John C. Reilly's Extra Man Hair

Continuing what seems to be a Hollywood theme to this week's posts -- perhaps tied to the fact that Riss is headed to LA today, or perhaps it's serving as a reminder for B-a-B about our Beard Ball LA promise -- whatever the reason, the everything is fake in LA perspective is further reinforced when looking at celebrity beards, in movies that is...

John C. Reilly's version of the eccentric Gershon in the upcoming "The Extra Man" is a fantastic example of a (fake) beard. It's pretty awesome; bushy, curly, colorful and natural... just like we like it, only fake.

So given it's fakeness... we'll let Bryan Alexander of nbcconnecticut.com finish this post for us:

"While it's hard to applaud anything that's not authentic, Reilly does get points for his method-beard acting and just the sheer volume of the creation. So two hairy thumbs up."

Brad Pitt's Goat: A Eulogy

As everyone and their mother, girlfriend, sister (and so on and so forth) knows, Brad Pitt (of Brangelina fame) had been growing his much-discussed beard for about a year... and when he so clearly and significantly trimmed it down last month, we all knew he was preparing to get rid of it.

Well, earlier this month, the day finally came... I say finally because even though B-a-B is categorically against shaving, there is only one other thing that cuts us deeper... and that's black eyes to the facial hair aficionados everywhere.

Brad's beard drew so much criticism that we were afraid it would derail all the work our community has done in building up the profile of beards... we do not want to go back into the dark ages of beard hatred and pogonophobia, so if that means supporting Brad's shave... so be it.

That said, it was a pretty cool beard... RIP Brad Pitt's Goat, we hardly knew yee... you were infamous, which is like really really famous.

Grin & Beard It

With all the beards running around Hollywood these days, on the streets of Williamsburg, and the 'staches sported on Sunset Boulevard, Build-a-Beard wanted to examine what is causing the sudden burst of follicle fierceness (not that we're complaining).

It is believed by some that the recession has sparked this bearded trend - with more layoffs and fewer people in corporate America - there is no need to shave.  Yet Hollywood should tread lightly here - men should always grow out for the love and dedication of their facial fuzz NOT because of a 'trend.'  In the months to come, it will be interesting to watch what actors go beard and what actors go home.  But as of right now, men have realized that facial hair magically transforms the average zero into a bearded hero.  Afterall, letting hair follicles hang out changes a man's perceived masculinity (trust me on this - I am a woman - I know these things).   To this point, B-a-B is interested to know how many beardos got laid at SXSW vs. unshaved faces?  Think about it - SXSW is the Hipster Beard Mecca! We're sure the % of happy beardos leaving that festival is significantly higher than those who rocked nothing on their faces.... 

Yet the point about the recession brings up an interesting question - how has our bearded brotherhood impacted the razor business?  How are companies such as Gillette, Schick, and BIC combating our hairy army of awesomeness?  Surely, fewer men are picking up razors these days causing a definite backlash against the blade.  But shaving companies can rest easy - a recent report by The Global Industry Analysts (GIA) titled, "Men's Grooming Products: A Global Strategic Business Report," found that the world market for men's grooming products is projected to exceed $33.2 billion by the year 2015. This is primarily driven by a rapid rise of metrosexual male, innovative appealing products, growing middle class population, increased Internet connectivity, and universality of prestige across the world.

As far as Build-a-Beard is concerned, presitge comes from turning on, tuning in, and growing out. That said, we'd be interested in hearing from any shaving companies about their thoughts on the wave of lengthy facial follicles.  Email us for a possible Q&A. 

*LA 'stache tweeting @buildabeard spotted on Sunset