The rain, heat and humidity did not keep the beards at bay on Saturday. More than 150 people showed up for Shippensburg’s Bearding Man at The Thought Lot.

Bearding Man, Shippensburg’s first facial hair competition was the invention of Shippensburg University alum, Jason Stauffer. Stauffer was inspired to create the event after attending the 2011 National Beard and Mustache Championships in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

“I wanted to create something that supported businesses, bands and bring people together,” Stauffer said.

The competition was divided into the following categories: partial beard natural (any facial hair that does not qualify as either a full beard or mustache), partial beard freestyle, mustache natural, mustache freestyle, full beard natural under 2 inches, full beard natural 2-8 inches, full beard natural 8 inches or more, full beard freestyle, spicy ginger (red-haired beards), honey bear (light-haired beards) and fake beards.

First-place winners from each category then went on to duke it out for the ultimate title, Lord of the Beards. The contestants for each category were lined up, introduced and then closely examined by a panel of judges. The panel was comprised of: Red Knights Motorcycle Club PA-15 President, Tom Etzle; Jerry “the most famous man in Shippensburg” Kramer; representatives from the Mason-Dixon Roller Vixens and Honey Bee Burlesque Troupe; Christian Alexandersen, president of York Beard & Mustache Club; and facial hair celebrity Incredibeard.

San Francisco based Incredibeard and his wife Angela Webb, trekked to Pennsylvania for the first time just for Bearding Man. “This is amazing,” said Webb, who also doubles as her husband’s personal beard stylist.

Incredibeard, who gained notoriety online for his unique facial hair stylings, currently boasts more than 37,000 Instagram followers and more than 300,000 likes on his Facebook page. He says he started styling his beard about two years ago after being inspired by the show, “Whisker Wars.”

Incredibeard is passionate about keeping men’s facial hair healthy and sells grooming products online. “Someone who has a great beard is someone who keeps it well-maintained and healthy,” he said.

Another facial hair care business was also in attendance. Jewels Reisinger, owner of the Etsy shop BristlesbyJewels, set up shop at Bearding Man, selling her natural beard and mustache care products.

“It’s a lot more than just not shaving. There’s a whole care routine that goes into having a beard,” Reisinger said.

Three bands that played were also in attendance. The night started with Baltimore-based folk band Fungus Lucky. While the judges were making their decisions, Joshua Burnside and his experimental folk group entertained guests with Irish-inspired tunes.

After all the first-place winners were announced, local funk and hip-hop group Mad Men eased the crowd’s suspense while waiting to hear who would be crowned Lord of the Beards.

Finally, the winner was announced. Ryan Auxt of Ellicott City, Maryland, was crowned Lord of the Beards. Auxt had won first place in the Spicy Ginger category. It was his first time competing in a competitive facial hair competition.

His beard took him nearly one year to grow and he recently had thoughts about cutting it off but is now reconsidering. “You can’t shave an award-winning beard,” he said.

Check out the Facial Hair Gallery for more photos.

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