No Shave November? Count me in

Last week on Friday morning, I shaved most of the whiskers from my face. I had a decent winter beard going after not shaving for about a month, but when Halloween rolled around, I went down to bare skin as I wanted to be as historically correct as possible with my costume. I had hoped to be Mark Twain for the day and to really set my costume off I ordered a wig, some droopy eyebrows and a wild, walrus mustache. Well, after I shaved, I attached the mustache and eyebrows, plopped the wig atop my dome and took a peak into the mirror.

Yikes!

Mark Twain I was not. I looked more like a mix of Col. Sanders, Albert Einstein and Bea Arthur. Besides not looking like Twain, the Spirit Gum I used to attach the hair to my face bled through the back causing my faux brows and ‘stache to appear as though my Chihuahua tinkled on them.

No good.

I scrapped the Twain idea and dressed as a Peaky Blinder (and if the term “Peaky Blinder” makes you scratch your head in wonderment, you are not alone.) But what was done was done and my winter beard was gone.

Luckily for me, November is No Shave November and I will be donating my face to help raise awareness for cancer. In 2009, No Shave November was started on Facebook and since then has joined forces with the American Cancer Society. The program works like this: men – and women – are not to shave for the entire month of November and then take all the money they have saved by not purchasing grooming products and donate the funds to the ACS. (Though I plan to up the ante because it’s not as if I shave with a new Ferrari or expensive Russian Caviar.)

Currently, 7.6 million people die from cancer worldwide every year and if you are not directly affected by the various forms of the disease, chances are good you know someone who is. About this time last year my best friend was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 43. The news shook everyone in my circle of friends because until it happens to someone you know, it is easy to not think about.

With that in mind, please take pity on me as I go full board into No Shave November. I will gradually start to resemble a member of ZZ Top as the month progresses but it is not because I am lazy when it comes to grooming (which is the case for the other 11 months of the year.)

Mahalo and aloha.