Apparently a tradition many places, Mines had an annual “No-Shave November” competition, with prizes. And beards.

This year, after seeing a post about “Movember” (Movember = Mustache + November) on The Art of Manliness, Tyler and I decided enough was enough. It was time to grow beards for charity.

We’re busy students, and we can’t be training to run marathons for testicular cancer, so why not turn something we already do on a daily basis into something useful. Plus, we won’t have to waste time shaving.

A shave on October 31st will be my last for a month. The trick is to push on through past the “pedo-stache” stage and into the manly beard stage. I’ve grown a beard before, but was displeased with it and enough time has passed that it’s time to test the waters again, for, how can one truly know one’s beard without having one?

Movember @ KAUST has a few rules:

There are varying levels of moustached/bearded-ness. Level 0: the Supporter. This means you support our cause, but are otherwise shaving regularly. Level 1: the Sophisticate. You allow the growth of the facial hair, but still trim it into a neat moustache or beard. Level 2: the Chuck Norris. Very minimal shaving. You are allowed to trim if there is unevenness, and do basic styling, but otherwise the amount of growth is way over the usual. Should be a complete beard and moustache if possible. Level 3: the Castaway. No shaving or facial grooming allowed. Let your facial hair grow wild and free. Wilson! Wilson! The rules for the month are that, in order to participate, you must increase at least one level from your current growth. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many ladies on campus to impress with your manliness. On the bright side, though, in Saudi your glorious beard will be more acceptable than in many western countries. And, being graduate students, you certainly won’t be persecuted at work for an “unkempt” appearance. But its not all about having fun and looking manly, we want some good to come from this event. Find friends and relatives willing to pledge money for your Movember month. Have them pledge a donation to one of the below listed mens-health related charities.

We’re still finalizing our chosen charity, but it looks at this point as if it will be Everyman, a group that helps to fund the Institution of Cancer Research.

UPDATE: We’ve settled on that group, and please feel free to donate!

Good luck, and good growing.