REMEMBER FOLKS, BEARDS AND BARBECUES DO NOT MIX

Here in England we have recently been hit with a rather unusual heat wave, being the start of July you would expect the sun to be shining brightly in the sky, bringing with it soaring temperatures and sunburnt faces.

But for the British this is a rather unusual sight, as we are used to expecting it to rain throughout the summer months, and snow out of absolutely nowhere at the drop of a hat. So you can imagine how many of us 'Brits' are trying to survive in temperatures as high of of 29c (F) without shriveling up like a dried old stinky prune.

Today I wanted to share with you something that happened to me last summer whilst visiting a family barbecue, and the main reason I'm sharing this story is in the hope that you don't make the same mistake. So allow me explain...

I was a guest at this barbecue in particular, and as the drinks were flowing along nicely the food was yet to be seen. so, being the kind of guy I am I politely asked if they would like me to take control of the outside BBQ grill.

On went the burgers, followed by some ribs, sausages and pork joints, as you can imagine the smell alone was out of this world. As the food began to leave the grill this made room for more meaty goodness to begin cooking.

Out came the kebab style skewers followed by some steaks, I was having way too much fun being the 'head chef' to notice I had slightly overfilled, which in turn had flames building up at the back and left hand side of the grill which continued to rise rather higher than they safely should. Then, as I started scraping away the old food and grease debris from the grill.... *BOOOOM!* a single wave of fire engulfed the barbeque grill and headed right in my direction.

As quick as it started was as quick as it ended, many of the guests didn't even notice what had happened. Taking a fast step back I panicked at first, then laughed 'phew! that was a close call!' Then, I begin to smell something that can only be described as exactly what it was, burning hair.

I quickly checked my beard and noticed I had scorched at least an inch, maybe two away from my beards length, terribly scorching the ends, killing it dead in its tracks. Then I ran to the bathroom to use the mirror real fast, then spotted not only did my beard receive an unwelcomed short back and sides, but so did my eyelashes and eyebrows! I looked like a f*ckin alien!

WOWZA! WHAT HAVE I JUST DONE?? Have I damaged my beard, eyebrows and eyelashes permanently? Will they ever grow back in the same way again? Or am I now destined to have them singe short forever more? These were many of the questions I had running through my head.

I was rather shocked just how flammable hair actually was, having little to none on my head since the age of 15-16 I had little to no experience with how this shit works. The fire only blazed for a moment, probably 2 to 3 seconds at tops, much like a wave from the ocean, only this was made of pure flames of fire.

Thankfully after a trip to my trusty beard barber and an extra light trim to remove the burnt bits my beard began to grow again as normality began to resume. But that day was a real warning that beards and barbecues really do not mix, and the saying 'If you're going to play with fire, you are going to get burnt' has never rang truer since that day. So, take good care this summer, and keep your face fur as far away from that grill as possible my Brothers.

Have you had a similar story happen to you? Then why not let us hear it in the comments section below.

And until next time, Beard on Brothers, Beard on...