Hairstyles for Amish Men
Hats, Haircuts, Beards and Banned Moustaches among the Amish
Amish men wear a traditional, much-parodied full beard without a moustache, straw or black felt flat-topped hats, and bowl haircuts. As with any aspect of Amish culture, variations exist between different groups.
Amish Men and Beards
Once an Amish man gets married, he stops shaving to symbolise his new status. Some communities allow unmarried men to grow beards after baptism, in which case the beard signifies he is an adult member of the community.
Amish beards are full, long and untrimmed, similar to the beards of some Orthodox Jewish men. Both religions wear their beards in obedience to Levitical law:
You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. --Leviticus 19:27
They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. --Leviticus 21:5
Amish Men and Moustaches
Despite their full beards, Amish men have clean-shaven upper lips. The reason for this is open to debate. One theory is that moustaches were associated with the military, and the Amish wished to dissociate themselves visually from the army because of their pacifist principles. Another theory claims that the Amish shaved off their moustaches out of admiration for Abraham Lincoln. In 1938, A.M. Aurand attributed Amish clean-shaven upper lips to practicality, declaring the custom arose for 'cleanliness in eating'.
Traditional Amish Hats
Amish men and boys wear flat-topped hats made of either straw or black fur felt. The black hats are reserved for cold weather and special occasions. Both styles of hat are trimmed with a black band. The width of the brims is of particular importance. Most men have hat brims three to three and a half inches wide, while deacons, elders and older men are permitted four-inch-wide hat brims. Differences of opinion over the accepted width of hat brims has been a factor in schisms within the Amish community.
Younger boys do not wear flat-topped hats. A baby Amish boy wears peaked caps until the age of two, after which Phyllis Siebert reports
'...he begins wearing a felt hat with a rounded crown. At the age of nine he changes to a style with a flat crown known as a telescope or stovepipe hat because of its shape. About the age of forty after his first daughter has married he reverts back to donning a hat with a rounded crown'. --Education in Paradise
Amish Haircuts For Men
Amish men and boys have their hair cut at home. The typical style is a 'pudding basin' or bowl cut, sometimes with a bang. The Nebraska Amish, a particularly strict sect, allow men's hair to be no shorter than shoulder-length.
Amish boys often experiment with their hairstyles during rumschpringa, the 'running-around' years of freedom permitted before making the decision to join or leave the Amish church. Shingled or close-cropped hair is one sign of Amish teenage rebellion.
See also Amish Hair Styles for Women.
