Caught by the Fuzz: America Weighs in on Celebrity Facial Hair

STERLING, Ill., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to a plethora of entertainment blogs, gossip magazines and reality shows, Americans today are quick to assess public figures on everything from their flopped movies to their wardrobe choices. A new survey by WAHL (more info at WAHLNation.com), facial hair expert and inventor of the first beard trimmer, finds that facial hair is no exception to this rule. The nation is quick to offer its two cents on the facial hair of some high-profile men who get it right and should lay off the razor.

Perfectly Coiffed Celebrities

Though more attention may be focused on their upcoming movie and show, The American and Blue Bloods respectively, a few celebrities have not forgotten what helped earn their notoriety. Almost one in five (19 percent) Americans think that George Clooney has the best looking facial hair most of the time. But the mustache of years past has not burned out from the facial hair lime light. The same amount (19 percent) assess that Tom Selleck is generally adept at managing his facial hair. But this is likely due to the indelible memory of his Magnum, P.I. days, as he's far more popular among the 35 year plus set than with 18 to 34 year-olds (25 percent vs. 4 percent).

There are a few up and comers in the facial hair ranks as well. Though their names are a bit less recognizable, the facial hair of Zach Galifianakis (2 percent) and Jon Hamm (2 percent) is on the radar of the American public.

In years past George Clooney has sported the goatee, short boxed beard and stubble look. Clooney is not alone in sporting these looks. In fact, about 13 million men wear some form of a beard during the year.

According to The Bearded Gentleman: The Styling Guide to Shaving Face, stubble is a favorite of the red carpet Hollywood set, adding an air of bad boy rebellion. But it can also be a difficult style to manage. Its short crop requires near-daily maintenance to achieve that "I-just-woke-up" look. Stubble is a great way to slim the lower half of the face and to highlight your cheekbones. Men with particularly square or angular faces can further emphasize their face shapes with this particular style, but should use caution if they don't want to look a bit unwieldy. To attain this look:

• Avoid the razor for one to two days.
• Create a lower border by trimming along the line where your chin meets your neck and remove all hair below it. (There's no excuse for an unkempt neck.)
• Using an electric trimmer (such as the WAHL Lithium Ion Trimmer) with guard, trim your whiskers to a uniform length.
• Along the edges of your beard, choose a guard that is one step shorter than before.

"Joining the popularity of facial hair legend Tom Selleck, the beard is becoming an indelible mark to George Clooney's style repertoire," said Nick Burns, author of The Bearded Gentleman and WAHL facial hair expert/historian. "But don't kid yourself. Maintaining his beard is well orchestrated and requires the right tools to make it look effortless. Guys may not be able to have his Hollywood home and girlfriend, but with a bit of practice can have his look."

If your desire for more facial hair knowledge is still burning, visit WAHLNation.com. The site offers the opportunity to ask questions to WAHL's facial hair experts, explore a bevy of styles in the Encyclopedia of Styles and read all things facial hair at the Experts & Gentleman blog.

For more information, visit www.wahlnation.com and learn more about facial hair at Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Flickr and YouTube.

Breaking down the demographics

• More women than men think that George Clooney (24 percent vs. 14 percent) and Johnny Depp (18 percent vs. 12 percent) can do no wrong with their facial hair.
• Men, on the other hand, admire Tom Selleck more than women do for his famed mustache (22 percent vs. 16 percent).
• When it comes to the facial hair choices of Johnny Depp (22 percent vs. 12 percent) and Brad Pitt (21 percent vs. 9 percent), the 18 to 34 age group has more love than their 35 plus years elders.

Methodological Notes:

The WAHL Facial Hair Survey was conducted by Kelton Research between April 30 and May 5, 2010 using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results.

In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

About WAHL Trimmers

A quarter-century ago, WAHL recognized the desire for well kept facial hair and created the trimmer category. The WAHL Groomsman was the world's first battery operated facial hair trimmer, and featured the same type of blade quality that defined WAHL clippers. And for the past 25 plus years, that innovation has continued, developing trimmers for specific facial hair styles – beard, goatee and mustache – and other variations including ear/nose, body grooming and all-in-one. Most recently, WAHL introduced the first trimmer to harness the power of lithium ion that continues a legacy of superior trimming innovation.

About WAHL

Now in its 91st year, WAHL Clipper Corporation is an international industry leader in the manufacturing of products for the professional beauty and barber salon trade, consumer personal care and animal grooming. Headquartered in Sterling, Ill., WAHL currently employs some 2,000 people worldwide. WAHL products are available in 165 countries around the world. For more information about WAHL, visit www.wahl.com.

SOURCE WAHL Trimmers