general waning of facial hair's popularity in Western society during the 20th century and its association with the [[hippie]] and [[drug culture]] aspects of the [[counterculture of the 1960s]],<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |last=Millward |first=David |date=18 November 2014 |title=Mormon students fight beard ban |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11239320/Mormon-students-fight-beard-ban.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11239320/Mormon-students-fight-beard-ban.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=23 February 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and has not been a permanent rule.<ref name="oaks" />

After [[Joseph Smith]], many of the early presidents of the LDS Church, such as [[Brigham Young]] and [[Lorenzo Snow]], wore large beards. Since [[David O. McKay]] became [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church president]] in 1951, most LDS Church leaders have been clean-shaven. The church maintains no formal policy on facial hair for its general membership.<ref>{{cite news |first= Lynn |last= Arave |date= 17 March 2003 |title= Theology about beards can get hairy |url= http://www.deseret.com/2003/3/17/19709622/theology-about-beards-can-get-hairy/ |newspaper= [[Deseret News]] }}</ref> However, formal prohibitions against facial hair are currently enforced for young men providing two-year [[Mormon missionary|missionary]] service.<ref>{{cite journal |title= FYI: For Your Information |journal= [[New Era (magazine)|New Era]] |date= June 1989 |pages= 48–51 |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1989/06/fyi-for-your-information?lang=eng |access-date= 18 February 2011}}</ref> Students and staff of the church-sponsored higher education institutions, such as [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU), are required to adhere to the [[Church Educational System Honor Code]],<ref name="BYUhouse3">{{cite book |last1= Bergera |first1= Gary James |last2= Priddis |first2= Ronald |year= 1985 |chapter= Chapter 3: Standards & the Honor Code |chapter-url= http://signaturebookslibrary.org/?p=13895 |title= Brigham Young University: A House of Faith |place= Salt Lake City |publisher= [[Signature Books]] |isbn= 0-941214-34-6 |oclc= 12963965 }}</ref> which states in part: "Men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable", although male BYU students are permitted to wear a neatly groomed moustache.<ref name="Telegraph" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Dress and Grooming Standards|url=https://policy.byu.edu/view/dress-and-grooming-standards|publisher=Brigham Young University|website=Policy.BYU.edu|access-date=17 October 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927225321/https://policy.byu.edu/view/dress-and-grooming-standards |archive-date=2021-09-27 }}</ref> A beard exemption is granted for "serious skin conditions",<ref>{{citation |url= http://health.byu.edu/index2.php?page=services/beard.php |contribution= Services: Beard Exception |title= Student Health Center |publisher= BYU |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141125225757/http://health.byu.edu/index2.php?page=services%2Fbeard.php |archive-date= 25 November 2014 |url-status= dead |access-date= 16 December 2018 }}</ref> and for approved theatrical performances, but until 2015 no exemption was given for any other reason, including religious convictions.<ref>{{citation |first= Julie |last= Turkewitznov |date= 17 November 2014 |title= At Brigham Young, Students Push to Lift Ban on Beards |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/us/campaigning-to-change-the-cleanshaven-look-at-brigham-young-university.html |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141118191241/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/us/campaigning-to-change-the-cleanshaven-look-at-brigham-young-university.html |archive-date= 18 November 2014 |url-status= live }}</ref> In January 2015, BYU clarified that students who want a beard for religious reasons, like Muslims or Sikhs, may be granted permission after applying for an exemption.<ref>{{citation |first= Abby |last= Phillip |date= 14 January 2015 |title= Brigham Young University adjusts anti-beard policies amid student protests |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/14/brigham-young-university-adjusts-anti-beard-policies-amid-student-protests/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 15 January 2015 |title= BYU clarifies beard policy; spells out exceptions |url= http://www.sltrib.com/2057823-155/ |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Amy |last= McDonald |date= 17 January 2015 |title= Muslims celebrate BYU beard policy exemption |url= http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/college/byu/muslims-celebrate-byu-beard-policy-exemption/article_ed90845c-677a-5ade-9e24-9350ba33e68f.html |newspaper= [[Provo Daily Herald]] |access-date= 22 December 2017 |archive-date= 14 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151014203438/http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/college/byu/muslims-celebrate-byu-beard-policy-exemption/article_ed90845c-677a-5ade-9e24-9350ba33e68f.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url= http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/01/19/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban.html |title= BYU beard ban doesn't apply to Muslim students |newspaper= [[Standard-Examiner]] |agency= ([[Associated Press|AP]]) |date= 19 January 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150121001249/http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/01/19/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban.html |archive-date= 21 January 2015 |url-status= dead |access-date= 21 January 2015 }} Reprinted by ''[https://www.deseret.com/2015/1/21/20476253/byu-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban/ Deseret News]'', [http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=33159783 KSL], and [http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local-news/stories/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban-69912.shtml KUTV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121023802/http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local-news/stories/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban-69912.shtml |date=2015-01-21 }}.</ref>

BYU students led a campaign to loosen the beard restrictions in 2014,<ref name="Telegraph" /><ref>{{citation |first= Whitney |last= Evans |date= 27 September 2014 |title= Students rally for beard 'revolution' in Provo |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865611874/Students-rally-for-beard-revolution-in-Provo.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140928143332/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865611874/Students-rally-for-beard-revolution-in-Provo.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= September 28, 2014 |newspaper= [[Deseret News]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 26 September 2014 |title= BYU student asks school to chop beard ban |url= http://www.sltrib.com/58458452-219/university-beards-beard-campus.html |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date= 22 December 2017 |archive-date= 25 November 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141125224803/http://www.sltrib.com/58458452-219/university-beards-beard-campus.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Whitney |last= Evans |date= 27 September 2014 |title= Students protest BYU beard restriction |url= http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=31728643 |publisher= [[KSL-TV|KSL 5 News]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Cutler |date= 26 September 2014 |title= 'Bike for Beards' event part of BYU students' fight for facial hair freedom |url= http://fox13now.com/2014/09/26/bike-for-beards-event-part-of-byu-students-fight-for-facial-hair-freedom/ |publisher= [[KSTU|Fox 13 News (KSTU)]] }}</ref> but it had the opposite effect at [[Church Educational System]] schools: some who had previously been granted beard exemptions were found no longer to qualify, and for a brief period the [[LDS Business College]] required students with a registered exemption to wear a "beard badge", which was likened to a "[[badge of shame]]". Some students also join in with shaming their fellow beard-wearing students, even those with registered exemptions.<ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 24 November 2014 |title= Beard ban at Mormon schools getting stricter, students say |url= http://www.sltrib.com/1867918-155/beard-ban-at-mormon-schools-getting |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref>

===Islam===
[[File:Konstantin Kapidagli 002.jpg|thumb|upright|An example of an [[Ottoman dynasty|Ottoman]]-style beard: [[Sultan of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan]] [[Selim III]].]]

In the [[Quran]], the Israelite patriarch [[Aaron in Islam|Aaron]] is said to have had a beard ({{Cite Quran|20|94|expand=no|style=nosup}}). In the [[Hadith|''ḥadīth'' literature]], it is reported that [[Muhammad]] sported a thick beard along with long head hair that reached his shoulders.<ref>Al-Tirmidhi, [https://sunnah.com/shamail/1 Shama'il Muhammadiyah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326230223/https://sunnah.com/shamail/1 |date=26 March 2017 }} Book 1, Hadith 5 & Book 1, Hadith 7/8.</ref>

==== Sunni ====
Within [[Sunni Islam]], there are three scholarly opinions on the beard in [[Islamic jurisprudence]]. 

The first one is that growing the beard is obligatory and that shaving it is {{Transliteration|ar|[[haram]]}} (forbidden) with the main source for this position being this narration: ''[[Sahih Bukhari]]'', Book 72, Hadith #781 ([[USC-MSA]]), narrated by [[Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab|Ibn ʿUmar]]: Allah's Apostle said, "Cut the moustaches short and leave the beard (as it is)."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement |url=http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/072-sbt.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417050422/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/072-sbt.php |archive-date=2016-04-17 |access-date=2019-01-10}}</ref>[[File:Elderly Man with Hennaed Beard - Old City - Dhaka - Bangladesh (12850630365).jpg|thumb|upright|An elderly [[Bengalis|Bengali]] man with a beard dyed in [[henna]].]]

The second one, which is the official position of the [[Shafi'i school]], rules that the beard is only {{Transliteration|ar|[[mustahabb]]}} (recommended), and shaving the beard is only {{Transliteration|ar|[[makruh]]}} (disliked), but not {{Transliteration|ar|[[haram]]}} (forbidden).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-09 |title=Fatawa - The ruling of keeping the beard? |url=https://www.dar-alifta.org/Foreign/ViewFatwa.aspx?ID=5968 |access-date=2022-06-09 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609111918/https://www.dar-alifta.org/Foreign/ViewFatwa.aspx?ID=5968 |archive-date=9 June 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The third one among some contemporary [[Ulama|Sunnī Muslim scholars]], such as the [[Grand Mufti of Egypt]] [[Shawki Allam]], is that keeping the beard is permissible and that shaving it is also permissible.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 October 2018 |url=https://egyptindependent.com/beard-is-just-an-appearance-grand-mufti/ |title=Beard is just an appearance: Grand Mufti |work=[[Egypt Independent]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609113747/https://egyptindependent.com/beard-is-just-an-appearance-grand-mufti/ |archive-date=9 June 2022 |url-status=dead |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref>

====Shia====
[[File:Portrait of Shah Ismail I. Inscribed "Ismael Sophy Rex Pers". Painted by Cristofano dell'Altissimo, dated 1552-1568.jpg|thumb|upright|An example of a [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]]-style beard: [[Shah]] [[Ismail I]].]]

According to the [[Twelver]] denomination of [[Shia Islam|Shīʿa Islam]], as per ''[[sunnah]]'' custom, the length of a beard should not exceed the width of a fist. Trimming of facial hair is allowed; however, shaving it is ''[[haram]]'' (forbidden).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english.shirazi.ir/ufaqs/what-is-the-ruling-on-mens-beards/|title=What is the ruling on mens beards|author=Office of the Grand Ayatollah Sayid Sadiq Al-Shirazi|access-date=29 May 2018|archive-date=29 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529204105/http://www.english.shirazi.ir/ufaqs/what-is-the-ruling-on-mens-beards/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sistani.org/english/qa/01136/|title=Beard - Question & Answer - The Official Website of the Office of His Eminence Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Husseini Al-Sistani|access-date=11 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leader.ir/en/book/23?sn=5211|title=Practical Laws of Islam|access-date=11 March 2017}}</ref> About the permissible size of it, according to a few [[List of Shia Muslim scholars of Islam|Shīʿīte]]  ''[[Marja'|marjiaʿ]]'' such as [[Seyyed Ali Khamenei]], [[Ali al-Sistani|Seyyed Ali Sistani]], and others, if this (its size) is ''[[Urf|ʿurfly]]'' applicable (true of) beard, it will not be ''haram''.<ref>[https://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?id=196&pid=196&tid=-1 Ayatollah Khamenei; issue of beard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010070025/https://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?id=196&pid=196&tid=-1 |date=2020-10-10 }} khamenei.ir Retrieved 7 October 2020</ref><ref>[https://hadana.ir/%D8%AD%DA%A9%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B9/ Issue of Beard / Maraja's] hadana.ir Retrieved 7 October 2020</ref>

===Judaism===
{{Main|Shaving in Judaism}}

[[Talmud]]ic tradition holds that a man may not shave his beard with a razor with a single blade, since the cutting action of the blade against the skin "mars" the beard. Because scissors have two blades, some opinions in ''[[halakha]]'' (Jewish law) permit their use to trim the beard, as the cutting action comes from contact of the two blades and not the blade against the skin. For this reason, some ''[[Posek|poskim]]'' (Jewish legal deciders) rule that [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]] may use [[Electric shaver|electric razors]] to remain clean-shaven, as such shavers cut by trapping the hair between the blades and the metal grating, [[Halakha|halakhically]] a scissor-like action. However, other ''poskim''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://holmininternational613.com/books/BEARD_JEWISH_LAW-E.pdf|author= Gross, Rabbi Sholom Yehuda|title=The Beard in Jewish Law|access-date= June 23, 2011}}See Zokon Yisrael KiHilchso</ref> maintain that electric shavers constitute a razor-style action and consequently prohibit their use. The [[Torah]] forbids certain shaving practices altogether, in particular [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|19:27|HE}} states: "You must not round off the hair at the sides of your head, or destroy the corners of your beard."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leviticus 19:27 {{!}} Sefaria |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.19.27?lang=bi&lang2=en |access-date=26 April 2017 |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>
[[File:Orthodox Man with Beard by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|left|[[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jew]] in [[Jerusalem]] with a long, unshaved beard and ''[[peyos]]'' (sidelocks)]]

The ''[[Mishnah]]'' interprets this as a prohibition on using a razor on the beard.<ref>Talmud, Makot 20a</ref> This prohibition is further expanded upon in the [[Kabbalistic texts|Kabbalistic literature]].<ref>"The punishment for this [shaving with a razor] is delineated by the holy Zohar and the books of the Mekubalim, and is considered a great and terrible sin, among the most grievous." – ''Shaving With a Razor'', by Rabbi Meir Gavriel Elbaz, http://halachayomit.co.il/EnglishDefault.asp?HalachaID=2355, dated 4 January 2012.</ref> The prohibition carries to modern Judaism to this day, with [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic opinions]] traditionally forbidding the use of a razor to shave between the "five corners of the beard"—although there is no uniform consensus on where these five vertices are located. [[Moses Maimonides]] criticized the shaving of the beard as being the custom of "idolatrous priests".<ref>Maimonides, ''Moreh'' 3:37</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellinson |first=Getsel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rpYRAQAAIAAJ&q=rabbinic+opinion+forbidding+the+use+of+a+razor+to+shave |title=Woman and the Mitzvot: The modest way: a guide to the Rabbinic Sources |date=1992 |publisher=Eliner Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora, World Zionist Organization |language=en}}</ref>

The ''[[Zohar]]'', one of the primary sources of [[Kabbalah]] ([[Jewish mysticism]]), attributes Sacred to the beard, specifying that hairs of the beard symbolize channels of subconscious holy energy that flows from above to the human soul. Therefore, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic Jews]], for whom Kabbalah plays an important role in their religious practice, traditionally do not remove or even trim their beards.

Traditional Jews refrain from shaving, trimming the beard, and haircuts during certain times of the year like [[Passover]], [[Sukkot]], the [[Counting of the Omer]], and [[the Three Weeks]]. Cutting the hair is also restricted during the 30-day mourning period after the death of a close relative, known in Hebrew as the ''[[Bereavement in Judaism#Shloshim – Thirty days|Shloshim]]'' (thirty).

===Hinduism===
The ancient [[Hindu texts]] regarding beards depend on the ''[[Vedas]]'' and other teachings, varying according to whom the devotee worships or follows. Many [[sadhu]]s, [[yogi]]s, or yoga practitioners keep beards in all stages of life. [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] ascetics generally have beards, as they are not permitted to own anything, which would include a razor. The beard is also a sign of a [[Vagrancy|nomadic]] and [[Asceticism|ascetic]] lifestyle. [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] men, typically of the [[ISKCON]] sect, are often clean-shaven as a sign of cleanliness.

<gallery class="center" widths="180" heights="145" caption="Hindu [[Sadhu]]s with beards">
File:Hindu sadhu with painted face-3311230.jpg
File:Baba in Kathmandu.jpg
</gallery>

===Sikhism===
[[File:Sikh man, Agra 02.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sikhism|Sikh]] man with a long, unshaved beard and [[Sikh turban|turban]] (''dastār'') covering his uncut hair]]

[[Guru Gobind Singh]], the tenth Sikh Guru, commanded the [[Sikhs]] to maintain unshorn hair, recognizing it as a necessary adornment of the body as well as a mandatory [[The Five Ks|Article of Faith]]. Sikhs consider the beard to be part of the nobility and dignity of their manhood. Sikhs also refrain from cutting their hair and beards out of respect for the God-given form. Keeping the hair uncut is ''[[Kesh (Sikhism)|kesh]]'', one of [[the Five Ks]], the compulsory articles of faith for a baptized Sikh. As such, a Sikh man is easily identified by his [[Sikh turban|turban]] (''dastār'') and uncut hair and beard.

===Rastafari movement===
Male [[Rastafari|Rastafarians]] wear uncut hair and beards in conformity with injunctions given in the [[Old Testament]] of the [[Christian Bible]], such as [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|21:5|NASB}}, which reads: "They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh." The beard is a symbol of the covenant between God ([[Jah]] or [[Jehovah]] in Rastafari usage) and his people.

==Modern prohibition==

===Civilian prohibitions===
Professional airline pilots are required to be shaven to facilitate a tight seal with auxiliary oxygen masks. However, some airlines have recently lifted such bans in light of modern studies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dimoff |first=Anna |date=Sep 14, 2018 |title=Air Canada pilots get permission to wear beards |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/air-canada-pilots-get-permission-to-wear-beards-1.4825104 |access-date=7 November 2018 |website=www.cbc.ca}}</ref> Similarly, firefighters may also be prohibited from full beards to obtain a proper seal with [[SCBA]] equipment.<ref>''Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta'', [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2605238582396717998&hl=en&as_sdt=6 2 F.3d 1112] (11th Cir. 1993).</ref> Other jobs may prohibit beards as necessary to wear masks or respirators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://agency.governmentjobs.com/ebmud/job_bulletin.cfm?JobID=603612 |title=Job Bulletin |publisher=Agency.governmentjobs.com |date=22 March 2013 |access-date=26 February 2014 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112003110/https://agency.governmentjobs.com/ebmud/job_bulletin.cfm?JobID=603612 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Isezaki city in Gunma prefecture, Japan, decided to ban beards for male municipal employees on 19 May 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/05/20/news/gunma-bureaucrats-get-beard-ban/ |title=Gunma bureaucrats get beard ban &#124; The Japan Times Online |publisher=www.japantimes.co.jp |date=20 May 2010 |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629213934/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/05/20/news/gunma-bureaucrats-get-beard-ban/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit]] has found requiring shaving to be discriminatory.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 February 1991 |title=926 F2d 714 Bradley v. Pizzaco of Nebraska Inc Bradley |url=http://openjurist.org/926/f2d/714/bradley-v-pizzaco-of-nebraska-inc-bradley |access-date=24 November 2011 |publisher=OpenJurist |page=714 |volume=F2d |issue=926}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=7 F.3d 795 (8th Cir. 1993) 68 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (Bna) 245, 62 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,611 Langston Bradley, Plaintiff, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Intervenor-Appellant, v. Pizzaco of Nebraska, Inc., D.B.a Domino's Pizza; Domino's Pizza, Inc., Defendants-Appellees|url=http://federal-circuits.vlex.com/vid/langston-pizzaco-domino-pizza-36071559|work=United States Federal Circuit Courts Decisions Archive|publisher=vLex|access-date=5 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204063954/http://federal-circuits.vlex.com/vid/langston-pizzaco-domino-pizza-36071559|archive-date=4 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Sports====
The [[International Boxing Association (amateur)|International Boxing Association]] prohibits the wearing of beards by amateur boxers, although the [[Amateur Boxing Association of England]] allows exceptions for Sikh men, on condition that the beard be covered with a fine net.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Rules of Amateur Boxing|url=http://www.abae.co.uk/aba/index.cfm/about-the-sport/the-rules-of-amateur-boxing/|publisher=[[Amateur Boxing Association of England]]|access-date=27 May 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716225735/http://www.abae.co.uk/aba/index.cfm/about-the-sport/the-rules-of-amateur-boxing/|archive-date=16 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Cincinnati Reds]] baseball team had a longstanding enforced policy where all players had to be completely clean-shaven (no beards, long sideburns or moustaches). However, this policy was abolished following the sale of the team by [[Marge Schott]] in 1999.

Under owner [[George Steinbrenner]], the [[New York Yankees]] baseball team had a [[New York Yankees appearance policy|strict appearance policy]] that prohibited long hair and facial hair below the lip; the regulation was continued under [[Hank Steinbrenner|Hank]] and [[Hal Steinbrenner]] when control of the Yankees was transferred to them after the {{MLB Year|2008|seas}}. [[Willie Randolph]] and [[Joe Girardi]], both former Yankee assistant coaches, adopted a similar clean-shaven policy for their ballclubs: the [[New York Mets]] and [[Miami Marlins]], respectively. [[Fredi Gonzalez]], who replaced Girardi as the Marlins' manager, dropped that policy when he took over after the 2006 season. Yankees legend [[Don Mattingly]] restored said policy upon becoming Marlins manager in 2016, but dropped it immediately after only one season.

The [[Playoff beard]] is a tradition common with teams in the [[National Hockey League]], and now in other leagues where players allow their beards to grow from the beginning of the playoff season until the playoffs are over for their team. Even then, players such as [[Joe Thornton]] and [[Brent Burns]] grew large, bushy beards in the regular season. However, executive [[Lou Lamoriello]] became notorious for his enforcement of an appearance policy similar to the Yankees during his front office tenures with the [[New Jersey Devils]], the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] and the [[New York Islanders]]. Lamoriello would allow players to grow beards during the playoffs, however.

In 2008, some members of the [[Tyrone county football team|County Tyrone Gaelic football team]] vowed not to shave until the end of the season. They went on to win the [[2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship|All-Ireland football championship]], some of them sporting impressive beards by that stage.
[[File:James Harden (30735342912).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|upright|[[James Harden]], nicknamed "the Beard"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/405699/2018/06/26/an-oral-history-of-how-james-harden-grew-the-beard/|title=An oral history of how James Harden grew The Beard|last=Watkins|first=Calvin|website=The Athletic|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref>]]
Canadian [[Rugby Union]] flanker [[Adam Kleeberger]] attracted much media attention before, during, and after the 2011 [[Rugby World Cup]] in New Zealand. Kleeberger was known, alongside teammates [[Jebb Sinclair]] and [[Hubert Buydens]] as one of "the beardoes". Fans in the stands could often be seen wearing fake beards and "fear the beard" became a popular expression during the team's run in the competition. Kleeberger, who became one of Canada's star players in the tournament, later used the publicity surrounding his beard to raise awareness for two causes; [[Christchurch earthquake]] relief efforts and prostate cancer. As part of this fundraising, his beard was shaved off by television personality [[Rick Mercer]] and aired on national television. The "Fear the Beard" expression was coined by the [[NBA]]'s Oklahoma City Thunder fans and was previously used by [[Houston Rockets]] fans to support [[James Harden]].

[[File:Brian Wilson (2011).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Brian Wilson (baseball)|Brian Wilson]]'s beard in 2011]]
[[San Francisco Giants]] [[relief pitcher]] [[Brian Wilson (baseball)|Brian Wilson]], who claims not to have shaved since the [[2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2010 All-Star Game]], has grown a big beard that has become popular in MLB and with its fans. MLB Fan Cave presented a "Journey Inside Brian Wilson's Beard", which was an interactive screenshot of Wilson's beard, where one can click on different sections to see various fictional activities performed by small "residents" of the beard. The hosts on sports show sometimes wear replica beards, and the Giants gave them away to fans as a promo.<ref>{{cite web |title=Baseball Player Beard {{!}} Baseball Beards {{!}} Best MLB Beards |url=https://thebeardguide.com/baseball-player-beard/ |website=The Beard Guide |access-date=1 December 2020 |date=4 September 2020 |archive-date=21 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321213039/https://thebeardguide.com/baseball-player-beard/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[2013 Boston Red Sox season|2013 Boston Red Sox]] featured at least 12 players<ref>{{cite web |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Molly |url=http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2013/09/14/60568402/the-red-sox-celebrate-team-facial-hair-with-getbeard |title=#GetBeard: Can you recognize the Red Sox's facial hair from their silhouettes? &#124; MLB.com |publisher=Wapc.mlb.com |access-date=26 February 2014 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030811/http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2013/09/14/60568402/the-red-sox-celebrate-team-facial-hair-with-getbeard |url-status=dead }}</ref> with varying degrees of facial hair, ranging from the closely trimmed beard of slugger [[David Ortiz]] to the long shaggy looks of [[Jonny Gomes]] and [[Mike Napoli]]. The Red Sox used their beards as a marketing tool, offering a Dollar Beard Night,<ref>{{cite web|last=Brasseur |first=Kyle |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/31210/snapshots-dollar-beard-night-at-fenway |title=Snapshots: 'Dollar Beard Night' at Fenway - Boston Red Sox Blog - ESPN Boston |date=19 September 2013 |publisher=Espn.go.com |access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> where all fans with beards (real or fake) could buy a ticket for $1.00; and also as means of fostering team camaraderie.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/sports/baseball/bonding-with-beards-the-red-sox-repair-their-clubhouse-chemistry.html | work=The New York Times | first=Scott | last=Cacciola | title=Bonding With Beards, the Red Sox Repair Their Clubhouse Chemistry | date=8 September 2013}}</ref>

Beards have also become a source of competition between athletes. Examples of athlete "beard-offs" include NBA players [[DeShawn Stevenson]] and [[Drew Gooden (basketball)|Drew Gooden]] in 2008,<ref>{{cite news|last=Steinberg |first=Dan |url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2007/11/deshawns_beardgrowing_contest.html |title=D.C. Sports Bog - DeShawn's Beard-Growing Contest |publisher=Blog.washingtonpost.com |access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> and [[WWE]] wrestler [[Bryan Danielson|Daniel Bryan]] and [[Oakland Athletics]] outfielder [[Josh Reddick]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|last=November |first=Mike Oz |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/josh-reddick-loses-beard-off-face-shaved-wwe-091159256--mlb.html |title=Josh Reddick loses 'beard-off,' has his face shaved by WWE's Daniel Bryan &#124; Big League Stew |publisher=Sports.yahoo.com |date=21 November 2013 |access-date=26 February 2014}}</ref>

===Armed forces===
{{Main|Facial hair in the military}}

{{See also|Religious symbolism in the United States military#Personal apparel and grooming}}

Depending on the country and period, facial hair was either prohibited in the army or an integral part of the uniform.

==Styles==
{{Original research section|date=August 2014}}
{{main|List of facial hairstyles}}
[[File:President Rutherford Hayes 1870 - 1880 Restored.jpg|thumb|upright|U.S. President [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] with a full beard]]
[[File:Henry David Thoreau.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Henry David Thoreau]] with a neckbeard]]
[[File:Haile Selassie in full dress (cropped2).jpg|thumb|upright|Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] of [[Ethiopia]] with short beard]]
[[File:Maximilian I of Mexico portrait standing.jpg|thumb|upright|Emperor [[Maximilian I of Mexico]]]]
Beard hair is most commonly removed by shaving or by trimming with the use of a [[beard trimmer]]. If only the area above the upper lip is left unshaven, the resulting facial hairstyle is known as a [[moustache|mustache]]; if hair is left only on the chin, the style is a [[goatee]].

* '''Full''': downward flowing beard with either a styled or integrated mustache
* [[Giuseppe Garibaldi|Garibaldi]]: wide, full beard with rounded bottom and integrated mustache
* '''Old Dutch''': A large, long beard, connected by sideburns, that flares outward in width at the bottom, without a mustache.
* [[Sideburns]]: hair grown from the temples down the cheeks toward the jawline. Worn by [[Ambrose Burnside]] (the namesake of the style), [[Isaac Asimov]] and [[Carlos Menem]].
* '''Jawline beard''': A beard that is grown from the chin along the jawline. Chinstrap, [[chin curtain]] and brett are all variations of a jawline beard with distinctions being chin coverage and sideburn length.
* [[Chinstrap beard|Chinstrap]]: a beard with long sideburns that comes forward and ends under the chin.
* [[Chin curtain]]: similar to the chinstrap beard but covers the entire chin. Also called a Lincoln, [[Shenandoah (beard)|Shenandoah]], or spade.
* '''Brett''': similar to the chin curtain beard, but does not connect to the sideburns.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brett Beard |url=http://www.philips.com/e/male-grooming/how-to/beards/brettbeard.html |access-date=4 April 2014 |publisher=Phillips.com}}</ref>
* {{anchor|Neckbeard}}'''Neckbeard''': similar to the chinstrap, but with the chin and jawline shaven, leaving hair to grow only on the neck. While never as popular as other beard styles, a few noted historical figures have worn this type of beard, such as [[Nero]], [[Horace Greeley]], [[Henry David Thoreau]], [[William Empson]], [[Peter Cooper]],  [[Moses Mendelssohn]], [[Richard Wagner]], and [[Michael Costa (conductor)|Michael Costa]].
* '''Circle beard''': Commonly mistaken for the goatee, the circle beard is a small chin beard that connects around the mouth to a mustache. Also called a ''doorknocker''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Circle Beard |url=http://www.gillette.com/glossary/en-AU/circlebeard.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120053956/http://www.gillette.com/glossary/en-au/circlebeard.shtml |archive-date=20 January 2013 |access-date=14 October 2012 |publisher=Gillette.com}}</ref>
* [[Designer stubble]]: A short growth of the male beard that was popular in the West in the 1980s, and experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 2010s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Designer stubble |url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/designer-stubble.html |access-date=14 July 2011}}</ref>
* [[Sea captain]]: A rounded, bottom-heavy beard of medium length with short sides that is often paired with a longer mustache.
* [[Goatee]]: A tuft of hair grown on the chin, sometimes resembling a billy [[goat]]'s.
* '''Junco''': A goatee that extends upward and connects to the corners of the mouth but does not include a mustache, like the circle beard.
* '''Meg''': A goatee that extends upward and connects to the mustache, this word is commonly used in the south east of [[Ireland]].
* [[Van dyke beard|Van Dyke]]: a goatee accompanied by a mustache.
* '''Monkey tail''': a Van Dyke as viewed from one side, and a Lincoln plus mustache as viewed from the other, giving the impression that a monkey's tail stretches from an ear down to the chin and around one's mouth.
* '''Hollywoodian''': a beard with an integrated mustache that is worn on the lower part of the chin and jaw area, without connecting sideburns.
* '''Reed''': a beard with an integrated mustache that is worn on the lower part of the chin and jaw area that tapers towards the ears without connecting sideburns.
* '''Royale''': a narrow pointed beard extending from the chin. The style was popular in France during the period of the Second Empire, from which it gets its alternative name, the ''imperial'' or ''impériale''.
* [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]: a short beard with a rounded bottom and slightly shaven cheeks with a prominent mustache
* '''Muslim beard''': Full beard with the mustache trimmed
* [[Soul patch]]: a small beard just below the lower lip and above the chin
* '''Glitter beard''': Beard dipped in glitter.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 November 2015 |title=A new Instagram trend has men covering their beards with glitter |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-glitter-beard-and-how-to-make-it-2015-11?r=US&IR=T |website=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 December 2017 |title=Glitter Beards - Men, Here's How to Get a Full Glitter Beard! |url=https://amr.com.au/post/glitter-beards/}}</ref>
* [[Hulihee (beard)|Hulihee]]: clean-shaven chin with fat chops connected at the mustache.
* '''Friendly mutton chops''': long mutton chop-type sideburns connected to a mustache, but with a shaved chin and neck.
* '''Stashburns''' or the [[Lemmy]]: sideburns that drop down the jaw but jut upwards across the mustache, leaving the chin exposed. Similar to friendly mutton chops. Often found in southern and southwestern American culture (see, for example, the [[Yosemite Sam]] caricature).
*'''Closed or Tied beard''': Mostly seen among modern [[Sikh]] youth, this is a kind of full beard tied by using a sticky liquid or Gel and stiffens below the chin. 
* '''Oakley beard''': Described by Indian makeup artist [[Banu (make-up artist)|Banu]] as "neither a French beard nor a full beard". She used the look for [[Rajinikanth]] in ''[[Enthiran]]'' (2010).<ref>{{cite web |title=Make-up Artist Banu Interview |url=http://behindwoods.com/new-videos/videos-q1-09/director-interview/make-up-artist-banu.html |access-date=23 February 2015 |publisher=Behindwoods}}</ref>

==Maintenance==
[[File:PapuaNewGuineanandson.jpg|thumb|250x250px|A bearded man with his grandson in [[East New Britain Province|East New Britain]], [[Papua New Guinea]]]]
For appearance and cleanliness, some people maintain their beards by exfoliating the skin, using soap or shampoo and sometimes conditioner, and afterward applying [[Beard oil|oils]] for softness.

==In animals==
[[File:Bearded Pigs2.jpg|thumb|[[Bornean bearded pig]]s]]
[[File:Bearded saki (Chiropotes sp)-8b.jpg|thumb|A [[bearded saki]]]]
The term "beard" is also used for a collection of stiff, hairlike feathers on the centre of the breast of [[Domestic turkey|turkeys]]. Normally, the turkey's beard remains flat and may be hidden under other feathers, but when the bird is displaying, the beard becomes erect and protrudes several centimetres from the breast.

Many [[goat]]s possess a beard. The [[orangutan]] also possesses a beard.

Several animals are termed "bearded" as part of their common name. Sometimes a beard of hair on the chin or face is prominent but for some others, "beard" may refer to a pattern or colouring of the pelage reminiscent of a beard.
*[[Bearded barbet]]
*[[Bearded Collie]]
*[[Pogona|Bearded dragon]]
*[[Bornean bearded pig|Bearded pig]]
*[[Bearded reedling]]
*[[Bearded saki]]
*[[Bearded seal]]
*[[Bearded vulture]]
*[[Bearded woodpecker]]

==See also==
* [[List of facial hairstyles]]
* [[Barbatus (disambiguation)]], a common Latin name, meaning "bearded"
* [[Beard Liberation Front]]
* [[Joseph Palmer (communard)]] defended himself from being forcibly shaved in 1830
* [[The Beards (Australian band)]]
* [[World Beard and Moustache Championships]]
* [[Shaving]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{HDCA|title=Barba}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |first=Robert |last=Bartlett |title=Symbolic meanings of hair in the middle ages |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |series=6th ser. |volume=4 |year=1994 |pages=43–60 |doi=10.2307/3679214 |jstor=3679214 |s2cid=147186360 }}
* {{cite book |editor-first=David W. |editor-last=Bercot |title=A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: a reference guide to more than 700 topics discussed by the Early Church Fathers |location=Peabody, Mass. |publisher=Hendrickson |year=1998 |isbn=1565633571 |pages=66–67 }}
* {{cite book |first=Helen |last=Bunkin |title=Beards, Beards, Beards! |location=Montgomery, AL |publisher=Green Street Press |year=2000 |isbn=9781588380012 }}
* {{cite book |first=Giles |last=Constable |author-link=Giles Constable |chapter=Introduction: beards in the middle ages |editor-first=R. B. C. |editor-last=Huygens |title=Apologiae duae: Gozechini Epistola ad Walcherum; Burchardi, ut videtur, abbatis Bellevallis, Apologia de barbis |location=Turnhout |publisher=Brepols |year=1985 |isbn=9782503030005 |pages=47–130 }}
* {{cite book |first=Thomas S. |last=Gowing |title=The Philosophy of Beards: a lecture, physiological, artistic & historical |location=Ipswich |publisher=J. Haddock |year=1854 }} (reprinted 2014 by the [[British Library]], {{ISBN|9780712357661}})
* {{Cite journal |last=Harris |first=Oliver D. |year=2013 |title=Beards: true and false |journal=Church Monuments |volume=28 |pages=124–32 }}
* McAlhany, J. (2024) ''Beards & Baldness in the Middle Ages: Three Texts''. Brooklyn, NY: Leverhill. ISBN 979-8989699308.
* {{cite book |first=Allan |last=Peterkin |title=One Thousand Beards: a cultural history of facial hair |location=Vancouver, BC |publisher=[[Arsenal Pulp Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=1551521075}}
* {{cite book |first=Reginald |last=Reynolds |author-link=Reginald Reynolds |title=Beards: their social standing, religious involvements, decorative possibilities, and value in offence and defence through the Ages |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |year=1949 |isbn=0156108453}} (alternative title: ''Beards: an "omnium gatherum"'')
* {{cite journal |first=William |last=Sayers |title=Early Irish attitudes toward hair and beards, baldness and tonsure |journal=Zeitschrit für celtische Philologie |volume=41 |year=1991 |pages=154–189 |doi=10.1515/zcph.1991.44.1.154 |s2cid=162898893 }}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline|Beard}}
* {{Wikibooks-inline|Shaving}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Beard|volume=3|short=x}}

{{Human hair}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Beard| ]]