Men's moustache. INDIA and the Beard, Socho Samjho

Like the shift in fashion styles there have always been shifts in the beard style. Infact beards have shifted in and out of fashion many times. Let us start with the 1800’s in Europe the Beard was a symbol of good health, it was seen to be prevention from tooth ache, cold, wind and sunburn. While in the 20 Indian beard and mustache styles.

century a clean shaved chin was preferred. It also started being seen as unhygienic and a ‘bacterial sponge’.

Looking at the various civilizations Beard had different levels of importance. In Ancient Egyptian civilization it was experimented with various styles which included plaiting and dying them. If we compare the modern times there are so many grooming products for the bared, we have surely learnt from the past.In Ancient Greece and India Beard was a sign of honor and was only cut as a punishment. In Ancient and medieval India a man could grow it as long as he wished. There was so much regard for the beard that many times men would pledge their beard for the payment of debt. This has remarkably changed in the modern cities where majority men are attracted by the metro sexual look. While in the regions like Rajasthan having a proper beard or mustache is still a big deal. The importance is so much so that there are certain competitions held during the Pushkar festival and the Jaisalmer Desert Festival.

Goatee and moustache styles

Roman Kings,when the empire was at its peak,preferred clean shaven looks which was even followed by the common the Medieval times the kings like Akbar,Humayun,Aurangzeb,Rajput rulers like Maharana pratap, Rana sanga, Maratha rulers like Chatrapati Shivaji, Bajirao etc all had mustaches and since they were looked up to or were in a powerful position, their looks might have influenced the common modern times in India the fashion style followed by common people is mostly based on Bollywood fashion style who mostly prefer clean shaved looks. But at times some looks like that of Amir Khan with a small goatee for the movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ or that of Salman khan for ‘Dabang’ came in trend. Some Hollywood actors like Robert Pattison and Ben Affleck often change their beard styles which are appreciated and followed by the people.