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By Alex Rodman and Arabella Saunders, Staff Writers

Junior Ethan Lowe absent-mindedly chews his gum as he lounges in the back corner of biology class. Unaware of potential consequences, he begins to blow bubbles — each one growing progressively larger. All of the sudden, Lowe finds himself in a sticky situation as he hears a sharp pop and looks down to find his face covered in bright pink bubble-gum. As his classmates erupt in laughter and he begins to peel away the stringy, wet substance from his freshly grown facial hair, Lowe starts to rethink his decision to participate in No-Shave November.

While No-Shave November first originated as a way to raise awareness for men’s health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer, participants were inspired to abandon their razors this November for a variety of reasons.

“I was just like, ‘Why not?” Lowe said. “I thought it would be cool, and my friends encouraged me to.”

For exceptional children teacher Joe Tyson, No-Shave November is an opportunistic tradition he’s observed since he was 18. Due to the protection his facial hair grants him while hunting and surfing, Tyson forgoes shaving every year from November to May.

“The protection it has surfing will be the best,” Tyson said. “It’s waterproof. It repels water, so when you go out when it’s really cold out it just knocks water off.”

No-Shave November is a time to ditch razors and embrace beards, mustaches and sideburns; however, the month-long event is not strictly reserved for men. Senior Hannah Montgomery and junior Savannah Wallace chose to participate this year as well by not shaving their legs.

“I did it for swim because if you train in your hairy legs and you shave it off before a big meet you will drop some time,” Wallace said. “And because I feel like girls should do it more, because if guys can do it, I can do it. That’s how I see it.”

The participants may have started the month carefree, but as their hair grew, so did their irritation.

“I didn’t think it was going to be (difficult), but actually it was really annoying,” junior Braxton Hughes said. “It feels gross and it itches all the time. I don’t like it.”

Though not having to shave her legs multiple times a week was convenient for Montgomery, the inability to wear certain articles of clothing posed a challenge.

“Some cons were that I had to wear tights if I wore a dress,” Montgomery said. “I have some jeans that are really holey and I had to skip those because there would be hair hanging out.“

Others were concerned with the opinions of friends and family.

“My mom told me to shave it because she said I look like a man and she wants to see her baby,” Lowe said. “Some of my guy friends say I look kind of sick. Some of the girls said it looked kind of cool; some of the girls said it looked disgusting.”

While November was a prosperous month for senior Petro Zyka, his success cannot be credited to his newfound facial hair.

“I got a girlfriend, but she hated it,” Zyka said. “I think they (girls) did not like the furry face, but they did like Petro.”

Despite the irritating odds and ends of No-Shave November, overall, many enjoyed the air of relaxation that surrounded the month.

“I didn’t have to shave my legs and that takes a lot of time,” Montgomery said. “Being a girl and having to shave your legs a few times a week is pretty annoying, so it’s nice not having to shave.”

No-Shave November proved to be about more than just putting up with unpleasant body hair. For Wallace, abandoning shaving fostered a sense of self-confidence.

“I really did not care. People were like ‘that’s disgusting,’ but I don’t care what they think,” Wallace said. “It just made me realize that I don’t care about other people’s opinions.”

Even with awkward incidents involving bubble-gum, limited wardrobes and the varying opinions of others, No-Shave November was a success for many. Participants thoroughly enjoyed embracing their body hair and are already looking forward to next year’s festivities.

“It was really fun,” Montgomery said. “Next November can’t come soon enough.”

Juniors Arabella Saunders and Alex Rodman can be reached at saundersar0214@daretolearn.org and rodmanal0704@daretolearn.org.