Beards is the question

[Puddlefish]

As you should - you don't want to be growing it in while sweaty and gross. It's itchy enough under normal circumstances.

That's a good consideration. I'm not judging anyone for their fashion/grooming choices. I attempted to remain clean shaven, but that wasn't really possible without clippers. After 3 to 5 days, the disposable razors didn't last fifteen seconds before hopelessly clogging.

[Lorelei]

Always at the start of a hike, the guys are all, "I'm not going to shave at all - let's see how gnarly my beard gets!" This is usually followed by fist-bumping and a few grunts of male solidarity. And then I'm like, "Hey, great idea! I'm not going to shave either - I want to grow my beard out too!!" and I grin and hold out my fist but sadly, there are no bumps for this chiclet; only raised eyebrows and mumbles of, "Uh...okaaaay..."

After about 12 weeks, its like there is only one dude in the woods - and he is everywhere! He passes me mid-morning, he passes me again after lunch, then he passes me yet again when I set up camp.....sometimes there are more than one all walking in a line, but all I see is a bunch of hair in shorts and then I worry that I'm hallucinating.

Individuality....marinate on that.

[The Flatlander]

Most people see me with my beard and say biker. I say thru-hiker. 1986.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

Most people see me with my beard and say biker. I say thru-hiker. 1986.

There is an odd crossover between hikers and bikers. Kind of like people who drive Subarus and people who shop at REI.

[RockDoc]

I've done the beard thing but I avoid it now. just feels dirty and sloppy. No thanks. It's not that hard to clean up a little bit every day.

[Time Zone]

After 3 to 5 days, the disposable razors didn't last fifteen seconds before hopelessly clogging.

I wonder if single-blade disposables like the BIC also get clogged. They might, due to the plastic frame around the blade, but at least there's no chance of a closely adjacent 2nd blade being the cause of clogging.

[Traveler]

There is an odd crossover between hikers and bikers. Kind of like people who drive Subarus and people who shop at REI.

So bikers drive Subarus and hikers shop at REI, or is it the other way around?

[handlebar]

if you have a beard of any real length you'll need to carry a plastic comb or hair pick to keep the tangles out. I imagine they'll work to root out any ticks as well.
FWIW, I've never had a tick in my beard.

Same here, and I've hiked over 15,000 miles with a long, down to my chest, beard. I comb out the beard before retiring for the night and again in the morning on rising, If there were any ticks, I'm sure the comb would pull them out. For tick control, consider soaking your hiking clothes in Permethrin. Since I started doing that, I haven't had any ticks embedded, and it seems to reduce mosquito problems.

[Puddlefish]

I wonder if single-blade disposables like the BIC also get clogged. They might, due to the plastic frame around the blade, but at least there's no chance of a closely adjacent 2nd blade being the cause of clogging.

Single bladed are slightly better for that, if you can find them.

[MuddyWaters]

I wonder if single-blade disposables like the BIC also get clogged. They might, due to the plastic frame around the blade, but at least there's no chance of a closely adjacent 2nd blade being the cause of clogging.

Thats why you shave in town, where you rinse it under running water in sink. Its not hopeless. Its every swipe, it glides over hair being clogged up, but rinse and repeat , wipe outward with finger, and eventually you reach skin if only a couple weeks growth.

[Zalman]

The trick is to grow a beard before hiking. When you're done hiking, keep the beard and get on with the rest of your life. The end.

[Zalman]

Thats why you shave in town, where you rinse it under running water in sink. Its not hopeless. Its every swipe, it glides over hair being clogged up, but rinse and repeat , wipe outward with finger, and eventually you reach skin if only a couple weeks growth.

After each rinse, whack the handle on the sink edge with the blade facing down over the sink. Any stuck hairs come flying out.

[Nathan428]

At the Gooch shelter, a Sheriff's crew showed up, because someone's mom panicked about not hearing from her boy for four hours or so. The only descriptive information they had was "tall young guy with a big beard." We were all "yeah... that narrows it down to about a dozen guys."

That is hilarious. My first reaction to the OP was...if beards dramatically increase the risk of ticks, then pretty much 90% of thru hiking guys take that risk. Just take normal precautions. Also, if you're anything like me, I'm constantly running my hands through my beard.

[cliffordbarnabus]

do you mow yards?

do you do it again the next week? and the next week? and the next one ad infinitum?

do you pay for gasoline to do so?

did you pay for your mower to do so?

did you pay for plastic bags to dispose of stuff?

save your money. save your time. let it grow. let it show. be it grass. be it a beard.

[jimyjam]

Thank you everyone for the comments and advice. I decided long ago to keep my beard. I really like my beard and have been growing it for about 3 years now and I wear it with some length on it. Some have said I already have my trail beard lol!
The only reason I posted the question is because I watched a video by NATGEO on the Appalachian Trail and a man they interviewed who previously thru hiked and now maintains the trail said in his interview that the tics can hide in your beard and it’s a really bad idea to grow one...


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[Another Kevin]

I never wore a beard until one time that I went on a two-week hike and came back with a hiker scruff - and my wife said she liked it.

(I still don't like it much. It's kind of patchy, and it's gray. But I don't have to look at it.)

[Old_Man]

I've had a beard for years and hiked a substantial amount of time during that period--if we're being honest, the hair on the face is not really a tick magnet. Same with the head. I would be more worried about down under. I've occasionally found ticks hiding in the secret garden around my meat and two bits. I usually go commando when hiking so it's easier for them to find their way to the promise land. just my $.02 (sorry for the visuals...)

[TexasBob]

I wonder if single-blade disposables like the BIC also get clogged. They might, due to the plastic frame around the blade, but at least there's no chance of a closely adjacent 2nd blade being the cause of clogging.

Single bladed are slightly better for that, if you can find them.

Thats why you shave in town, where you rinse it under running water in sink. Its not hopeless. Its every swipe, it glides over hair being clogged up, but rinse and repeat , wipe outward with finger, and eventually you reach skin if only a couple weeks growth.

Got me to thinking about whether a gel like Edge or a foam like Barbasol would be better in this situation. The foam seems to rinse out of the razor easier and might make for slightly less clogging. The gel might make for less irritation.

[jimyjam]

Got me to thinking about whether a gel like Edge or a foam like Barbasol would be better in this situation. The foam seems to rinse out of the razor easier and might make for slightly less clogging. The gel might make for less irritation.

I’m sure this will get a lot of laughs and comments but I use something called coochy cream. Recommend by a friend (who also shaves his head bald) and his wife. I haven’t used anything else since I tired it. Works great on head and face alike, well I’m guessing it’s great for anywhere on the body! Lol

https://www.amazon.com/Coochy-Rash-f...s=Coochy+cream


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