Facial hair and cold weather

Hi,

Does growing a beard help to prevent frostbites by having natural insulation or is it not a good idea because of frost getting stuck in the beard and injuring the skin?

And if you shave, do you shave before going to bed to give your skin a chance to recover before exposing it to the cold?

Thanks
Frankie

Beards offer very little real insulation in cold climes and in fact increase hygiene problems. If you look at Inuit and other people in cold places they have very little facial hair. the best strategy is to use a good moisturizer and wear appropriate clothing; a proper parka with snorkel hood, balaclava etc.

I find that my beard only helps if it's well covered by a headover and/or a balaclava...more dead air space. Otherwise it's just a place for ice for form.

The ice has to get through the beard first! yuk yuk



As best man at a buddies wedding in Oct. 2006!
(They made me take the Charles May FireAnt off for the ceremony, go figure???)

This discusses an interesting experiment involving shaving on one side only. The author (Pete Hickey) is an avid winter cyclist.

i live in Minnesota and have had a full beard for about 35
years--i'm 61--i try and keep it trimed..the professor look,
not the mountain man "bush"..i think it does keep my face
out of the wind--not warm as in cozy like fingers in mitts..
Will Seager, our local north pole explorer is clean shaven
as he also thinks beards ice up..my mustache will get covered
with ice--very dramatic --a real show-off item when i come
in from shoveling the walk--" oh honey--you look so cold--
i'll make some coco"---but for day to day winter weather
i think--and a lot of other guys up here think--that a
full beard is a good winter accessory--coal tar soap
works great to keep it clean--

I keep a goatee and have had a full beard off and on over the years, and I rwallly can't tell any major difference.

I've worn a beard for some 20 years now. I've shaved it off a few times, once was in the middle of January. No particular reason, I just got carried away with the trimmer and decided to go all the way. Boy did I regret it. The next day I was without a vehicle and it happened to be the coldest day I've ever experienced (-67*C with windchill). I stood and waited at the bus stop for over 15 min. and regretted every second of it. Never again would I shave in the middle of winter.

While I only sport a light beard and moustache, I do find it keeps the face a tad bit warmer than a clean shaven one. It maintains a light air film on the face and thus is a bit warmer but nothing like wearing a scarf or balaclava.

The only negative with the facial hair is the frozen exhale from the nose on the moustache. After a while it just encrusts and actually insulates me from further cold winds. After our football team came home with the Grey Cup, I stood at the fieldside stands waiting for an 1 hr. to welcome them home in a rally. It was only -34*C with the wind chill last week. The parts of me that got cold - were my bare cheeks and my fingers. The rest of the body was fine.

YMMV

Thanks everyone. Interesting replies. I'll keep on shaving, only it will be before going to bed instead of in the morning.

Frankie

My beard has kept me a little warmer, mostly under the chin, though I hardly think a beard alone would help prevent frostbite, even if the chin area was prone to it. I've never heard of frostbite effecting the face anywhere except for the nose. I think it mostly effects extremities (fingers and toes).

Heh heh heh! This reminds me of Cormac McCarthy's book "The Road". In one part a man and his son find an underground bomb shelter, and the man uses razors he finds to shave his face. When he asks the boy what he thinks, the boy just looks and asks, "won't you be cold?"

This was one of the funniest picture I have seen in a long time! Thanks

Generics has resulted in the Inuits having little to no facial hair. But I agree that closing is the best way to protect against cold.
cheers

I don't know about keeping you warm, but if you are a politician...

http://thehill.com/cover-stories/voters-want-their-pols-clean-shaven-2006-09-20.html

All I can say is:

I loved having my beard when I was assigned to the USCGC MANITOU and USCGC RARITAN (icebreaking tugs on the Hudson River)and I sorely missed my beard (The Commandant outlawed beards just prior to my being assigned-1987) while assigned to the USCGC BISCAYNE BAY (icebreaking tug on the Great Lakes).

I preferred a beard in cold climates.

I'd love to use cold weather as an excuse to toss my razor, but my wife, who's ex had a monster beard, now hates them. And we tend to avoid really cold weather anyho. Rats again...

I wouldn't be without a full beard . I work outside and I never wear a face covering anymore and this is in Minnesota.