Readingtime: 5 mins

Beard. Office. Conservative boss. Not the right combo, is it?

A lot of people consider a beard as a sign of being lazy and unhygienic.

Yes, with the start-up culture and the countless millennial bosses who are changing the rules of being a professional, a lot of us don’t really have this problem, but as far as the majority of MNCs are concerned, the rules are set in stone!

But if you do want to sport that beard you’ve been dreaming of, you can still do it, if you keep this in mind: Beards are like makeup for men. That means you need to spend time and energy on it, the way women do with makeup.

Here are the golden rules:

1. Don’t be lazy

The opportunity to grow a beard is not an excuse to be lazy and give up on personal hygiene. If anything, it’s more of are sponsibility than just shaving it all off every morning. You need to was hyour beard, moisturize it, trim it and keep it clean.

This means you need to invest in some good beard grooming products. Keep the neck and part of your cheeks shaved and the beard, evenly trimmed.

     2. Understand the limits

Every industry, every line of work, every office and every boss has its own set of rules. The lines are not drawn the same for every single one of us. So, understand what’s appropriate and what’s crossing the line. A full beard might get you a warning email from HR, while they might let a short stubble slide. At the same time, a 5 O’clock shadow might make your boss call you lazy whereas an extended goatee would be ignored.

So, know where you are.

     3. It’s a head-to-toe game

From your hairstyle to your shoe, everything should complement each other. Especially if you are in an anti-beard environment.

This means you might want to rethink your wardrobe from your clean shaven days. Start from styling your hair to match your beard, you can get your hair stylist to weigh in on that one. Once you gotthat sorted, make sure you have outfits that go with your hairstyle and beard. And once that’s done, find shoes to go with that outfit. If you have trouble deciding on the shoe part, take a look at other articles on Ruosh and our products page. Educate yourself.

    4. Just be mindful

Nobody wants to know what you had for lunch by looking at your beard. There, it can’t be more direct than that.

Food has a way of finding its way up there and setting up a deli. So, eat all you want but just.. Be mindful!

So now that you know how to responsibly and professionally sport a beard, go for it and if your boss is still giving youtrouble, well.. Hope you have your shaver ready.