No Shave November: What's the Purpose? (a female's perspective)

This week, I have devoted to 'Movember' or as some might refer to it as 'No Shave November'.  Some individuals do it for the sport of growing a beard where as others may do it for awareness.  Either way, beards grow in numbers during the month of November!

I questioned the purpose of this endeavor….

Was it because men wanted to compete and take pride in their growing accomplishment?  'MY beard is fuller than your beard!'

Was it because they wanted to feel cool and fit in? 'Well everyone else is growing one…I guess that is the IN thing to do…'

Was it just to get back at girlfriends and wives that just don't have enough hours in the day to shave their legs? '….Now you know how I feel hunny…it's gross isn't it!'

Next, what the heck are the rules of No Shave November besides the obvious?  Aren't men at least given a chance to trim or groom at all?  The answer is "negative ghost rider" (Top Gun reference)  No trimming.  No shaving.  No touching the beard until December 1 hits!  30 days of growing, itching, and showing off that manly facial hair…supposedly...

So what does any good researcher do?  They Google the request of course.  Google gave me a lot of information to sift through.  It was pretty comical and informative actually.  This whole No Shave November thing is actually taken pretty seriously!  Here I just thought it was the man's excuse to annoy their significant others and obnoxiously show off…here is what I found!

http://www.heavy.com/social/2013/11/no-shave-november-beards-movember-photos-memes-moustaches-women-girls/6/

This website is all inclusive with video, diagrams, and reasons to participate.  It definitely has some compelling arguments as such to join the bandwagon.  They are promoting the growth a burley beard.  Are these men trying to look like Lumberjacks?  Not bad for the first round Google but, I think you can do better.  http://www.no-shave-november.com .

Ahh….here.  Now we are talking!  An actual Facebook Page…https://www.facebook.com/NSNCharity/info.

I mean, even the Huff Post Style Dept is writing about it!  This article had "best of" photos from Instagram.  SO….#NSN has to be legit right?  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/no-shave-november_n_4274893.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

On a less shallow note, the American Cancer Society also is mentioning this November phenomena. Their approach is very different than the other thoughts or information I found online.  Their purpose is to raise money.  That is pretty cool.  You can get T-shirts for your donations, create No Shave Teams and really give it a new purpose.  It didn't appear to promote awareness toward any one specific cancer as noted on their website just to raise awareness of cancer as a whole.

http://www.no-shavenovember.com/#!apparel-and-donations/cee5

The concept is a solid one.  "The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free.  Donate the money you usually spend on shaving and grooming for a month to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle." (http://www.no-shavenovember.com/#!what/cjg9)

One other site that I came a crossed in my search is Adhere Creative's fundraising site for "Fighting Prostate Cancer" through No Shave November.  They are a Creative Marketing Agency out of Texas.  I really don't know anything about them aside from finding their fundraising page.  If you are interested in checking their cause out though, please feel free to do so!  They have a fun and interesting way of presenting this fundraiser: http://fundly.com/adhere-noshember.

All in all, it seems as though males across the board have different reasons to participate in No Shave November.  Some for personal reasons, others for raising awareness, and many I am sure just simply to grow a solid beard.  Whatever the reasoning may be, November seems to grow in attention and beards seem to almost plague the universe for the month.  That is a simple fact.  I don't see this changing anytime soon either.

So from a female's perspective, if you can't beat them--join them?

http://www.heavy.com/social/2013/11/no-shave-november-beards-movember-photos-memes-moustaches-women-girls/4/

Totally just kidding…good luck for the remainder of No Shave November!

Catie Manning

Thou Shalt Not Shave

Well, it's November, and once again I have to learn to live with the changing facial hair of my husband. I have to admit that I do like some facial hair on him; not that I wouldn't love him otherwise, but he just looks better with a clean cut beard/chin strap. However this month, he participates in the famous "No Shave November" and starts the month off clean shaven and ends it with a mountain man look. 

While it's not my "cup of tea", I have learned that there are some things not worth fussing over. Sure, would I prefer it if he kept the look from our engagement pictures or wedding day? Yes. But hair grows/can be shaved. And so, I let him have his fun :) To all those participating in No Shave November- may the best beard win! Here is a before picture of my handsome hubby that was taken on November 1st at work. I will be sure to post a picture when the month up so you can see the change.

Stubborn Men

While many of our posts focus more so on women topics, this week we are talking about men. It is November. For many men this is the month they look forward to... no shave November. For many women, it is the month they dread, the month their husbands, fiances, partners, boyfriends, brothers, sons, etc. all have an excuse, and a valid excuse, not to shave.  Though I personally am not the biggest fan of facial hair, I am a fan of promoting cancer awareness. So alas, I will forfeit my battle against hairy faces for this one month to hopefully help men realize how being stubborn is being stupid when it comes to healthcare concerns and cancer prevention.

This past summer I was talking with a guy friend of mine and it is no secret in our circle of friends that he has had a health concern. Being the nurse who has a medical brain on even when I don't mean to, I started asking questions. This friend of mine had had this problem for 3 years and had yet to see a physician for it. At that moment I could very well have scared him (as a cancer nurse my thought immediately goes to yikes! that is what one of my patients first symptoms were!), but instead I gently (ok maybe more like sternly) encouraged him to go to a primary care provider to start. I then sent him the contact information of a good physician. Thankfully, he got an appointment shortly after that.

I would like to say I haven't seen this happen within the hospital, but I have. Unfortunately, a lot of times those cases were much, much worse than my friends.  They ranged from kidney failure, to metastatic cancer everywhere being found in the late stages, to a massive heart attack where I was his nurse as he took his final breath. I don't write these to scare you, but to show you that being manly isn't about refusing to get seen by a medical professional, but being manly is take charge of your own health and making the changes you need to make.

Driving through Michigan I always see this billboard...

Source

The statistics are out. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:

• Men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year and are 22 percent more likely to have neglected their cholesterol tests.
• Men are 28 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for congestive heart failure.
• Men are 32 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for long-term complications of diabetes and are more than twice as likely than women to have a leg or foot amputated due to complications related to diabetes.
• Men are 24 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for pneumonia that could have been prevented by getting an immunization

Source: http://www.ahrq.gov/patients-consumers/patient-involvement/healthy-men/index.html

According to Mayo, the 3 leading health threats for men are heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injury.  Mayo makes a good point, for the most part these can be preventable in many aspects.  And with proper screening, prostate cancer can be found early on.

Men, hear me on this. You are not weak for seeking treatment. You are not weak for having depression. You are not weak for needing help with alcoholism. You are not weak for needing help to quit smoking. You are not weak for needing doctor because things just aren't right. You are not weak for needing extra testosterone. You are not weak for going to the doctor. You are not weak for needing a personal trainer. You are not weak for needing a nutritionist. In fact it is the exact opposite, you are strong for taking these steps to a healthier you so that you can be there for your loved ones. Some cancers can be preventable. Let's take those steps together.

I challenge you to make this sign the truth...

Source

Men, raise awareness 1 hairy face at a time. Women, let's let them have their beards for this one month to hopefully raise awareness and save some lives!

With that being said, we want to see you best no shave November pictures you've got, so send them our way!



Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mens-health/MY00394