Posted by Bill on March 27, 2001 at 20:21:37:
In Reply to: Whiskers posted by Steve on March 27, 2001 at 17:52:14:
I have a very full beard (I do Santa around the holidays) and have played with it for years. I shampoo everyday but don't shave a thing. I have shaved from 12 (3 times per week) until I was 45 and grew the full beard. It makes no difference whether I play with the full beard or clean shaven; the beard does not cover my embouchure since no hair grows on the inner side of my lips. Recently (March 7) I had surgery on my left jowl for a cancerous growth. I had too much work to take the time off and the surgeon prevented the assistant from clipping my beard since I was performing daily (he is a trombonist). I was able to continue to play although I "leaked" on a couple of jobs for a week or so. Whiskers have hd no effect on my playing at all nor did I ever notice that shaving did.