No festive season is complete without some good old fashioned decorating.
But instead of decking the halls with boughs of holly, a US Christmas beard ornament brand, aptly named Beardaments, is urging men to adorn their facial hair with some festive cheer instead.
A packet of 12 Beardaments baubles feature a mixture of red, green, gold and silver miniature decorations that can be attached to a beard or mustache.
Festive fuzz: US Christmas beard ornament brand, aptly named Beardaments is selling baubles for beards
Shine on: The baubles come in a pack of 12 and feature red, green, silver and gold decorations and cost $11.99
One size fits all: The creators of the brand say the baubles will attach to any type or length of facial hair
The creators of the brand say the baubles will attach to any type or length of facial hair and have been designed because ;’he holidays are for standing out and spreading smiles. And that’s exactly what our beard jewelry does’.
In 2014, London advertising agency, Grey London, kicked off the festive beard grooming trend by selling beard baubles.
Ollie Dearn, who works at the agency behind the accessory, said at the time: ‘The product has been particularly popular with Brits.
‘We’ve sold more than we ever expected. But Aussie, American, Kiwis, German and French customers have been purchasing beard baubles too.’
Gimmick: In 2015 a London advertising agency invented beard baubles as a decoration for their company Christmas card
Trendy: London advertising agency, Grey London, kicked off the festive beard grooming trend by selling beard baubles
Fuzzy-faced men wanting to get into the festive spirit also started decorating their facial hair with glitter in 2015.
By smothering their fluffy chins with glitter, hipsters turned their faces into the ultimate Christmas accessory and took to social media to share their creativity under the hashtag #glitterbeards.
Not content with the bottom half of their faces being festive, some men were even pictured with glittery eyebrows to boot.
One duo who embraced the shimmering beard trend are best friends, Brian and Jonathan, from Portland Oregon, known collectively online as TheGayBeards.
Festive cheer: Brian and Jonathan from Portland Oregon, known collectively online as TheGayBeards, have embraced the shimmering beard trend
Show and tell: TheGayBeards have since shot a demonstration video, which they have posted on YouTube
Sparkle: Beardaments is also selling beard glitter kits on its site for $14.99
Since posting a picture of themselves with sparkly facial fuzz on Instagram the pair said they were inundated with questions from fans about how to recreate the look, so shot a demonstration video, which they posted on YouTube.
The friends say the look is easy to pull off. All that’s needed is a pot of glitter, a bottle of beard oil – and a willing hairy chin, of course.
‘First get it nice and greased up with beard oil. You want to fully encompass the beard,’ Jonathan revealed.
If there’s no beard oil to hand, he advises: ‘You can use hair spray – or if not just get it a little bit wet.’
The pair also advocate getting the hair into shape beforehand – as glitter can be very exposing for an unkempt beard. ‘If your beard is not shaped properly you will live with that regret,’ explained Jonathan.
Gingerbeard man: One brave bearded hipsters goes the whole hog with glitter in his hair as well as his beard and eyebrows
In the pink: A close up of this season’s top Christmas style shows the hair needs to be well covered to get the best effect
Metal man: Posted under the hashtag #glitterbeards, images on Instagram show silvers and golds as the most popular
Green with envy: Purples, reds and bright greens, as above sprinkled over this man’s facial fur, also make an appearance
Once the beard is greased to perfection, the glitter is poured over the facial fluff, which the pair describe as ‘a delicate process’.
‘You have to be careful not to breathe it in,’ warned Brian.
The trend also comes with another warning. ‘Glitter beards are hard to get out of your life,’ said Jonathan.
‘Glitter beards are good to go after a good shampoo but the glitter in your house and in you things… it’s going to be everywhere!’
But when it comes mistletoe action, be warned – shedding sharp shards of glitter is an occupational hazard of the sparkly bearded.
Starman: Glitter beards are all the rage for the festive season and follow last year’s look for beard baubles
Subtle: Many of the styles on Instagram feature bright colour but others have gone for a more subtle look
Messy: The trend creates other practical issues, including blocked drains, excess dry cleaning bills and copious amounts of hoovering
The trend also created other practical issues, including blocked drains, excess dry cleaning bills and copious amounts of hoovering – but that hasn’t stopped brave hipsters going for it.
Images on Instagram show silvers and golds as the most popular shades of beard glitter, but purples, reds and greens also make an appearance.
And now Beardaments is also selling beard glitter packs on its site.
Featuring an applicator brush, large container of ultra-fine glitter, and a bottle of pre-glitter beard oil, the item is available in red, green, gold and silver.
A pack costs $14.99.