Beard Styles: Facial Hair Fashion for Men

Look around men, the beard is back in style. Whether or not your lady likes the facial hair doesn't matter. Hair on one's face just exudes masculinity and power. That's right, I said it. Men with beards are more manly than those without. Its a historic fact. Ancient Greeks saw beards as a symbol of their masculine abilities. Those without the sacred facial hair were feminine and seen as weak. It only makes sense that the Greek Gods would wear such unbelievable and awesome beards. The three leading Greek Gods, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, all have beards which represent their age, wisdom and power.

Even modern biologists claim that the continuance of beards shows, evolutionarily, that beards have been popular among the ladies. The gene still exists for the pure reason that women are attracted to men with beards, which explains why so many of the top 50 attractive men of 2011 have facial hair. But, I digress. This post is to convince all you beard skeptic men out there that it's time for a change. Return to your masculine roots and show the world how manly you really are. Here are a few of the beards that may work for your new facial hair fashion.

Named after Anthony Van Dyke, a 17th century painter, it reemerged in America in the 19th century, and although a dying breed, this style still is apart of modern beard fashion. It sure fits the likes of Viggo Mortensen down below. The beauty about this fashion is that it has the quality of being adaptable. All three of the side photos shows a different aspect of the same beard. Van Dyke lets his beard run free. It's a little less full than the other two, but he certainly pulls it off. Sir Walter Raleigh, on the other hand, has shaped this kind of beard to fit his personal face. The hair is molded perfectly around the chin and the slight wave of his mustache brings out his natural masculinity. His confident eyes, emboldened by his awesome beard, penetrate the soul of any onlooker; begging you to, "bring it on". Mortensen, has brought this ancient look to the modern world. Instead of slightly arching upwards, his mustache bends down and the hair covering his chin is trimmed perfectly. Aragon, I mean Mortensen, looks fierce and ready to prove his manly nature.

Let me know who you think wears this beard the best by voting in the poll below!

This second style is much different than the first and requires considerable facial hair growth capability. The Van Winkle takes pure masculine genetic facial hair code. Look at my first example, William Cullen Bryant. The long and grizzly beard is an outright claim of masculinity. To be honest, I'm a little jealous of this man's facial hair ability. This style is not for the faint hearted or weak minded. It takes considerable time and effort to accomplish such a feat. If you decide to take this task head on then be ready for the long haul. There's no turning back after deciding to grow the Van Winkle. Below Mr. Bryant, you see this young boyscout who was blessed with fine manly genes. Although this is an advertisement for a boyscout campaign, it does imply men's desire for manliness. The boy scouts take boys and transform them into men. This transformation manifests itself in the outright manly sophistication found in this boy's Van Winkle beard. You can only hope he wears it proudly for life.

The short boxed beard is more popular than the first two. A little less inventive, but just as manly. This style is worn by many celebrities and like the Van Dyke has the ability to adapt depending on the man's preferences. Mr. Connery has decided to go with the long stubble look. Definitely suited for the rugged man he is, but it still falls under the short boxed beard category. As you can see the hair is well shaped and doesn't go too high into the cheek region and is consciously shaved before growing too low on the neck. Connery really proves that this look is rugged yet sophisticated.

Chuck Norris really doesn't need the beard to exemplify masculinity, but it sure helps. Unlike Connery his style of short boxed allows his hair to grow just a little bit more, but he is careful enough to contain the growth in the necessary locations. Again, Norris does a manly job of sculpting this ornament of masculinity around the qualities of his face.

Below Mr. Norris would be, in my opinion, the most manly of them all. It's probably not a popular look with the ladies today, but I can only imagine, by the manliness of his beard, he couldn't care less. Look at this glorious example of what a man can do with his facial hair. This man has really upped his creative threshold and has produced something that awes real men everywhere. Still abiding by the rules of a short boxed beard, this clever specimen has reinvented the moustache that goes with it. As pointy as the sharpest knife, this man really deserves his masculine status.