I am a serial experimenter in
facial hair - and evidence from the family archive (above) leads me to believe that it is a genetic trait. I just can't get over the fact that this stuff keeps growing out of my face. If you are a novice, go to All About Beards to get you started.
To see people who really take it seriously, have a look is www.worldbeardchampionships.com - astonishing. And the big news is that the World Beard Championships are coming to England on 1st September 2007 - and I will be there. I am making excellent progress with my facial growth (see how I'm doing and see the countdown to the big day on The Beard Blog) . You can find details of the event at www.handlebarclub.co.uk/wbmchomef.html including the list of categories.