Fashion Trends - Current Fashion Trends

Ian Bradley, stylist

What kind of facial hair do you have right now, and how long have you had it?
"I try to keep a pretty short stubble, and I've pretty much had it since after college."

What do you love about facial hair?
"I have a baby face, so the hair makes me look a bit more mature."

What made you decide to grow yours?
"At first, I was just too lazy to cut it. When I would completely shave, I didn't like how it looked, and then I realized that I preferred my appearance after a couple days of stubble."

What are some of the challenges of having facial hair? What are some of the perks?
"Trying to get the right 'day after shaving' look can be challenging; sometimes you go too short in one spot or not short enough. This look also means I don't have to shave or trim everyday, so that's a very big perk."

What's your least favorite thing about facial hair? What's your favorite?
"My least favorite thing is when things like lint, other people's hair, etc. get stuck in it and I have no idea. Playing with my facial hair when I'm deep in thought is my favorite.... and by 'deep in thought,' that means I'm thinking, 'What am I'm going to wear?'"

What are the grooming essentials you need to keep your facial hair looking fly?
"I'm a big fan of Kiehl's Facial Fuel line. The Energizing Scrub is a great exfoliant for minimizing ingrown hairs before a trim, Razor Bump Relief for post-trim or shave, and their Energizing Moisturizer for everyday use."

What's your daily routine for grooming your facial hair?
"I exfoliate before using a Remington personal trimmer, about twice a week. I also wash my face with Dove everyday in between."

Any advice for someone looking to grow out their facial hair?
"There is a lot of trial and error when trying to find the right facial hair situation, so be experimental, have fun with it, and remember: You can always shave it off [if you don't like it]."

Photo: Izzy Tuason/Courtesy of Ian Bradley

Timo Weiland, designer

What kind of facial hair do you have right now, and how long have you had it?
"It's like post-stubble, probably a week and a half [unshaven] — more of a beard, really. I've had facial hair off and on since 2001."

What do you love about facial hair?
"It's really comfortable, especially in the winter when it's colder. I have very dry skin and I feel like it prevents my face from being dry because it's not chapped or exposed to the dry air. I like it in the summer, too, because then it gets really blonde. I also like how it can be a style statement — it can be really transforming. It can be as much of a statement as you make it."

What made you decide to grow yours?
"Really, it was just the fact that I could. I was wanting to for a long time before that — I like the way it looked on other people. And now I like the way it looks on me."

What are some of the challenges of having facial hair? What are some of the perks?
"Over the summer when you are really hot, then it can be uncomfortable. When you are first starting to grow it out, it can feel irritating. [The perks are] staying warm in the winter and that girls and guys both like it — not across the board, but it can be an element of attraction to some."

What are the grooming essentials you need to keep your facial hair looking fly?
I really like Kiehl's moisturizer and Clarins Men Anti-Fatigue Eye Serum. I also love the Gillette Mach 3 Razor — it's soft to the touch and is very flexible to the contours of your face, but also gets the job done with not that many cuts afterwards. For a shaving cream I use Edge with aloe because it's really nice and moisturizing, but doesn't overly foam so much that it's crazy — just a nice buffer. Witch hazel is great for ingrowns — it's soothing but still antiseptic and not as harsh as alcohol."

Any advice for someone looking to grow out their facial hair?
"Start with stubble and see how it looks. If it's patchy and weird, then don't do it."

Photographed by Shirley Yu

Andrew Young, fashion account manager at Full Picture

What kind of facial hair do you have right now, and how long have you had it?
"Right now I have a mustache that’s a little bit Mark Spitz meets the Marlboro Man. I’ve had this mustache and stubble combo for around a month, which is about as long as I can stand anything before I need to switch it out. I think I’m going to revert to a scruffy beard for a couple of months and then double back to a Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid mustache just in time for summer."

What do you love about facial hair?
"As a man, you’re a little limited on what’s possible on the accessories front — when comparing ourselves to our female counterparts — and besides a wardrobe with a few nice watches and shoes, guys have a tendency to get a little repetitive in the way they dress. Facial hair is an easy way to mix it up. A beard, mustache, or even a little scruff can change the way your face looks and how people perceive you. Best of all, it’s something you can keep changing whenever you feel like it."

What made you decide to grow yours?
"I’m a pretty nostalgic person — two of my favorite periods are the late '50s and '70s, and it seems like at both of these times, the mustache was on top of the world."

What are some of the challenges of having facial hair? What are some of the perks?
"The biggest challenge is keeping the bathroom hair-free after you trim or shave — those little splinters of hair turn up everywhere. Another tricky thing is keeping the hair in its sweet spot — meaning not too short or long. The biggest perk is definitely how much time you save yourself in the morning. Also, for anyone with sensitive skin, you’re doing yourself a huge favor by not shaving it every day."

What's your least favorite thing about facial hair? What's your favorite?
"Facial hair, especially mustaches, can be polarizing. Unfortunately, you need to have a pretty solid sense of self to sport a mustache these days, and every now and again, you’ll come up against a hater or a stupid remark. You can’t please everyone, so do what pleases you. My favorite thing is how easy it is to chop, change, and rotate between different facial hair styles. One month you might want to look like a scruffy James Dean, and when that gets boring, you’re only a couple of weeks away from growing out a Castro-clone mustache, or even a full beard."

Anything to avoid when it comes to facial hair?
"The Ned Flanders look — a heavy mustache teamed with freshly shaven skin. I always think a mustache looks exponentially better over the top of a five'o’clock shadow or a couple days worth of stubble. The only time I’d ever rock a mustache with a cleanly shaved face is for a wedding or black-tie event. For such an occasion, I’d dial it down a notch and give it a good trim so it doesn’t become too aging."

What are the grooming essentials you need to keep your facial hair looking fly?
"Every guy should own a set of electric clippers with interchangeable guards for getting the correct length. Facial hair is very coarse, so the more heavy duty the clippers, the better. Look for ones that plug into the wall, so you don’t lose power mid-way though a trim. Before I got the Wahl 8290 Clipper that I use now, I felt like I was always wearing out cheaper electric razors every nine or so months. Like anything, it’s worth putting in some extra pennies to get something amazing. As far as products go, I'm a conservative — I wouldn’t want to kiss a boy who had wax or cream all through his beard, so I avoid it all together."

Any special tricks or tips you do?
"Although I like it looking fairly natural and hate anything too 'manscaped,' I sometimes find the edges need a little bit of a tidying-up. The key to this is blending as much as you can, or you’ll get stuck with that '8th Avenue' look where the beard just disappears into nothing, like someone has drawn a 'shave here' line on the skin."

Any advice for someone looking to grow out their facial hair?
"Experiment as much as you can. Little things like sideburn length and even the width of a mustache really affect the way your facial features come together —or don’t, if you get it wrong! A good place to start is by growing out a beard and then slowly trimming and cutting back from there. I’d say boys look best with sideburns that end around the mid tragus — that sticky-out part of your inner ear — and a mustache that extends an extra half-inch from the corners of your mouth. If you’re feeling like you need a support network when growing out your facial hair for the first time, why not start in November to support Movember and their fight against prostate and testicular cancer."

Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Young

Frank William Miller, Jr., founder of Rappers I Know

What kind of facial hair do you have right now, and how long have you had it?
"I very recently trimmed my beard very low, after growing it out for about five months. My girlfriend and I had scheduled a trip to the Middle East and it was as much an aesthetic choice as a personal challenge. My beard was long enough to get hummus stuck in it and for me to occasionally be confused for a local — which was awesome. Right now, my beard is much shorter, about a two-guard on a pair of Oster clippers."

What do you love about facial hair?
"I mostly love the fact that I can grow it. When I first started growing facial hair, I resented it and found grooming it a chore. Whether it was due to social or professional norms, I was often expected to keep my facial hair very short or clean-shaven, which would irritate my frame of mind and often my skin, as my hair's curl pattern is naturally very curly and I was prone to razor bumps."

What made you decide to grow yours?
"The main reason I grew out my beard was that Middle East trip. I'd never been to Cairo before, and I'd heard from several friends that the hustle in Cairo was unparalleled. I figured if my beard was fully grown, and I looked more like a local, I'd get bothered less on the street, and perhaps up-charged less in Khan el-Khalili souk. Little did I consider that my absolute lack of understanding of Arabic is what would give me away as a tourist."

What are some of the challenges of having facial hair? What are some of the perks?
"The biggest challenge, especially when traveling, is keeping my hair properly moisturized. Hanging out in the desert for a week and change without my full array of hair care products and conditioners left my facial hair pretty brittle in patches, and I experienced some breakage. I think the biggest perk of having long hair for me has been people taking what I say seriously. When I was in college my hair — on the top of my head — was somewhere near nine-inches long. I basically looked like Huey Freeman from 'The Boondocks' comic strip. Everything I said held some sort of gravity or seriousness to it. As soon as I cut my hair off, suddenly everything I said became comedic to people. I've found that effect to be similar with my facial hair — beards mean business."

What's your least favorite thing about facial hair? What's your favorite?
"My least favorite thing about facial hair would probably be the Islamophobic jokes I've had to endure. One of my favorite things is that I can always twist my finger in its curls when I'm bored or lost in thought."

What are the grooming essentials you need to keep your facial hair looking fly?
I have a Wahl beard and mustache trimmer that I got for about $40 for minor face-scaping/edge-ups, and to keep the dreaded neck-beard at bay. I've tried a number of conditioners to keep it soft and easy to comb through. My mother once sent me a bottle of Wen leave-in conditioner, but it felt like I was leaving Dannon yogurt in my beard, plus I felt it was pretty pricey. I recently tried some of Whipped's Beard Butter and I liked that as an every-other-day moisturizer. Neutrogena's Triple Moisture Daily Deeep Conditioner is pretty cost-effective, and it leaves my hair soft."

What's your daily routine for grooming your facial hair?
"I shampoo and condition it in the shower, and comb through it thoroughly. I let it air-dry and then rub in a little leave-in conditioner for the rest of the day."

Any advice for someone looking to grow out their facial hair?
"The only advice I have is to keep in mind that not all body hair is the same. My facial hair has a different texture and consistency than the hair on my head, which was of some surprise to me. As I've gotten older, my hair's curl pattern has changed and loosened up. My facial hair coils a lot tighter, much like my hair did when I was younger. Even more important, in my eyes, is not to over-manicure it. Just like looking at people who tweeze/wax/thread their eyebrows into oblivion can give you uncanny Valley-esque feelings, seeing hyper-designed and manicured facial hair makes you like like a John Travolta movie villain. Not the business."

Photo: Courtesy of Frank William Miller, Jr.