Facial hair is hair grown on the face, usually on the chin, cheeks, and upper lip region. It is typically a secondary sex characteristic of human males. [1] Men typically start developing facial hair in the later stages of puberty or adolescence, at around fourteen years of age, and most do not finish developing a full adult beard until around sixteen or later. However, large variations can occur; boys as young as ten have also been known to develop facial hair, [2] and some men do not produce much facial hair at all.
Men may style their facial hair into beards, moustaches, goatees or sideburns; many others completely shave their facial hair and this is referred to as being "clean-shaven". The term whiskers, when used to refer to human facial hair, indicates the hair on the chin and cheeks. [3]
Women are also capable of developing facial hair, especially after menopause, though typically significantly less than men. Women with lots of facial hair, the extreme being bearded ladies, have been considered as freaks by society and sometimes been part of circuses. Trans men typically develop more facial hair while undergoing masculinizing hormone therapy as part of their wider gender transition. [4]
In the West in the nineteenth century, most men maintained some facial hair. According to a 1976 study by University of Washington economist Dwight Robinson, who reviewed illustrations in the Illustrated London News , facial hair peaked in the 1880s (90%). The wearing of beards dropped significantly, although mustaches remained popular until the 1940s. [5]
The moustache forms its own stage in the development of facial hair in adolescent males. [7] Facial hair in males does not always appear in a specific order during puberty and varies but may follow this process.
Although this order is commonly seen, it can vary widely, with some facial hair starting from the chin and up towards the sideburns. As with most human biological processes, this specific order may vary depending on one's genetic heritage or environment.
Depending on the periods and countries, facial hair has been prohibited in armies or, on the contrary, an integral part of the uniform.
Many religious male figures are recorded to have had facial hair; for example, numerous prophets mentioned in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) were known to grow beards. In Shia Islam, trimming beards is allowed but shaving them is forbidden. Amish men grow beards after marriage but continue to shave their moustaches in order to avoid historical associations with military facial hair due to their pacifistic beliefs. In Sikhism, one of the Five Ks followed by Khalsa Sikhs is kesh, which forbids the cutting or shaving of hair, both scalp and facial.
Women typically have little hair on the face, apart from eyebrows and the vellus hair that covers most of the body. However, in some cases, women have noticeable facial hair growth, most commonly after menopause. Excessive hairiness (especially facially) is known as hirsutism and is usually an indication of atypical hormonal variation. Many women depilate facial hair that appears, as considerable social stigma is associated with facial hair on women, and freak shows and circuses have historically displayed bearded women. Many women globally choose to totally remove their facial hair by means of electrolysis (permanent) or laser hair removal (semi-permanent).
Primates such as the bearded emperor tamarin have what look like whiskers. Adult orangutans have varying degrees of facial hair. In chimpanzees and gorillas, facial and body hair become sparser in adulthood due to the aging process, which is in stark contrast to humans, whose facial and body hair become stronger. Because infant great apes have thicker "facial" (as well as body) hair than their older counterparts, it is not androgenic but part of the fur complex. The sensitivity to androgens seems to have been acquired by humans on the gene KRT37 relatively recently.
Pubic hair is terminal body hair that is found in the genital area and pubic region of adolescent and adult humans. The hair is located on and around the sex organs, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the thighs, even extending down the perineum, and to the anal region. Pubic hair is also found on the scrotum and base of the penile shaft and on the vulva. Around the pubis bone and the mons pubis that covers it, it is known as a pubic patch, which can be styled.
Hair removal is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair. This process is also known as epilation or depilation.
A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to start growing beards, on average at the age of 18.
Sideburns, sideboards, or side whiskers are facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to run parallel to or beyond the ears. The term sideburns is a 19th-century corruption of the original burnsides, named after American Civil War general Ambrose Burnside, a man known for his unusual facial hairstyle that connected thick sideburns by way of a moustache, but left the chin clean-shaven.
A moustache is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Facial feminization surgery (FFS) is a set of reconstructive surgical procedures that alter typically male facial features to bring them closer in shape and size to typical female facial features. FFS can include various bony and soft tissue procedures such as brow lift, rhinoplasty, cheek implantation, and lip augmentation.
An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges of some mammals. In humans, eyebrows serve two main functions: first, communication through facial expression, and second, prevention of sweat, water, and other debris from falling down into the eye socket. It is common for people to modify their eyebrows by means of hair removal and makeup.
A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on one's chin but not the cheeks. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.
A bearded lady is a woman with a naturally occurring beard normally due to the condition known as hirsutism or hypertrichosis. Hypertrichosis causes people of either sex to develop excess hair over their entire body, while hirsutism is restricted to females and only causes excessive hair growth in the nine body areas mentioned by Ferriman and Gallwey.
The walrus moustache is characterized by whiskers that are thick, bushy, and drop over the mouth. The style resembles the whiskers of a walrus, hence the name.
A Fu Manchu moustache or simply Fu Manchu, is a full, straight moustache extending from under the nose past the corners of the mouth and growing downward past the clean-shaven lips and chin in two tapered "tendrils", often extending past the jawline. An expansion of the Fu Manchu sometimes includes a third long "tendril" descending from a small patch on the chin.
Body hair or androgenic hair is terminal hair that develops on the human body during and after puberty. It is different from head hair and also from less visible vellus hair, which is much finer and lighter in colour. Growth of androgenic hair is related to the level of androgens and the density of androgen receptors in the dermal papillae. Both must reach a threshold for the proliferation of hair follicle cells.
A Shenandoah, also known as an Amish beard, a chin curtain, a Donegal, a Lincoln, a spade beard, or a whaler, is a style of facial hair.
The World Beard and Moustache Championships is a biennial competition overseen by the World Beard and Moustache Association (WBMA), in which men with beards and moustaches display lengthy, highly styled facial hair.
Human body shape is a complex phenomenon with sophisticated detail and function. The general shape or figure of a person is defined mainly by the molding of skeletal structures, as well as the distribution of muscles and fat. Skeletal structure grows and changes only up to the point at which a human reaches adulthood and remains essentially the same for the rest of their life. Growth is usually completed between the ages of 13 and 18, at which time the epiphyseal plates of long bones close, allowing no further growth.
Facial hair in the military has been at various times common, prohibited, or an integral part of the uniform.
Male grooming refers to men paying attention to fashion and enhancing their own appearance. This interest has become increasingly apparent in popular culture.
Secular laws regulating hairstyles exist in various countries and institutions.