WARNING: This article includes images that some may find offensive. That is not the intention of the article. Please read at your own discretion.
Okay, so Halloween just ended, and everyone's starting to blast their Christmas music with no regard for the fact that there's still more than a month and a half in between the two holidays. It's like we're pretending that the month of November doesn't even exist... but it does, and with it, a very important month-long celebration of sorts.
I'm sure you've heard the buzz about "No-Shave November" before. You've probably seen your friends show off their beard-growing abilities on Facebook or Instagram, and you've probably asked them to maintain the unruly hair taking over their faces.
But what is No-Shave November?
No-Shave November is a web-based, non-profit organization aimed to raise both awareness about cancer and funds to support prevention, as well as for research and education, for branches of the disease. It was started in 2009 by a family in Chicago in honor of their father, who died from colon cancer.
Typically, participating in No-Shave November requires the growth of a mustache, beard, or both, and donating the proceeds that would otherwise be spent on shaving products or other methods of grooming (such as waxing) to the organization.
Though it is very popular among men, women have recently also been taking part in the movement. Women tend to grow out the hair on body parts that they regularly get waxed, such as the upper lip, underarms, eyebrows, or legs. The same concept applies – they donate the funds used to groom themselves to the movement!
Although No-Shave November is one of the most popular methods of raising awareness for cancer, there have been other organizations and movements in existence that share similar ideals and goals.
The Movember Foundation is a charity foundation that tackles men's health all year round. The idea of growing out a mustache and raising funds is the same, but this foundation as a "move" challenge in which the participants set up a challenge for their friends, family, social media followers, etc., to track their progress toward the goal and raise funds as well. (Think the ALS Ice Water Challenge but with mustaches.) It was originally geared toward raising awareness for testicular and prostate cancers.
Though this one isn't necessarily meant for cancer, the No-Makeup November campaign was started to celebrate women. In society, women face a stigma when it comes to wearing makeup. If a woman goes bare-faced, she is sometimes told she "looks tired" or "needs to cover up her imperfections," but if she wears makeup, she is told she needs to "take it easy" and that she "looks pretty without so much makeup." The movement was started by a girls' Christian group to not only celebrate women as they are, but to recognize that makeup is not a bad thing; women are beautiful, no matter how they choose to display themselves.
A movement that has taken the world by storm for nearly a decade, No-Shave November has earned millions of followers, participants, and dollars for cancer research and prevention. So before you think about skipping from Halloween to Christmas, remember that the time in between can make a difference in someone's life!
