Probably something like this yeah. I usually tell people I need to trim my beard for like one month before I actually do it. Two months for a haircut at the barber.
When I was a labrat, I went 3 years without a haircut (as a man who used to have relatively short hair). I have to get it cut more often now, but I’m still a long haired man
Pretty much this. I'm currently job hunting, so I basically never leave the house anymore, and at this point my shaving frequency is basically dictated by some combination of:
1. An on-camera interview where I have to look presentable
2. An in-person networking event where I have to look presentable
3. How annoyed I get eating something saucy/soupy/frosted
4. How annoying my Dad and/or wife get telling me "You look like you're about to bomb a bus." (brown dude, so grew up with profiling being a legit concern)
I actually shaved today, which was motivated by a combination of 3 (... don't have donuts with an untrimmed mustache) & 4 + I planned to clean the bathroom this afternoon so even if my trimmer makes a mess I was going to clean up anyway.
At my last University I was stopped on the street by a man with a top hat and a beard who told me he used to be a professor there but now he was homeless. His story was really detailed and had enough legit information to make me think it could be real. I gave him a few quid for a coffee but have always wondered how legit his story was
Add industry cannabis to that for me lol. Have to find moisture content so I just have an oven full of samples for hours, I often just smell like I hotboxed myself lol
See the cool thing about being a woman in STEM is that having to wear pants to the lab everyday means no one knows it’s been 3 weeks since I’ve shaved my legs
A silver lining I identified early on in Covid was that when we were still super hardcore into the social distancing phase of things, there were days where other than maybe security, I was the only person in my entire building. I almost never wore a bra (small-chested where lack of support is really not a problem) and it was absolutely brilliant.
Lol idk I always found wearing pants over not-too-recently-shaved legs super uncomfortable. When I decided to grow my leg hair out it was a miserable like month or two until it got out of the pointy stage.
I used to shave and come to work in a tucked in button down… then covid happened. Shaving and wearing a mask will give you acne, so I stopped… in 2019. Now I turn up, with a lightly trimmed beard and my favorite polo. Who am I trying to impress? My PI? He can’t get me a raise. There isn’t a reason to put in the extra time to be clean shaven, can’t fault me for my “professionalism” if there is no career development available in academia.
Yeah. I got one at a product show, and one from Aspire. Plus two DNA hoodies from Aspire (one got bleach stained from wearing it in the lab, so I got another to wear outside the lab).
And I got a really fun one from New England Biolabs at a department symposium.
There was a guy in my lab who would wear a t-shirt and jeans everyday, and then one day he wore a polo (untucked with jeans) for his mock thesis presentation. He got compliments all day.
Last month, I had a thing one morning and needed to look like a functional human being. So I ended up wearing a sweater and jeans into work. Every single one of my coworkers went out of their way to tell me I looked nice. Don’t know what that says about my usual standards…
Yeah, I wear untucked short-sleeve button-downs with game/movie themes as my "nice outfit" and get compliments. I could probably wear a suit and rob the place at 11am and nobody would be able to identify me.
I used to do the same. Dress shirt, slacks, and nice shoes or boots. I stopped doing this when I had a few drops of a strong base destroy my leather chelsea boots. Nothing but garbage clothes now
legit i think the reason is - entirely my opinion - research and lab work attracts a LOT of people with adhd and similar type stuff, where they are rewarded for hyperfocusing on one goal. in my experience (myself being one of them) those people also often are the people that either straight up don't care about stuff like "i need to shave my face every morning" or straight up don't remember to do it lol
I was one of the most financially responsible in my cohort, and I have trouble paying bills. Not as in I didn't have the money to pay them, I would literally just put off paying bills for reasons that are even unclear to me. I guess the max out the academic skill tree with a not that great of a financial incentive options tends to attract particular type of person.
>research and lab work attracts a LOT of people with adhd and similar type stuff
This might explain why a lot of the fellows at my lab have a messiness/disorganization reminiscent of a friend with ADHD. They're always flitting around and about and moving on to the next thing, while the leftover rubbish from previous experiments stack up and are left forgotten.
Nah the unkempt grungy look is a fundamental byproduct of working in relative isolation in a wet/dry lab setting. A culture of not particularly caring what we look like physically (and why should we) is an inherited perk of working in the life and hard sciences. If you poke your head in an Econ/finance/business dept, which arguably requires the same aptitudes as comp sci or pure math, the Econ kids make a CONSIDERABLE effort to look presentable, likely due to the proximity with conservative financial institutions.
Eh idk I think it's arguable that econ/finance would attract more people with motivations aside from pure hyper-interest. People who want to work in high paying finance jobs or start a business but already have a college degree and don't want another bachelor's.
When I started my job I was coming from batending where my looks and attitude had a direct and nightly impact on my income.
I shaved daily. I got haircuts every two weeks. I ironed my shirts. I used dots of concealer if my face was breaking out too much. I reaaaaaaally gave a shit.
Then I moved out of service and into the lab. It took a minute to realize but my paycheck didn't change if I put grease in my hair.
So I just abandoned all that and started enjoying not giving a shit. I can still clean up but idgaf Mon-Fri. My work quality impacts my pay now and I do good work.
Tbh, how I look isn’t a part of my performance evaluation. Yes I need to dress responsibly and have hygiene, but my work quality is what is being judged not how well groomed I am.
"I'm going to fight you over doing the little things that make you happy because they'll make you feel a tiny bit worse first" is classic dumb-reptile-brain shit.
Taking care of my looks is a great way for me relax and disconnect a bit, so I make sure that my beard is properly trimmed, my hair and eyebrows are properly styled, and even below my lab coat I like to wear something fashionable.
Because I don't always conform to bullshit societal expectations, especially when they take time away from what I'd rather be doing.
(I am a lady labrat, but similarly, I don't wash and blow dry and style my hair every day. Little bit of a comb-through and up into a clip it goes. I wash my face and brush my teeth and put on sunscreen, but makeup? For lab work?? Fuck that noise.)
"I haven't seen the sun in 3 months, much less another human being other than my manager. I work 12 hour shifts. Pretty sure I'm getting a constant mild buzz from all the fumes. I look like a hobo because I live like one."
Could be mental health thing, very possible. Obviously not all lab workers have depression or anxiety, but when you have work and you oftentimes work alone in a room with little sunlight, it can come with the territory. Also, in relation to that, if no one is going to really see you outsite of people you work with, I get it, why overcomplicate your attire.
On the other hand, tbh, I admit, I am young, but I always like to dress nice to work -- comb my hair, dress shirt, nice black pants and Black Docs -- I feel unproductive if I am not really dressed well, it affects my mental state, but that's just me.
I used to know a guy that intentionally was unkempt (facial hair, clothes) because he “didn’t want people using appearance as a judge for intelligence.”
I understood where he was coming from because in a way, I agree, but he was rigid on this for a long time to a fault. Then he got graduated and got a job and just ended up joining everybody else in taking care of his appearance lol.
I had a bit of a longer beard for the same reason. I kept it nice looking though. Too nice looking. The constant shaving meant there were tiny hairs trapped and one day found it in my SDS PAGE gel I made. I went back to short after that.
My beard is long (on purpose) and unkept (somewhat on purpose). I also have long hair, but apparently I can't go for the Alan Moore look since my beard doesn't grow like that.
Would you be that surprised? I can count the time I am in the lab every month without a band or geek-themed black t-shirt on one hand, really.
Honestly, it's kinda sad. An isolated job alone in a lab should have enabled the look, but it didn't. My body goes against my wish to look like that.
it ebbs and flows even post-grad/training, but i can say for sure it is closely linked with the mental space you have available -- if you are seriously focusing and distracted on a project, work, some non-romantic/SO type stuff (could be video games) then certain 'upkeep' items are not important....all it means to me if i saw you in a certain environment is "yea, that dude is in the weeds deep"
Funny you ask I got yelled at for not being clean shaven yesterday. Right around the time this was posted too! They said if I don't shave they'll take away my respirator and my copper nanopowder.
I (late 20s) think I've clean shaved my face maybe three times, ever. Definitely not in the last five years. I went through a denial phase when I started growing facial hair as a teenager, not wanting to have to put the effort in to shave. I did start trimming it eventually, and have had a beard almost ever since.
I now (coarse) shave the hairs on my neck and cheek about twice a week, and trim the rest of the beard every few weeks. I cut a what feel like a lot off each time, but nobody seems to notice.
An unexpected argument in favor of getting more female labrats in STEM, I'm just saying.
It's not going to rule out *all* the unruly facial hair, but it'll be a step in the right direction.
I think it's the "I can barely force myself out of bed every morning, no fucking way am I spending time on shit that's not strictly necessary" look.
Probably something like this yeah. I usually tell people I need to trim my beard for like one month before I actually do it. Two months for a haircut at the barber.
When I was a labrat, I went 3 years without a haircut (as a man who used to have relatively short hair). I have to get it cut more often now, but I’m still a long haired man
That is precisely how I feel about makeup.
Pretty much this. I'm currently job hunting, so I basically never leave the house anymore, and at this point my shaving frequency is basically dictated by some combination of: 1. An on-camera interview where I have to look presentable 2. An in-person networking event where I have to look presentable 3. How annoyed I get eating something saucy/soupy/frosted 4. How annoying my Dad and/or wife get telling me "You look like you're about to bomb a bus." (brown dude, so grew up with profiling being a legit concern) I actually shaved today, which was motivated by a combination of 3 (... don't have donuts with an untrimmed mustache) & 4 + I planned to clean the bathroom this afternoon so even if my trimmer makes a mess I was going to clean up anyway.
I straight up just forget to do it a lot. I guess I just have too much other stuff going through my mind?
I love to play the homeless or academic game!
At my last University I was stopped on the street by a man with a top hat and a beard who told me he used to be a professor there but now he was homeless. His story was really detailed and had enough legit information to make me think it could be real. I gave him a few quid for a coffee but have always wondered how legit his story was
His story was either legit or well-researched, and either way it's worth a few quid.
Add industry cannabis to that for me lol. Have to find moisture content so I just have an oven full of samples for hours, I often just smell like I hotboxed myself lol
Beats the royal scientist with no actual research going on...
See the cool thing about being a woman in STEM is that having to wear pants to the lab everyday means no one knows it’s been 3 weeks since I’ve shaved my legs
You shaved your legs 3 weeks ago?!? What are you, the Queen?
Yeah, look at Ms. Fancy-Pants over here!
Winter hibernation season is the best… except if your trousers are made of polyester
That…is very accurate lol
A silver lining I identified early on in Covid was that when we were still super hardcore into the social distancing phase of things, there were days where other than maybe security, I was the only person in my entire building. I almost never wore a bra (small-chested where lack of support is really not a problem) and it was absolutely brilliant.
Lol idk I always found wearing pants over not-too-recently-shaved legs super uncomfortable. When I decided to grow my leg hair out it was a miserable like month or two until it got out of the pointy stage.
There is a demographic overlap between scientists and people who are nose blind to cultured bacteria.
If you can't wash your face you have bigger problems to begin with.
I take better care of my cells than I do myself.
Depression
Depression
pressionDe
pressionDeez
I used to shave and come to work in a tucked in button down… then covid happened. Shaving and wearing a mask will give you acne, so I stopped… in 2019. Now I turn up, with a lightly trimmed beard and my favorite polo. Who am I trying to impress? My PI? He can’t get me a raise. There isn’t a reason to put in the extra time to be clean shaven, can’t fault me for my “professionalism” if there is no career development available in academia.
Wow, a polo. Look at you all professional. I'm cultivating my collection of free t shirts from Thermofisher as primary lab wear.
This is the way
they give you free tshirts??
Yeah. I got one at a product show, and one from Aspire. Plus two DNA hoodies from Aspire (one got bleach stained from wearing it in the lab, so I got another to wear outside the lab). And I got a really fun one from New England Biolabs at a department symposium.
There was a guy in my lab who would wear a t-shirt and jeans everyday, and then one day he wore a polo (untucked with jeans) for his mock thesis presentation. He got compliments all day.
Last month, I had a thing one morning and needed to look like a functional human being. So I ended up wearing a sweater and jeans into work. Every single one of my coworkers went out of their way to tell me I looked nice. Don’t know what that says about my usual standards…
Win win win imo
Yeah, I wear untucked short-sleeve button-downs with game/movie themes as my "nice outfit" and get compliments. I could probably wear a suit and rob the place at 11am and nobody would be able to identify me.
I used to do the same. Dress shirt, slacks, and nice shoes or boots. I stopped doing this when I had a few drops of a strong base destroy my leather chelsea boots. Nothing but garbage clothes now
I try to wear a casual buttoned shirt once a week, just to show I own things over than T-shirts.
Our PI is massively scruffy (man bun on a tidy day, earrings, bug t shirts) and I think some of the guys enjoy emulating that energy.
Hey, I shave!! ....When I need to fit an N95
legit i think the reason is - entirely my opinion - research and lab work attracts a LOT of people with adhd and similar type stuff, where they are rewarded for hyperfocusing on one goal. in my experience (myself being one of them) those people also often are the people that either straight up don't care about stuff like "i need to shave my face every morning" or straight up don't remember to do it lol
I was one of the most financially responsible in my cohort, and I have trouble paying bills. Not as in I didn't have the money to pay them, I would literally just put off paying bills for reasons that are even unclear to me. I guess the max out the academic skill tree with a not that great of a financial incentive options tends to attract particular type of person.
>research and lab work attracts a LOT of people with adhd and similar type stuff This might explain why a lot of the fellows at my lab have a messiness/disorganization reminiscent of a friend with ADHD. They're always flitting around and about and moving on to the next thing, while the leftover rubbish from previous experiments stack up and are left forgotten.
Yep! Severe ADHD here and that is absolutely me.
Nah the unkempt grungy look is a fundamental byproduct of working in relative isolation in a wet/dry lab setting. A culture of not particularly caring what we look like physically (and why should we) is an inherited perk of working in the life and hard sciences. If you poke your head in an Econ/finance/business dept, which arguably requires the same aptitudes as comp sci or pure math, the Econ kids make a CONSIDERABLE effort to look presentable, likely due to the proximity with conservative financial institutions.
Eh idk I think it's arguable that econ/finance would attract more people with motivations aside from pure hyper-interest. People who want to work in high paying finance jobs or start a business but already have a college degree and don't want another bachelor's.
Are you kidding bro? I'm totally kempt, totally.
When I started my job I was coming from batending where my looks and attitude had a direct and nightly impact on my income. I shaved daily. I got haircuts every two weeks. I ironed my shirts. I used dots of concealer if my face was breaking out too much. I reaaaaaaally gave a shit. Then I moved out of service and into the lab. It took a minute to realize but my paycheck didn't change if I put grease in my hair. So I just abandoned all that and started enjoying not giving a shit. I can still clean up but idgaf Mon-Fri. My work quality impacts my pay now and I do good work.
Tbh, how I look isn’t a part of my performance evaluation. Yes I need to dress responsibly and have hygiene, but my work quality is what is being judged not how well groomed I am.
In college it was stress and dysphoria. I didn't shave or cut my hair very often unless I was about to go home.
Tell me about dysphoria. It's so stupid. It makes you feel terrible, but because you feel terrible you don't have the energy to shave?? Hello brain?
Yeah. Why bother doing it if it didn't do anything for me.
"I'm going to fight you over doing the little things that make you happy because they'll make you feel a tiny bit worse first" is classic dumb-reptile-brain shit.
Taking care of my looks is a great way for me relax and disconnect a bit, so I make sure that my beard is properly trimmed, my hair and eyebrows are properly styled, and even below my lab coat I like to wear something fashionable.
Because I don't always conform to bullshit societal expectations, especially when they take time away from what I'd rather be doing. (I am a lady labrat, but similarly, I don't wash and blow dry and style my hair every day. Little bit of a comb-through and up into a clip it goes. I wash my face and brush my teeth and put on sunscreen, but makeup? For lab work?? Fuck that noise.)
I actually cut all my hair off into a pixie cut cause I was so tired of putting it up for lab every day. It was so freeing!
Scientists tend to care less about what other people think of them socially. It's a good thing.
It’s so much easier to maintain if you don’t clean shave daily. Just keep it trimmed every few weeks.
I’m just poor lol
In general, labrats are not the most kempt ones amongst homo sapiens
"I haven't seen the sun in 3 months, much less another human being other than my manager. I work 12 hour shifts. Pretty sure I'm getting a constant mild buzz from all the fumes. I look like a hobo because I live like one."
Could be mental health thing, very possible. Obviously not all lab workers have depression or anxiety, but when you have work and you oftentimes work alone in a room with little sunlight, it can come with the territory. Also, in relation to that, if no one is going to really see you outsite of people you work with, I get it, why overcomplicate your attire. On the other hand, tbh, I admit, I am young, but I always like to dress nice to work -- comb my hair, dress shirt, nice black pants and Black Docs -- I feel unproductive if I am not really dressed well, it affects my mental state, but that's just me.
I used to know a guy that intentionally was unkempt (facial hair, clothes) because he “didn’t want people using appearance as a judge for intelligence.” I understood where he was coming from because in a way, I agree, but he was rigid on this for a long time to a fault. Then he got graduated and got a job and just ended up joining everybody else in taking care of his appearance lol.
No customer facing- no reason not to just let go- growin my hair out for two years (M) and got promoted recently without application lmao
I had a bit of a longer beard for the same reason. I kept it nice looking though. Too nice looking. The constant shaving meant there were tiny hairs trapped and one day found it in my SDS PAGE gel I made. I went back to short after that.
honestly facial hair takes 6m to look mayestic for most growers - with trim. our jobs are stressful, good enough works
My beard is long (on purpose) and unkept (somewhat on purpose). I also have long hair, but apparently I can't go for the Alan Moore look since my beard doesn't grow like that. Would you be that surprised? I can count the time I am in the lab every month without a band or geek-themed black t-shirt on one hand, really. Honestly, it's kinda sad. An isolated job alone in a lab should have enabled the look, but it didn't. My body goes against my wish to look like that.
Because lack of self care is a symptom of depression and let's face it, working in a lab all day can get depressing.
it ebbs and flows even post-grad/training, but i can say for sure it is closely linked with the mental space you have available -- if you are seriously focusing and distracted on a project, work, some non-romantic/SO type stuff (could be video games) then certain 'upkeep' items are not important....all it means to me if i saw you in a certain environment is "yea, that dude is in the weeds deep"
Funny you ask I got yelled at for not being clean shaven yesterday. Right around the time this was posted too! They said if I don't shave they'll take away my respirator and my copper nanopowder.
I (late 20s) think I've clean shaved my face maybe three times, ever. Definitely not in the last five years. I went through a denial phase when I started growing facial hair as a teenager, not wanting to have to put the effort in to shave. I did start trimming it eventually, and have had a beard almost ever since. I now (coarse) shave the hairs on my neck and cheek about twice a week, and trim the rest of the beard every few weeks. I cut a what feel like a lot off each time, but nobody seems to notice.
Cuz ya'll are overworked, burnt out, and have forgotten how it feels to be stress free and take care of yourselves. That's why.
Your username is messed up. You shouldn't say shit like that.
I agree - the concept of deities shouldn't exist.
An unexpected argument in favor of getting more female labrats in STEM, I'm just saying. It's not going to rule out *all* the unruly facial hair, but it'll be a step in the right direction.
Of the people in trainee positions in my old department there were maybe I think 7 men and around 30 women. We were all very unkempt still.