It's a Northeast , Italian-American cultural thing regarding facial hair mainly with the guys older than me. I'm 32, beards are more acceptable and actually popular now in my generation Italian-American culture but still not completely 100% acceptable in the life.

Remember when Charles Carneglia grew a long ass Santa like beard as his defense that he wasn't in the mafia , it didn't work for him. It's hard for me to explain to people to make them understand, but it's Norheast Italian-American cultural thing for men to be clean cut with only maybe a mustache, particularly with the guys in their 50s+.......