4 REASONS YOUR BEARD CAN HELP YOUR CONFIDENCE

I have been on my beard growing journey for some years now. It began with a bout of illness which had me bed ridden for a little over a week which had me left with a face full of scruffy ginger stubble. From here I trimmed my newly acquired facial fluff into a pretty ridiculous lookin' 'chin strap' style of beard. It was safe to say nobody appreciated my new fuzzy chops and my wife tried every trick in the book to get me to ''see sense'' and shave it off to look more like my former clean shaven self. But me being me, decided to go against everyones advice and continued to grow this out for a solid year and a half. Then, one day with what should've been a routine D.I.Y beard trim things went disastrously wrong, and I was left with little to no choice other than to shave it off and start over from scratch.

This was probably a blessing in disguise as it was from there I grew out the beard I have today, a huge full ginger beard-mane. One thing I never anticipated was the extra confidence that comes with sporting a beard, be it big or small. But to grow out any form of facial fluff you have to have a good level of confidence already in place, as ultimately people you know as well as strangers you pass by in the street day to day are going to stare, they're also going to have some form of opinion, be it good or bad that they'll happily voice to you.

But I never expected to gain even more confidence during my beard growing journey. Here are four examples as to why your beard can actually help with your confidence...

THE BEARD NOD OF APPROVAL!

I've touched upon this previously in other beard blog posts, but It's a known unwritten (until now!) fact that fellow bearded Gentlemen will often give you a slight nod when you pass them in the street, supermarket, service station, Heck! wherever else you might happen to see another bearded Gent! And this is coming from complete strangers who simply admire your hard work and patience when growing out a beard. From the moment you begin growing out your beard you are automatically granted into the 'secret bearded society'. Given time you'll also notice you have a new found admiration for other mens facial fluff. Something you probably never thought was at all possible prior to growing out a beard.

GET READY FOR THE COMPLIMENTS TO FLY!

If you're not much of a people person prior to growing out your beard then I strongly suggest you get ready to become one! The amount of compliments you'll receive along the way to finding your furry face freedom can be rather surprising! You'll have blokes commenting how they 'wish they could grow out a beard like that!' to random folks at the bar asking if they can touch it (Your beard, that is!) more times than you can count. The mass majority of the feedback given out by the everyday folk are polite and welcoming, but with the good be prepared for the negative too. Thankfully the pros totally outweigh the cons. So be sure to smile and be polite! After all, a beard is for life! Right?

BEARD ENVY IS REAL, AND IT BUTT HURTS LIKE A BITCH!

Having a ton of self confidence will always see you though any tough social situations you may find yourself in, but one thing I still find rather amusing is 'Beard Envy'. I'd heard about this sort of thing prior to growing out my beard, but never looked too far into this to either confirm or deny that it actually exists. Well, I can categorically confirm that it very much is a thing, and boy is it ugly!

Beard envy often takes on many forms, sometimes boys will be outright honest and tell you themselves that they sure which they could grow a beard like yours. Other times individuals will be openly rude and voice in your face how much they dislike your beard and won't hold back at all. Now, I totally understand not everyone respects the beard, but I've also came to notice when somebody goes OTT about their personal disliking of your beard it often displays that they're just damn right jealous. So dust of the negative vibes and march on forth with your glorious beard-mane in toe.

YOU'LL NOW STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD!

When you pack an awesome beard you'll instantly stand out from any crowd. With having a strong beard game you'll ooze a more authoritative presence about yourself which in turn distinguishes you from any other. Although beards have been linked with power and wealth throughout the history books, they are also often still seen as somewhat intimidating to some. Whereas I like to view beards as a sign of dignified maturity amongst men, granting its wearer a sharp fresh edge to his image.

Well, that wraps up todays beard blog post. As always let us know your beard stories, be it good or bad in the comments section provided below!