November is also known as “Movember.” It is the month when both men and women donate their faces to raise funds and awareness for men's health issues by bringing back the mustache in all its prickly glory.
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Tagbilaran ABC president
Edgar Bompat’s full beard
makes him versatile and
outstanding in real life.
Courtesy: http://sp.tagbilaran.gov.ph
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Whether it’s Movember or not, men everywhere have taken time to experiment with their facial hair, trying out new styles and using the opportunity to express their personality through their facial hair.
If things maybe getting little hairy nowadays it is because Science has spoken, and it turns out, facial hair scientifically proven sexy, according to the Evolution and Human Behavior.
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| Tagbilaran City councilor Joseph “Jojo” Bompat has the perfect facial hair. Courtesy: http://sp.tagbilaran.gov.ph |
“Results indicated consistently more positive perceptions of social/physical attractiveness, personality, competency, and composure for men with facial hair,” says the Journal of Social Behavior and Personality on the topic "The Influence of Facial Hair on Impression Formation.”
Women see men with facial hair as more attractive, more charismatic, smarter and more capable and
calmer and more in control.
When it comes to facial hair styles, there are lots of great choices (moustache, soul patch, balbo, Jesus beard, five o’ clock shadow, scruff, trimmed beard, goatee, scraggly, chin strap, mutton chops popularized by Elvis Presley and neckbeard), and some Boholanos choose one that fits their own personal style well.
It is all about the three 'M's: Maturity, masculinity and mysteriousness for lawyer Lord Marapao I and former Tagbilaran City councilor and ABC President Edgar Bompat.
One of the most high profile lawyers in the province, Atty. Lord Marapao has a scraggly beard that some people think he is the living Saint Padre Pio. In real life, Atty. Marapao is a devotee of Saint Padre Pio, the Capuchin priest with his stigmata. His beard gives him age, power, and credibility. According to studies, it is an easy ticket to garnering more respect from his peers, and having women be softer and more deferential around him.
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| Rapper Ram Alturas has a goatee. Courtesy: Side Room Studios |
Can one face hairstyle be all things to all people? Edgar Bompat proves it can. He’s a family provider but also a savvy businessman. A lawmaker and a barangay leader. And yet his trimmed or full beard suits each of these roles, one after the other, while still looking outstanding. There’s no more versatile beard in Bohol than Edgar’s.
Edgar’s son, Tagbilaran City councilor Joseph “Jojo” Bompat, has also the perfect facial hair. Manly, but not too imposing; friendly, but not Santa Claus-like. Not too long, not too short. That makes him confident.
Is there any doubt that Tagbilaran City Science High School teacher Meljun Daniel would be the best at facial hair? It is very masculine, established and mature. Meljun has a special hair affair in his quest to look his best. Known as the “living Dracula,” Meljun can have scruff (the new look of Hollywood), trimmed beard, chin strap and mutton chops.
“It feels sexy but it has its setbacks,” says Meljun. “People call you names like terrorist, rapist, maniac, et. But the most difficult part is having to shave often which takes time. Having facial hair is not ideal in this humid country. But I’m still glad that I’m one of the few bearded people in this country.”
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| Meljun Daniel on his hairy journey: ‘Heavy stubble is sexier.’ Courtesy: Meljun Daniel |
Meljun’s beard and mustache plays a big role in the indie film, “Caretaker,” a psychological drama directed by Sherwin Tutor and Ryan Macalandag.
“It enhances the role. It helps highlight the enigmatic qualities of the character,” shares Meljun.
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| Businessman Van Delima has a small patch of hair just below his lower lip. Courtesy: Van Delima |
Former Tagbilaran City SK chair and rapper Ram Alturas has a goatee. It is mesmerizing, so full of sinister charisma. The Imperial Barber Products says, “the goatee is a man who understands limits. He is happy to take part in something, but know that all things must come in moderation. By keeping the sides of his face clean, the man’s hair says he is capable of playing by the rules and staying within boundaries.”
Businessman Van Delima is clean shaven but sometimes he has facial stubble just below his lower lip. Van doesn’t need to shave off his soul patch, and that’s because he makes them look good. According to Imperial Barber Products, “the soul patch represents the mature sophistication that separates the juvenile from grown-up. It represents all the class found in a man completely clean-shaven, but with just a touch of experience rolled in.”
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