Jaclyn Figg

Staff Writer

As October comes to a close and those little pink ribbons linger in our mind, we welcome No-Shave-November and Movember. Perhaps these movements are worthy of a ribbon but maybe a mustache pin would be more suited.

For the month of November, men are encouraged to let their facial hair grow to raise awareness for prostate cancer and men’s health. As well, women are encouraged to set down their razors and cancel those waxing appointments.

“A lot of people just do it for fun I feel like, and not a lot of people actually know that it is supposed to be raising awareness and funds for cancer prevention,” said Bjorn Scheepbouwer, a finance and informatics student.

Movember started in Australia with 30 men who participated in a mustache competition. They realized it was a great conversation starter and thus the Movember Foundation was born in 2004 to raise awareness, as well as donations, for prostate cancer and other health projects for men.

“In South Africa everyone does Movember and when I came here I heard it was No-Shave November. That’s not as fun.  The mustache is what it’s about,” Scheepbouwer said.

It is unclear when No-Shave-November actually started. It has been going on for years but became increasingly popular in 2009 when the Chicago Hill Family decided to use it as a way to raise cancer awareness. They encourage people to embrace their hair and donate what would have been grooming costs to charity.

People can donate straight to the Movember Foundation and other charities but some set up their own No-Shave-November websites. They often feature beard or mustache competitions, to “grow awareness,” a popular term during the month of November.

“I originally started doing it because I just thought it was fun and thought it would be nice to not have to shave for a month,” said Robert Watkins, an ISU English professor. “Once I found out it had an actual cause, I realized I should start trying to donate. So now I am going to try and do it for that reason.”

An underlying theme of fun does seem to be a contributor to people deciding to let their hair grow for the month of November and maybe that is where No-Shave-November originated from.

“I enjoy it,” said Josh Goodwin, a member of the ISU Tennis Team. “I think it’s fun because we see our teammates every day and a lot of them are freshman who can’t really grow anything so it’s kind of funny when you show up to practice.” 

Certain rules apply to both efforts. While other facial hair can be removed, Movember focuses on the mustache. A grand mustache is a great way to strike conversation according to the founders.

No-Shave-November does not segregate one gender and encourages all to participate by letting go as much grooming as possible, except for any workplace requirements.

“On the website it says people can trim and stuff, obviously for etiquette reasons because people go to work and they can’t rock up to work looking like a caveman,” Scheepbouwer said.

While for some, unruly hair can be a problem, for others the lack of hair in certain areas can be cause to trim.

Watkins insists that he must trim his sideburns because he can’t actually grow a beard.

“Even though I am doing No-Shave-November I still have to trim or else I will make everyone really uncomfortable with the scraggly hairs on my face,” Watkins said.

For some, No-Shave-November and Movember are just for the giggles, but for others it is a way to giggle while promoting a great cause.

“It’s kind of funny first of all but also it promotes awareness for cancer; it’s an excuse to be stupid and also do a good thing,” Scheepbouwer said.