Shave Your Ugly Beard!

Dear Madame X,

My boyfriend has grown a beard and I hate it! Can I tell him to shave? He really likes it but I don’t know how long I can take it.

Eyes Are Burning

Dear Eyes Are Burning,

Honesty is a good policy normally but you don’t want him to feel ugly. How would you feel if he said you had an ugly haircut and asked you to get a new one?

Give him some time to play around with it and some time for yourself to get used to him looking a different way. I know people can look like complete strangers with new haircuts so that might be part of the problem.

But if you still hate it after a few weeks and he still hasn’t gotten rid of it then you’re just going to have to put up with it — you can’t force him to shave.

Tell him you think he looks better without it so he knows how you feel. After that he’ll just have to decide if he keeps it for himself or gets rid of it for you. If it’s as bad as you think then his other friends will agree and he’ll start to understand that maybe it’s not as great as he thinks (and who wants everybody thinking they are ugly, after all).

Just don’t be mean or make him feel ugly about it. He will have many looks you don’t like over the years, so just remember you love him for who he is, not for his hair, and, lucky for you, facial hair is temporary.

Madame X is a master of sex. She is adamantly pro-sex which she translates to pro-fun and pro-safety. An avid practitioner of the activity, she has also been trained in the technical dos and don’ts. No mere agony aunt, she knows of what she speaks. Send her your questions, comments, and concerns about sex and relationships here.