A.

At the Prague Downtown Hostel, you can find A. working often. He was happy to oblige to photos. His tight sides on his head are complemented by the shorter tuft of hair on the top. But the glorious full and very long mustache and beard provide a strong contrast to the shortness on top. Check the side view to see the extraordinary length of both mustache and beard.

J.

J. is the first man I approached with a request. J. is a student visiting Harlaxton Manor, shown here in the Refectory, who responded positively when I asked whether I could document his facial hair. Note the bright red hair matching the eyebrows, manicured mustache, soul patch, and carefully trimmed beard. His blue eyes stand in contrast to the surrounding red hair.











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Gathering data

I've been debating how to get images of people sporting various types of facial hair, along with their views on their own facial hair for this blog.  I figured I'd ask family first, but that limits me to one person.  Hmm.  My colleague recommended I approach people, and ask if I can take their picture for some research I am doing on facial hair.  So I am practicing:

Hi, my name is Debbie Page and I work at the University of Cincinnati.  I am doing research on facial hair.  May I take your picture to document your excellent {beard, mustache, goatee, etc.}?

Follow-up questions could be:

• Do you want me to include your name?
• Do you have any comments about your facial hair that you would like included?

Requests for additional information  or why I am doing this might include: 

• I am following up on a multi-year research project that investigated mustaches of the 19th Century. at the University of Kentucky.
• I am fascinated at the many different ways men choose to style their facial hair.
• I am interested in what men think about their own facial hair.
• I am interested in men's hirsute aspirations.

I have prepared small cards printed with the website address.  It might just work!  Watch for images.

Men's Facial Hair

I have been an avid follower of 

Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century

This blog defined itself as "The one-stop blog spot for your Nineteenth Century Mustache needs!"  This title literally beckons a reader to delve into the wide variety of mustaches the author included from the University of Kentucky Archives.  And it indeed is a one-stop location for photos, definitions and witty commentary.

However, this blog hasn't had a new posting since October 1, 2010.  I have to assume that it was a research project, and that the author graduated and moved onto other activities.

During the past several years, I have spoken with friends about the need to additional information.  We have considered a public access show with panel discussions and guests addressing one hirsute topic per episode.  Unfortunately, the time needed for training and production was not possible given our full academic lives.  This has not stopped me from considering the relatively new popularity of men's facial hair.  Whether the backwoodsman styles, the hipster looks, or the ever popular stylized mustaches, we are in the midst of a revival worthy of discussion.