Kmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front

9^th July

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

Heatwave & Climate Change: Beard Liberation Front permits shaving based on Marx’s example from April 1882

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that for the third time in a month it is permitting supporters to temporarily shave their beards due to hot weather in parts of the UK which is forecast to continue for at least the next week.

The campaigners say that there is a precedent in beard history for the move. When Marx travelled to Algeria in 1882 just before the end of his life he found conditions so hot that he shaved his iconic beard, his ‘lion’s mane’ as he wrote to Engels.

However the advice is a guideline only and the BLF says that some may simply wish to trim their beards a little as this can protect against the sun and have a general cooling influence.

There is no question now that climate change is impacting the way facial hair is worn.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, the problem is that in the kind of hot weather that is forecast the strength of the sun can damage the follicles and cause serious harm to the beard. By trimming the area of follicles exposed to the sun this can be reduced.

He continued, alternatively as an exceptional measure we are permitting shaving of the beard this week. It is really up to individuals whether they follow the example of Karl Marx