No-Shave November, Movember, Noshember: Your guide to letting that hair grow this month for a good cause
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Call out the crumb-catchers! Free the furry face pets! It’s November, which means men (and women) across America are letting it all grow out, to raise awareness for cancer.
Looking for an excuse to go gnome? Here’s your guide to No-Shave November, aka Movember, aka the hairiest time of year.
What exactly is going on here?
What you see today is the collision of two movements. Movember, which started as a mustache movement, began more than a decade ago in Australia to raise awareness for prostate and testicular cancer, but it only recently really took off in American (thank you, hipsters with your trendy beards). The premise: People will wonder why you’re growing a Tom Selleck ‘stache, which will open up dialogue about these less-talked-about cancers.
No-Shave November is a separate movement, founded in 2009, by the American Cancer Society, that extends the face fuzz beyond the upper lip. The premise here: Donate the money that you would otherwise spend on grooming products to cancer research.
Because mustaches and beards go together like peanut butter and jelly, the two causes have been sort of lumped together in the public consciousness into one big crazy hairball. But boys shouldn’t get to have all the fun. Hence, the birth of Noshember, which opens up the razor-free zone to women (free your armpits!) to raise money for other charities.
Want to participate?
This is the easiest cause to get involved with—because to succeed, you have to do nothing. Just don’t shave.
But be a sport and don’t stop there. Attend a Movember costumed “gala parté,” host your own Mo Party, run in the Mustache Dash or find other mustache-related events near you to raise money for the cause. Consider starting a fundraising team for No-Shave November, or, if you can’t can’t grow a beard or don’t want to look like an ’80s adult film star? Simply donate online.
Kick it up a notch!
Want the sexiest beard on the block? Here are some hirsute styling tips:
- Condition your beard. Beard conditioner, like Wild Man Beard Conditioner, $2o at Urban Outfitters, will keep your facial hair soft and silky. No wiry, itchy kisses, please.
- Keep fully groomed with a beard kit, like Billy Jealousy’s Beard Envy Kit, $25 at Nordstrom. This comes with beard wash, beard “control” and a special beard brush.
- In December, when it’s time to let that beard go, use “beard lube” to help with the shaving process. Jack Black’s Beard Lube Conditioning Shave, $60 at Nordstrom, is also useful to have on hand in case you decide you want to trim things up a bit throughout the month. You never know how unruly that lip monster is going to get.
