What’s growing on this month??? Well, transition from clean shaven, baby face to a full on “Steve Harvey stache”, has officially begun. Yip! It’s Movember and men all around the world will be sporting trendy facial hair styles. From the handlebar to the horseshoe, trucker or dare I say… wispy. Love it or loathe it, it’s coming and here’s why…
Let’s go back to 2003, where 2 men in Australia, by the names of Travis Garone and Luke Slattery), meet up for drinks and decide to bring back the mo. Further inspired by a friend’s mom who was raising funds for breast cancer, they decided to add a cause to their idea. The Movember movement would bring awareness to Men’s health with particular emphasis on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and more recently, mental health and male suicide.
Prostate cancer is the second highest cancer affecting men worldwide and this is expected to almost double by 2030.
Thankfully, with early detection, both testicular and prostate cancers have between a 90 – 98% survival rate. This makes it vital for all men to have themselves medically screened, to self-examine and be mindful of any unusual changes in their bodies.
Movember also focuses very strongly on male mental health and suicide. The mental health of boys and men are often disregarded, and men rarely seek mental health therapy. Some key factors affecting male mental health are trauma, unemployment, financial burden and hefty workloads.
¾ of suicides are male. This alarming figure highlights the importance of society to prioritize mental health and to encourage our men to reach out, care for themselves and seek help when needed.
Male salons will no doubt be booked with guys wanting to trim, sculpt and style their facial hair.
SORBET MAN barber trainer, Glen summers, has offered some top tips so that men don’t just grow the mo, but rock it. For those wanting to sport a longer moustache, Glen advises that a good moustache Wax used to shape, is always a winner. If you’re inspired to add the beard to the stache, a trim, and a beard balm or butter will do the trick.
Heading into December, if you choose to remove the facial hair, a great exfoliation with a hot towel shave, ending off with a good moisturizer will leave the skin healthy and fresh.
From convincing 30 friends to participate in 2004 to over 4 million global participants year on year, the growth is quite phenomenal. Given the purpose, we can all agree that this is a fantastic cause and one worth supporting to spark conversation and raise awareness on the importance of men’s health.
Blog written by Farnaaz Hayat, Principal of Beauty Therapy Institute Cape Town. +27 404 0556; +27 79 631 8740; Email: ct@beautytherapyinstitute.co.za; www.beautytherapyinstitute.co.za