Article in The Atlantic

Thoughts and input on anything related to wet shaving or men's grooming.
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BeatlesFan
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Article in The Atlantic

Post by BeatlesFan »

Now HERE is some news that all of us here at SMF can truly USE!

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... rd/392258/

Some of this makes for slightly distasteful reading, but it certainly vindicates the idea of daily shaving, done well. Enjoy!
JRTASTER
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by JRTASTER »

cancel my trip to New Mexico!

Thanks for posting!
Enjoying wet shaving, again.
jr/John
Rufus
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by Rufus »

Another reason for me to dislike beards. But I do like New Mexico, especially the green chilli. :mrgreen:
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Rufust445
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by Rufust445 »

My routine when I first started shaving before going to work was to wash my face, apply some Williams Lectric Shave, then use an electric. My face never felt as clean as when I started wet shaving.
CMur12
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by CMur12 »

<All of this led the Guardian's Nick Evershed to conclude, "There is more crap in these stories about poo in beards than there is in beards."

Still, there probably is some truth to the idea that a beard, like any other body part, can get pretty funky if you let it.>


These two sentences constitute an important part of the article in question, providing balance and context.

First of all, there are more bacteria in the human body than there are actual body cells. Most of these bacteria are healthful and necessary in their proper place, with allowances made for a bit of normal migration. I would expect the differences in beard bacteria cited in the article to indicate differences in hygiene.

If we jump to conclusions and panic at the very mention of hair harboring bacteria (which hair does), we would all shave off our beards, the hair on our heads, and all of our body hair. By the way, finger- and toenails are also made of hair and harbor significant amounts of bacteria. We might want to consider having them removed, too. (I once read the the "dirtiest" square quarter inch on the whole human body resides under the nail of the right index finger - that would be the left index finger for lefties.)

I have heard no evidence to suggest that men with beards and their spouses are less healthy than others. This needs to be viewed in context. I have worn a beard for over forty years (though I shave my neck). I keep it neatly trimmed and I shampoo it every morning. I have suffered no ill effects from it in all of this time, even when I lived in the tropics and it was longer. I'm, frankly, not worried.

- Murray
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

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I keep my face clean by shaving and my interior tidy with the judicious use of medicinal alcohol.
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by brothers »

Some beards just look funky ---
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by Squire »

Next time I see one who's grooming is suspect potty mouth will spring to mind.
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CMur12
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by CMur12 »

Squire wrote:I keep my face clean by shaving and my interior tidy with the judicious use of medicinal alcohol.
Squire, are you sure that "medicinal alcohol" isn't intended for external use only? You know, like for disinfecting skin of fecal bacteria? :P

- Murray
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by Squire »

Doubtless it would be Murray but at the price I pay I'm not wasting any.
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BeatlesFan
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by BeatlesFan »

If we jump to conclusions and panic at the very mention of hair harboring bacteria ...
Quite the reverse. I thought the whole thing from start to finish was just a laugh -- I mean, who would've taken the time to even look into this silliness! Obviously, if your personal hygiene is so deficient that, in comparison, Aqualung looks like GQ material, your beard (along with the rest of you!) is probably a microbial nightmare. By contrast, a well-washed and well-groomed gent sporting a trim beard is obviously not any sort of public health hazard!

I just got a chuckle out of the article and thought it'd amuse others at SMF, especially since it obviously promotes shaving as part of personal hygiene -- a message likely to be popular (even if largely unfounded!) among most SMF-ers.
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mustang_john
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by mustang_john »

Squire wrote:I keep my face clean by shaving and my interior tidy with the judicious use of medicinal alcohol.
I'll second that one :)
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by brothers »

If the women decide germs are distasteful and therefore less than attractive (regardless of the fact that every male on TV/Movies has a beard) and communicate that to their men, then we'll begin to see some clean shaven faces.
Gary

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Squire
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by Squire »

Men and women don't communicate.
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by drmoss_ca »

"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
brothers
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by brothers »

Good ol' Internet. Of course both "sides" of every such statement of anything so personal will attack the credibility of the other. So now there's something for everyone, neither has any way (certainly no desire) of proving anything one way or other, and now everyone is right, and everyone else is wrong! Yay, win-win! :D
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
BeatlesFan
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by BeatlesFan »

Even funnier! I posted it because of its pertinence to SMF, not because I was so especially grossed out. I thought it was a good laugh just as it was. Now knowing that the whole thing is a joke on the rest of the world makes it doubly funny. Good for them!

Ooops, I gotta go. I need to disinfect my beard now! LOL
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Rufust445
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Re: Article in The Atlantic

Post by Rufust445 »

Squire wrote:Men and women don't communicate.

I can speak, read and write American, understand English, know a bit of French, the tiniest bit of German, and have an ongoing lifelong project to learn and understand female English, which likely will never be completed.
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