“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” Leviticus 19:27

Ah, No-Shave November! That wonderful time of the year when boys turn into men… for 30 days that is.

Have you ever heard a guy say, “It’s no shave November” as if it’s an excuse to grow out the beard?

Have you ever participated in this silly tradition?

Maybe if you haven’t, you’ll begin to in years to come.

No-Shave November, also known as Noshember, is a tradition that allows men and women to grow out their body hair during the entire month of November without repercussion. Men are known to grow their beards to enormous lengths, while women let their leg and armpit hair grow wild.

Even though growing a gnarly beard or sporting the ever-fashionable unshaven leg might make a person seem lazy or careless, there’s a purpose behind this seemingly gimmick of a holiday: cancer awareness.

No-Shave November is a non-profit organization devoted to growing cancer awareness and raising funds to support cancer prevention, research, and education. Many cancer patients lose their hair, which is why we want to embrace our hair and start the conversation. This is crucial because around the world there are 22,000 people dying of cancer every single day. About half of those cancer diagnoses and deaths are preventable.

The No-Shave November campaign has successfully raised over $3.5 million dollars to combat this disease, and here’s how you can help.

No-Shave November has a few simple rules you would abide by:

October 31: Shave the area you plan to grow out.

November 1 – November 30: Start getting hairy and put down the razor. That means no shaving, trimming, grooming or shaping. Start the conversation and raise cancer awareness.

December 1: You can return to normal; shaving will commence, but not after taking a few selfies. And all the monthly hair-maintenance expenses you didn’t need because of your participation? Donate it to the cause to help in cancer prevention, saving lives, and aid in those currently battling cancer.

Now guys, don’t forget to keep that upper lip stubble, so you can creep some people out for Mustache Christmas Morning on December 25^th!

In addition to the visibility of unkempt hair, you can also hold a competition between your friends based on:

Longest

Fullest/Thickest

The Picasso (Patchy/Abstract)

The George “Babyface” Nelson

The Horrible Beard

The Pre-Teen Face

Sasquatch Legs (women)

Sasquatch Pits (women)

The Fu Manchu

The Handlebar

The Soul Patch

Chinstrap

And much more.

Want to be more involved? Set up your own No-Shave November fundraising page.

No-Shave November is an opportunity to let that hair grow in the name of Science!