How To Avoid Getting Food In Your Beard This No-Shave November

We're more than halfway through No-Shave November, the month during which men eschew shaving their facial hair in order to raise awareness and funds for cancer. And as the days of the month go by, the length of those wild facial manes grow ever-longer. Though you men out there may be looking stylish, there are certain hazards to having a beard... Mainly, how do you eat while keeping your face fresh and clean?

For the clean-shaven, wiping away drips and tiny bits of food is as easy as grabbing a napkin. However, if you're rocking facial hair, foods such as soup and burritos become nearly impossible to eat. But there are ways to avoid this messiness. Check out these three tips for keeping clean this November:

Avoid Slurping/Chugging Liquids

Though we recognize that some of the greatest pleasures in life include getting those last few luscious drops of butternut squash soup from the bowl and pounding down cheap beers with your bros, when you have a beard, these activities are just begging for embarrassing dribbles to get caught in your facial hair. It may not be fun, but sip your soup and drink slowly and with intention to keep things clean.

Be Aware of Your Surroundings

This tip is for men with particularly long beards: Keep a steady eye on what foods and drinks are near your face. If you're rocking a Gandalf-length beard as a true feat of manliness, you are in severe danger of having your facial hair land in various beverages, foods, and other sticky substances. In general, being cognizant of what's in front of you is a life-pro tip everyone can use — but when you're beard rivals Merlin's, it's especially important.

Utensils Are Your Best Friend

The best tip men can follow to keep their beards food-free is to be careful. And thankfully, the modern fork, spoon, and knife were invented just for this very purpose. Though taking small, contained bites may be counter-intuitive for the burliest men out there, making sure to eat nice and neat will save you from totally destroying the rainforest with your napkin consumption and keep you looking fresh this fall.