Movember and No Shave November are two simultaneous events involving hair growth which happen every November.

No Shave November is exactly what it sounds like: participants skip shaving for a month. They do this to start conversations and raise awareness about cancer. The official organization was founded in 2009 as the children of Matthew Hill wanted to do something in memory of their father, who died of colon cancer in 2007.

Since many cancer patients lose their hair, the idea is to forgo focusing on hair very much. Instead, letting it grow and being prepared with educational information if someone comments on it can give participants the opportunity to get others to care about their cause.

Another important aspect of participating is calculating how much money you spend on hair and shaving products in a month and donating that money to an organization which supports people with cancer.

Additionally, most participants start their own fundraising page to share on social media and get other donations.

While this fundraiser is usually associated with men’s facial hair and seeing how long they can grow their beards, it isn’t limited to any one kind of hair; participants can grow facial hair, leg hair, armpit hair, or even just the hair on their heads as part of the challenge.

The official No Shave November website, no-shave.org, also recognizes that participants will need to maintain professionalism in the workplace.

“We encourage participation of any kind,” the website says. “Grooming and trimming are perfectly acceptable.”

Anyone who wants to participate can find resources and tips on the website as well as donation opportunities and merchandise. People who may not want to participate in the challenge can still help by simply donating.

This year, No Shave November is working with three specific organizations: the Prevent Cancer Organization, Fight Colorectal Cancer, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Movember, the other yearly hair-related event, is focused on men’s health issues.

Instead of allowing any type of hair, Movember is specific to moustaches, which is where it got the name.

Participants sign up online and shave their moustaches on November 1. As the month continues, they grow their moustaches and put extra effort into keeping them clean and polished and track their progress through social media or a blog.

With help from the Movember website, us.movember.com, participants can promote the fundraiser on their social media.

This isn’t the only way to participate, though.

Move for Movember is a challenge to walk or run at least 60 miles in the month of November for the 60 men who die from suicide every hour across the globe.

The website suggests linking a fitness app to the fundraising page so that possible donors can keep track of your progress.

The Movember website also promotes hosting a “Mo-ment,” a fundraising party of any kind.

Participants in any of these events are put into the running for various prizes and achievements for high earners.

The money from these fundraisers goes toward three different issues relevant to men’s health: mental health, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.

The organization funds those issues through over a thousand different projects in 20 countries.

Movember was founded in 2003 in Australia, when the originators noticed that moustaches had almost completely gone out of style.

If they were going to bring it back, they wanted to do it for a good reason.

By 2007, when the organization first connected with an organization in the U.S., it had spread to a total of six countries, and it has continued to grow since then.

Luke Taylor can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].