All that glitters: beards and armpits

Some men are decorating their beards for the holidays by dousing them in glitter.

"Why on Earth would they do that?" you ask. You're not the only one who's wondering.

"I love glitter as much as the next Jerome Russell-loving gal from the '90s, but there is a time and a place," said Rachel Blodgett, a Columbia Heights mother of three.

The glitter beard craze seems to have begun with the social media pair known as "The Gay Beards." The two men frequently post photos of their flowing facial hair covered with everything from Cheetos to flowers.

Despite several interviews, the Star Tribune was unable to find a fan of the new style trend.

MyTalk 107.1 radio co-host Marley McMillan said: "I can appreciate a guy who can get down with glitter, but do I actually think this looks good? Um, no."

Andy from Minneapolis, or @ajlemm on Twitter, wrote: "Why is a 'glitter beard' even a thing? I hate people so much."

Johnson said he wouldn't be surprised if someone glittered their beard for the Dangerous Man Winter Beard Contest on Jan. 17. When asked if he would be trying the trend himself, he said: "Maybe at your house. Most people associate glitter with cleaning up a huge mess. Maybe if I had a dedicated glitter beard room."

As for why men are putting objects in their beards in the first place, Johnson said, "The experiments are fun.

"Once you go to club meetings or contests and have a pile of fun with others, your beard-growing grows into an adventure," he said. "It becomes about meeting people and beard art."

Aside from the mess, others warn that glitter is not all sparkly fun and games.

After politicians were "glitter bombed" by protesters in 2012, a Washington, D.C., optometrist told thehill.com that the shimmering particles could scratch corneas or cause eye irritation.

Despite the mess of glitter, there are nearly 5,000 #glitterbeard hashtags on Instagram, and a YouTube tutorial to achieve the look has more than 338,000 views.

The #glitterbeard naysayers of the world can take heart, however. The trend seems to be waning, now replaced with a new glitter fad: #glitterpits.

Because nothing says "Happy Holidays" like an armpit full of glitter. □