In August, Prince William debuted a new look, and the internet couldn’t handle it: facial hair…and there was a lot of it. Since then, his royal fans have been glued to the scruff of his neck. And I wondered. Celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Jeremy Allen White have been rocking babyfaces for years, but are we no longer looking for clean-shaven faces? Are we really ready to go back to the lumberjack vibe of 2006?
Let’s review a little bit here. In the early ’80s, a beard was an easy sign of bad guy cool, along with skinny jeans and a trucker hat. Then, in the late 2010s, the tables turned, with men opening up their pants, taking off their tortoiseshell glasses, and, yes, picking up razors. That was until this fall, when many men decided to give beards a second chance. Think Chris Pine growing a beard (and coined the term “Surf Daddy”) or Oscar Isaac getting muscular for his role in Dune.
Texas-based salon owner Kyler Engram strongly believes this is the power move of 2024. “Short, well-groomed beards are trending for a more modern and professional look,” he says. “This trend is due to several factors, including a desire for a more rugged and masculine look, a growing appreciation of beards as a form of self-expression, and a broader cultural shift towards embracing natural beauty. It is considered a thing.”
