Lots of things go on in November: Thanksgiving, parent- teacher conferences, and most importantly, no school. But for some of the male students at New Trier, they have one more thing going on for them: No Shave November.
According to the website no-shave-november.com, “The goal of No Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. Donate the money you usually spend on shaving and grooming for a month to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.”
No Shave November is a time when guys show off their masculinity by growing beards. This means any form of beard goes like a Hollywoodian, Short Boxed Beard, Ducktail Goatee or even an Old Dutch beard.
According to no-shave-november.com though, there are a few rules that guys need to follow: 1. You do not shave in November; 2. You DO NOT shave in November; 3. If you shave you are out; 4. No trimming, no waxing; and finally 5. No shaving can go on as long as you want it to.
Senior Michael Ulrich stated his reason for not shaving, “I have some close friends who have or have had cancer. I’m doing it for them, to show my support. It’s no easy road, and the least I can do is help to spread awareness.”
Kinetic Wellness teacher Leif Gamrath is participating in No Shave November for the first time. His goal is to to raise awareness of men’s health issues such as prostate cancer and mental health problems. Gamrath explained how he found out about No Shave November: “The way I learned about this originally was through the company Element Skateboards. They got together with a shirt design company called Timber and the Gentlemen’s Hair and Beard competition in Los Angeles to create Movember this year. It was in my workings with Element Skateboards where it was like, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that,’ and I had a job that would allow me to do this.”
Gamrath was able to influence his whole office to participate in No Shave November and hopes that one day all of New Trier will be able to participate. “I would love to see it become more of a school-wide thing. I know next year I am going to promote my whole department since there are so many people that are invested in teaching health that I think the whole department might be more receptive. To have the whole school do it would be very effective,” Gamrath stated.
Senior Jackson Hamilton is going to try and complete his first year of No Shave November despite his troubles with it in the past few years. “I’ve never actually gone all the way through it since I started shaving. Every year I think it would
be kind of cool to do, so I start it and go for about a week and then decide that it looks terrible and something inspires me to just give up. So I shave, and then after that you’re kind of done. Maybe this year will be different,” stated Hamilton.
Hamilton explains that a lot of No Shave November is just talking and not a lot of doing. Though admittedly he has tried, he is one of the people who simply talks about it. However, this year he plans to go all the way. “This time I am more determined than ever, partly just because of my past failures. Every time I shave in November I completely regret it. I want to finish it this year,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton already has a mustache and a bit of chin fluff growing on his face. By the end of the month, he should have a full blonde beard. Hamilton explained his reason for participating in No Shave November, “It’s not really for the girls; it’s for the glory.”
Ulrich, as stated before, plans to do No Shave November to raise awareness. However, Ulrich didn’t know of all the rules, “I was unaware of other rules. It’s called ‘No Shave November’ what other rules could there be?,” questioned Ulrich.
He also said that raising awareness is all the benefit he needs for no shaving for a month, but when asked about the drawbacks, he stated, “Well, I don’t have this problem because I can’t grow much facial hair, but I’m sure people have a problem dealing with all of the hair on their face. Like, what if [big-bearded rapper] Action Bronson didn’t shave for a month? That would be a mess.”
Despite Ulrich’s difficulties in growing hair himself, he knows that just being part of No Shave November to spread awareness of cancer is what matters.
Men are not the only people who can participate in No Shave November, though. Women have also been known to participate by not shaving their legs and armpits. Although it is uncommon for women to go natural, plenty of women support others who are participating in No Shave November.
Junior Gillian Shields said, “I think No Shave November is equal to boys and girls but boys take it more seriously.” With this in mind, Shields along with her friend junior Gillian Keebler, both agree that guys would participate in No Shave November to prove their masculinity. However, neither of the girls believes that that should be the reason to not shave during November. “If you need hair to prove you’re a guy, then you need to rethink your life,” Keebler explained.
Keebler admitted that if she were to see a girl growing out her hair, she would feel weird. Shields, on the other hand, believes that people can do whatever they like, but she herself would not partake in something like No Shave November.
When asked if they would insert themselves in a holiday that would promote femininity, Keebler and Shields responded in mixed feelings. The girls came up with ideas such as No Bratober, No Makeup May, and even No Deodorant December; however, both Keebler and Shields would prefer not to participate in either of these ideas.