Morning gents, hope you've all recovered from the NYE celebrations and looking forward to the new year!

Here comes my five week update. "Happily slogging along" sums it up. If you followed my thread from the start you will remember the constant obessing and self-pitying that went on the first time last year - well, the crazy thing is that I'm having none of it this time even though objectively the beard DOES look scruffier now. I'm just rolling along with it and I've actually come to like the ratty look. In the past I've always been very fastidious about my appearance, but I'll say, not giving too much of a damn for a change feels really good. 

The sides are very, very slowly coming on. You won't see it in the pictures, but there are actually some of those fabled slow growers poking their heads out here and there. I still have some reservations about how they will develop by the 13 week mark but there's no way I'm touching them - I'm just too curious to see this through. Might well be that I'm deluding myself but I don't want to give up on them until I know for certain - then again, even if they don't fill in as I like eventually, I already know there's a mean Riker in there already, so there's nothing to worry about really.

I've also started training the stache gently to the sides. Don't think I'll go for the handlebar in the long term but I do want a big tash and no mistake. As soon as there's a bit more to work with I'll put in an order for balm and wax with IrishDan and start playing. For now I'm combing the tash out from the center but letting the ends curl down with their natural flow.

Haven't really received any feedback on it yet apart from a neutral comment from a woman at the NYE party I went to - I was talking to someone else and she butted in with something along the lines of "Yeah, that's right, listen to the man with the beard!". And there hasn't been a single bad day yet, which at five weeks is some kind of record for me, so all is good in beard land.

Here come the pictures. 

Left side

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Right side

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A natural front shot from some distance

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... and a first (mini)handlebar attempt. You just have to smile with a handlebar!

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As always, I'm looking forward to your comments and advice. All the best!