Triibeard wrote:
Melvang, you can be long-bearded and stay safe, but always put your personal safety far above your desire to be bearded. Wear the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), bearded or not, and make accommodations for your flammable facial fur to prevent ignition and entanglement in moving equipment.

Weirdy with a Beardy was just asking the same sort of questions, so you might review the responses he got in his thread on this subject.

In a production environment, you will get dirty, and then you will go home and get clean (or sleep alone!). Wash your beard with a simple soap that will get the dirt out without stripping away as much of the natural protective oils that your body produces. Even so, because you are washing it daily, you will want to condition it more often than someone who can get away with twice-weekly lathering. Jojoba or coconut oil will do and won't break the bank. Use a scented beard oil for special occasions. Brush your beard thoroughly with a boar's-bristle brush to distribute the oil and chase out any lost tools, wayward screws, and metal filings.

BHster, Avenue Whiskers, and others on this Board have good information in their threads and in the Library on "tying up" a longer beard to keep it looking shorter, and in your case, out of reach of sparks, flames, sharp objects, and gears.

Beard boldly, but safely, and come home every night to the people who need you to be alive and well every day.

Triibeard,

Thanks for the response.  I do make sure to wear my PPE (almost religiously), with number one being ear plugs.  I think I am probably the only person in my neighborhood that wears ear plugs when mowing my lawn.  I have the start of some permanent hearing damage from working on the flight deck in the Navy, so don't want to lose more.  

I do already make accommodations when grinding and such with my hair.  I just fold it up under my hard hat.  Though i am not anywhere close to needing to tie up the beard.  Do you have any suggestions for shampoos and such for beards?  I do buy good stuff for my hair.

Funny thing.  Yesterday, I asked the wife what she would think if I went Billy Gibbons on her with my beard.  I got "the look" and she said very firmly "no".  Granted I got the same reaction when I asked her about my hair being longer than hers when I left the Navy.  I passed her in that about 2 years ago.  So we will see about that.  If I do get anywhere close to that length, I will really need to look into tying/rolling it up for work.

Though I don't work production, I work essentially industrial maintenance/machine installation and removal.  So I see a good amount of grinding, welding, along with very thick greases and a lot of lubricating oils.  I can't stand those greases in my hair.

But thanks for the direction.  I will check out that thread.