It’s that time of year again: No-Shave November, or as some like to call it, “Grosshave November.” If you don’t know what I am talking about, November is the month dedicated to the freedom for men to let their facial hair rage without judgment (for the most part).

The trend has an entire range of participants: Some who can grow an impressive amount of facial hair in just one month and others who are struggling to blend in with their peach fuzz into the crowd of ravishing beards and mustaches.

I first heard about the tradition in high school and simply thought it was just another short-lived fad that teenage boys randomly started one day for kicks. I thought maybe the boys made it up to have the opportunity to show off their finally-growing facial hair or simply to avoid the hassle of having to shave their faces every day.

“Grosshave November” soon arose as the unofficial nickname of the tradition, as the trend encourages participants to give up all shaving and grooming for the cause, which can lead to outrageous and grossly untamed beards. But perhaps if these critics knew more about the trend, they wouldn’t be so judgmental.

As November came around this year, I decided to actually look a little further into the trend to investigate what it’s really about. What I found was not exactly what I was expecting.

What many do not know is the cause behind the hairy trend. No Shave November is actually a movement to spread cancer awareness. The non-profit organization raises funds for prevention, research, and education.

Participants can use this movement to register and raise funds through the organization. The site even boasts a leaderboard where participant’s donations are posted along with the total amount of funds raised that year. They even have separate leaderboards for companies and teams.

The No-Shave November organization works with a few other organizations, two of which include the American Cancer Society and St. Jude Children Research Hospital. They have committed to donate at least 80 percent of the donations to the participating charities equally.

You may ask why only 80 percent of the funds are going towards cancer research as opposed to 100 percent. According to the organization's website, they have allocated the rest of the funds to fundraising, administration and reserves. These funds go towards overhead costs to promote the organization and for future campaigns.

No-Shave November is now ongoing until December 31 this year, so it is definitely not too late to participate. Not only would you be getting a free pass for avoiding the hassle of shaving, but you’d also be supporting a good cause! It’s a win-win scenario.

Participants can simply donate what they would usually spend on grooming or even start fundraising to obtain extra funds.

And girls can participate too (although female participation is far less popular). Girls can give up huge hassle of shaving and waxing for a month to help support the organization and use the organization as an excuse. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

You can check out the organization’s website here for more information and for registration! November has just begun!