Facial Hair

For several years now, I have had a ‘hockey goatee.’ My mom enforced a no facial hair rule over her boys and so when I was out on my own, I finally took the opportunity to grow something. I would get tired of a goatee and then shave it all off. Then I'd go right back to it. Having a clean face makes me look younger, I think. But the goatee helps to thin my face in my older, plumper, age.

One year, I was planning on being a pirate for Halloween and wanted the entire costume to be authentic. This meant I started growing out my hair and my beard. It was hilariously bad. My skin and AS don't like that much hair. My skin begins to react with itching and general unhealthiness. My AS ensures that the prevalence of hair is always on the forefront of my mind. It becomes something I have to consciously think about every day to overcome, to endure. My hands can't stop trying to “fix” the unruliness of all the hair and I spend too much time finger combing and scratching. But isn't it fun to see me as a mountain man?

I just got up out of bed, at 5 AM, to shave my facial hair and trim my goatee. It had been all growing since last Tuesday. My normal routine is to shave every other day (except on the weekends), and trim the goatee to scruff once a week. But with all this growth, my face was starting to itch a bit too much and I need to make sure that the soap is actually getting to my face. So, an early morning shave became a moment of relief for me. I wonder how many other Aspies are okay with facial hair.