Beards can be seen in any aspect of work across the world these days. In schools, in offices, even in the medical field. Working with a beard on your face is nothing big nowadays, you could even say it’s the new normal.

Men use beards as a way to express themselves…or “to hide the childlike face that lies underneath” from Affeldt. Straight from the loved teacher Mr. Affeldt, “I wash my beard along with my hair once the shampoo becomes all foamy”. He would like to advertise that he uses the brand Aussie to keep his beard very clean. The creative ways to style it leave men with the freedom that they lack from their hair. Men with short hair use their beards to draw more attention to what they want you to see. But should the style come above the sanitation of them and their surroundings??

A man’s beard has the misconception of being “as dirty as a toilet”. This is completely wrong and if taken care of and groomed daily a beard will carry no more bacteria than a clean shaven face. A study published in 2014 by the Journal of hospital infection studied the difference between bacteria on men with beards and men without. A total of 408 men were tested. The study came back and showed that there was not much different between the two groups after all.

In the workplace you see many men with facial hair but in schools the number of young teachers with facial hair has skyrocketed. The trend of facial hair is coming back at a fast pace. The early 2000s men were known for their smooth faces but the rough bearded look is taking storm once again both in our schools and out in the real world.

Photo from Cdaschools.org