The Amish beard is one of the most recognizable beard styles out there. That’s because Amish beard styles are unique and instantly draw attention to whoever is rocking one.
And who wouldn’t like a well-groomed, long, thick, wild beard? After all, full beards are widely considered to signify masculinity, aggressiveness, and social maturity.
Another reason Amish beards styles are widely recognizable is that nearly every Amish adult male wears one. It’s one of their distinct features that makes them easy to recognize.
So, why do the Amish grow beards?
Amish men grow their beards for cultural reasons, and in this article, you’ll learn more about these cultural reasons and why they can’t break any of these Amish hair rules.
What this article covers:
Why Do Amish Men Grow Beards?
Unlike men who mainly grow beards as a fashion statement, Amish men grow beards as a way of life.
Amish communities have a set of traditional rules passed down from generation to generation called the Ordnung. The Ordnung lays down rules on things like
- the type of clothes to wear
- the quality level to maintain when making hand-crafted products like harvest baskets, Amish dolls, or bread boxes
- regulations on technology use and more.
Since the Ordnung doesn’t allow the exchange of wedding rings during weddings, men are instead forbidden from shaving their beards as a sign of manhood, humility, and commitment to their marriage, wife, children, and religion.
Aside from marriage, religious piety is the second reason Amish men grow their beards. The Amish people are a very conservative Christian group. Therefore, they hold Biblical teachings in high regard.
In the Bible, 19 verses mention beards. Since the writers of the Bible highly valued beards, the Amish community views beards as a strong symbol of masculinity and religious piety.
Do the Amish Have Beard Rules
Yes, the Amish have beard rules that are still strictly followed today. To understand the significance of these rules, you must first learn a little bit about the history of the Amish community.
John Ammann founded the Amish community after he split from the Swiss Anabaptism movement and began a religious movement, which later became the Amish community.
As a member of the Swiss Anabaptism movement, Ammann advocated for stricter rules concerning how they related with non-members. He also advocated for stricter regulations on dress codes and beards.
Ammann believed customs and practices not founded on Biblical teachings had no place in Christianity. However, his opponents thought his beliefs were too harsh, and in the end, he left the Swiss Anabaptism movement.
However, his followers would go on to follow his teachings and adopt them into their way of life.
For this reason, the Amish community believes that since God designed and willed men to grow beards, shaving off one’s beard is a sin.
Now, you may wonder, “What if an Amish can’t grow a beard?”. This isn’t a problem for the Amish because the issue here isn’t about being able to grow a beard. The issue is that Amish men with beards shouldn’t shave them off. So, if a man can’t grow facial hair, they’ll face no punishment.
Amish Beard Styles
While Amish men’s beards originated from the Amish, outside of the community, there are no restrictions on who or when one can rock this beard. Because of this, the Amish beard has become a fashion trend that has spawned several other Amish-styled beards. Below is a detailed description of each beard style.
Traditional Amish Beard
This beard style is the Amish beard’s most ancient (original) look. To grow a traditional Amish beard, cleanly shave off your mustache and allow the beard to grow freely on your jawline and chin.
Facial hair running from the jawline to the chin is heavy and extends to the chest. However, aside from the mustache, cheek hair, soul patch, and upper chin must also be cleanly shaven.
The traditional Amish beard is believed to signify wisdom among men in the community.
Pointed Beard
The pointed beard is an Amish beard style that’s become popular in the 21st Century. It’s one of the many modern styles of the Amish beard.
To rock it, trim the top part of the facial hair above your jawline. Then comb and groom the hair below your chin to form a point. If you’d like to achieve a more pointed style, allow your beard to grow quickly and trim it according to your preferred pointed look.
Closely Cut Amish Beard
This beard style is for those who’d love to rock an Amish beard but don’t like their facial hair to grow too long. All you need to do is grow an Amish beard and trim it short. This style is excellent for bringing out the best of both looks.
Full and Bushy
If you want to rock the full and bushy beard style, all you need to do is allow your facial hair to grow out and regularly shave off your mustache. You should also allow your sideburns and the hair on your upper chin to get broad and rugged.
Do this, and you’ll have a long and thick beard that’s full and bushy.
Long Amish Beard
This Amish beard style is for you if you don’t mind allowing your facial hair to grow as long as possible (even to the extreme).
Because this beard style requires minimal to no trimming, you can allow your sideburns and jawline hair to grow rugged. This makes it easier for you to grow your long Amish beard.
Dapper Amish Beard
Professionals who want to rock an Amish beard and keep it stylish enough to work in an office without raising eyebrows go for the dapper Amish beard. This beard style got its name because it looks neat and modern.
All you need to do is to grow a traditional Amish beard. However, you need to allow cheek hair to grow. Then regularly groom and trim your beard to ensure it doesn’t grow to your chest area.
Unlike other Amish beard styles on this list, you can maintain a soul patch and light mustache.
Sculpted Amish Beard
This Amish beard style is perfect for those who love to maintain well-groomed and trimmed beards. To rock the sculpted Amish beard, grow a traditional Amish beard and keep it trimmed, neat, and well-groomed.
Amish Beard Plus Mustache
Have you noticed many Amish beard styles in this list don’t include a mustache? Traditionally, Amish men don’t grow mustaches. However, non-Amish men don’t have to stick to this rule. If you’d like to rock an Amish beard and a mustache, then the Amish beard plus mustache style is for you.
So, why do the Amish shave their mustaches? Glad you asked!
Why Don’t Amish Men Have Mustaches?
Most people often wonder, ‘do Amish people shave?’ We previously mentioned the Amish consider it a sin when a man shaves off his beard. However, there is one exception to this rule, the mustache.
The Ordnung dictates that all Amish men must never grow a mustache. And this is a custom that dates back to the 19th century.
Between 1860 and 1906, the British army required all soldiers to grow a mustache. This trend spread across other European nations, including the French.
So, what did this have to do with the Amish community? The Amish are pacificists. Their customs forbid them from displaying any form of aggressiveness and violence. This means they can’t join the army or participate in aggressive sports like wrestling and boxing.
To show their opposition to the ‘warmongers,’ they decided to shave off their mustaches. Trimming their mustaches and growing the Amish neckbeard was their attempt to look different from military personnel and a silent protest against all wars.
Conclusion
The Amish beard styles celebrate the continuation of the Amish tradition and culture in the 21st Century. And that’s because they’ve managed to preserve their customs and traditions despite numerous societal changes across centuries.
Like Amish beard styles, Amish Baskets is a company that celebrates and works to preserve Amish culture and heritage. The Amish communities we serve support themselves by selling high-quality baskets, soaps, candles, and homemade jams to the rest of the world.
Our online store allows these communities to access a wider market to sell their quality products. To protect the Amish culture and heritage, visit our website and make your purchase now.
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