Scruffy facial hair wins over clean-shaven look by whisker

The trend is an extension of the unshaven look that has been hip for years.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Funky facial hair is everywhere today, especially beards, which haven't been this common since the late 1970s, says GQ magazine style editor Adam Rapoport.
Brad Pitt's done it. George Clooney and Jake Gyllenhaal, too. You'll find them on fashion runways and even, gasp, on Ryan Seacrest.
"It's not this sort of groomed-and-tapered look with a line at the neck. It's more loose and rugged," says Rapoport. "But it's not the big, bushy lumberjack beard. What you're seeing with most guys is a couple-weeks'-growth sort of thing."
The trend is an extension of the unshaven look that has been hip for years.
"(Designer) Tom Ford always has that three-or four-day growth, 365 days a year," Rapoport says. "A lot of guys have been doing that, so taking the next step and not shaving for a few more days isn't a big leap."
The beard is fresh now because it's been dormant for so long. And its return is a backlash to the metrosexual revolution that made it masculine to primp.
"Guys out there are getting tired of waxing their eyebrows and putting product in their hair," Rapoport says. "This is a way to say, 'I've had enough.' "
What does your facial hair say about you? Rapoport weighs in.
Beard: It says "I don't care," but it's obvious you do because you've decided to grow it out. So it's a fashionable way of saying "I don't care."
Goatee: It says you still think it's 1997 or you're still a senior in college.
Mustache: It says you're a cop or a fireman or you have an ironic sense of humor.
Soul patch or flavor savor: You carry a saxophone case or a pair of ice skates because you're either a jazz musician or you're Apolo Anton Ohno.
Sideburns: You own a leather jacket and believe in the classic American way. Or you wish Elvis was still alive or that "Beverly Hills 90210" was still on the air.