No Shave November traditionally started the day after the polls closed when men retired to their hunting lodges to shoot game, camp, eat one-pot meals, and stop shaving 'til they returned home at the end of the month.
Now, men everywhere use November as an excuse to skip their normal grooming regimen, put their testosterone to the test, and showcase their manliness face first (all while uploading pictures of their "progress" on various facebook pages and blogs).
Now there are good beards and bad beards -- and while No Shave November typically makes no aesthetic apologies, we bring you five beards of inspiration ... ok and five fugly beards you'll want to avoid if you have any plans of getting laid come late November.
1. George Clooney. Okay, so Clooney makes us swoon regardless, but damn, his salt and pepper well-kept beard has sexy written all over it.
2. Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe wore his beard like a badge of honor. What ever happened to politicians sporting some respectable facial hair?
3. Gerard Butler as Leonidas in 300. A badass with a badass beard. Need we say more?
4. Jon Hamm. Hamm's a prime example of a guy who can let his facial hair go for a month or two. Thick, clean, and irresistibly manly.
5. Zach Galifianakis. Are we the only ones who think Galifianakis would be less funny without his burly beard? He rocks a serious beard like no other and knows it. Do it.
1. Alexi Lalas. Clean shaven, this former soccer player's a good looking guy. Sans grooming? He's one scary ginger Jesus.
2. Shia LaBeouf and Brad Pitt. Baby faces and beards are incompatible. Period. And Pitt, we'd rather see your perfect bone structure, so skip the scraggly scruff (unless it's just a little bit of stubble).
3. Brian "The Beard" Wilson. We'll give you props for intimidating your opponents and bringing home the World Series for the San Francisco Giants, but seriously, is the black shoe-polish dye necessary?!
4. ZZ Top. When you start to resemble Father Time, it's time to bust out the razor. Who knows what the heck this pair was hiding behind all that hair.
5. Joaquin Phoenix. Did you expect any one else? That unkempt mess that took over his face last year... we only have three words: Charles Manson creepy. For that matter, call it a draw.
