Free Republic

A handful of bold women are embracing what millions of others have struggled to keep secret. Lipstick is a must for Annalisa Hackleman. A bold red is her go-to, but some mornings she’ll swipe on a soft rose or even a rich purple. She plays around with her hair color, too—right now her long locks and blunt-cut bangs are a bright teal and lavender ombré. Still, Hackleman says her beauty routine is kind of basic: She washes her face, puts on mascara and maybe winged eyeliner, lipstick of course, and then every once in a while, she’ll rub a...

In the 1960s and '70s, facial hair -- including mustaches, sideburns, goatees, Van Dykes, soul patches, mutton or lamb chops and other creative topiary -- was a means of free expression and identity. The 1950s had been an era of extreme clean-shavenness; in movies of the time, a 5 o'clock shadow was a visual shorthand for intoxication or derangement. As young men threw off the shackles of conformity, they began experimenting with facial hair. From the beatniks' goatees and Van Dykes to full hippie beards, and then into the '70s with massive sideburns and pimp-ish mustaches. If you could grow...

A Florida Army sergeant is one of the first known Christian troops to get a religious exemption allowing him to grow out his hair and beard, according to a report. Sgt. Jacob DiPietro had applied for the religious exemption in November 2019 because he observes the Nazarite vow from the Old Testament that states, “No razor may be used on their head” and which insists believers “must let their hair grow long,” he told Task & Purpose. DiPietro’s request “to wear a beard and uncut hair” was finally approved last week after Army officials confirmed that it was “based on...

A preacher in Turkey has said that men should grow beards to make clear they are not women. Islamic speaker Murat Bayaral spoke on TV show Fatih Medreseleri this weekend, slamming men without beards. Bayaral said: 'Men should grow beards. One of the two body parts that separate men from women is the beard,' ..'For example, if you see a man with long hair from afar you may think he is a woman if he does not have a beard. Because nowadays women and men dress similarly. Allah forbid! You could be possessed by indecent thoughts.'

 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers tips for planning for a possible pandemic in relation to the Coronavirus on a preparedness website. Ready.gov now contains a topic titled, “Human Coronavirus — Know the facts about Coronavirus. Public health is everyone’s responsibility.” That website redirects to recommendations for how to prepare for a possible pandemic. DHS recommends storing a two-week supply of water and food. Officials also urge Americans to make sure they have all needed prescription medications filled for that time period. Specifically, DHS recommends: Before a Pandemic •Store a two week supply of water and food. •Periodically...

Facial hair and teeth-whitening will be getting unusually prominent attention from the Supreme Court. The court agreed Monday to hear two cases during its next term that involve matters of personal hygiene in vastly different settings. In one case, the court will to decide whether an Arkansas prison inmate must be allowed to grow a short beard in accordance with his religious beliefs. The justices will hear an appeal from inmate Gregory Holt, who says his Muslim beliefs require him to grow a beard. …

The Pentagon on Wednesday relaxed its rules governing the religious apparel and facial hair that troops can wear or maintain while in uniform, permitting in some cases tattoos, body piercings and other religious items.  The Defense Department issued the changes via a directive Wednesday afternoon. As part of the military's changing approach to making religious accommodations, the new policy will allow service members to sport different kinds of religious garb and hairstyles so long as they don't have an "adverse effect on military readiness, mission accomplishment, unit cohesion, and good order and discipline."  The changes create several new categories, besides...

The Pentagon on Wednesday relaxed its rules governing the religious apparel and facial hair that troops can wear or maintain while in uniform, permitting in some cases tattoos, body piercings and other religious items. The Defense Department issued the changes via a directive Wednesday afternoon. As part of the military's changing approach to making religious accommodations, the new policy will allow service members to sport different kinds of religious garb and hairstyles so long as they don't have an "adverse effect on military readiness, mission accomplishment, unit cohesion, and good order and discipline." The changes create several new categories, besides...

Bearded woman says facial hair makes her feel sexy German-born Mariam says she feels more confident now that she's stopped trying to hide her facial hair. After failed electrolysis attempts and years of tweezing, the 49-year-old mom embraced the growing goatee and joined the circus. A German woman who struggled with facial hair for nearly two decades said she finally feels sexy, now that she’s ditched the clippers and let her beard grow. “I feel more confident and I know myself better now than when I was younger,” the 49-year-old mom, identified only as Mariam, told the British talk show,...

Taliban fighters are shaving their beards to mingle with the civilians fleeing the security forces’ operations in Swat in Pakistan’s troubled northwest, the military said Friday, on a day when the country’s army chief briefed parliament on the offensive. “We request the civil population of Swat to come forward and help the security forces in identifying the Taliban terrorists. We have confirmed reports that these Taliban terrorists, after shaving off their beards and cutting their hair, are fleeing from the area,” an Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) statement said. “We request the people of Swat to identify them by pointing out...

Literary sorts say that every man has a novel inside him. That’s not true — it’s a letter of complaint. But every man does have an inner beard. And, just as every woman has considered letting out her inner part-time lesbian, so every man has considered letting out his inner beard. Sadly, the right girls say no and the wrong men say yes. Here’s the stubbly truth about beards: this is the only thing you need to know, the alpha and omega of eek topiary. If you look like Jabba the Hut without a beard, you’ll look like Jabba the...

Did you go to see the new Harry Potter film over the weekend? You could have been unwittingly supporting beardism, say facial hair campaigners. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets may seem like a spot of harmless family fun, but the film could set back the cause of beard wearers at a vital time of year for the long-suffering hirsute man. The Beard Liberation Front (BLF) objects to the "obviously false" facial hair sported by Robbie Coltrane and the late Richard Harris in the fantasy movie. Such "end of a broom" fakes give beardists ample ammunition to taunt...