A Pennsylvania dad has shared footage of the moment his 3-year-old daughter saw him without a beard for the first time.
Pat Bolding has had a beard for nearly a decade. “I’ve had it for over eight years. So it’s kind of been my look,” Bolding told Newsweek. “My wife never saw me without one except for years before we dated, and my 3-year-old never saw it.”
Bolding took up golfing six months ago and created his TikTok, @patsgolf, to document his progress. That’s important to know because his newfound interest in the sport is what led him to cut off his beard.
“I was getting tired of it getting messed up every time I swung my club from the shoulder rotating in the backswing,” he said. “It was also an impulsive decision. I get an idea and just do it without thinking usually.”
Bolding didn’t know how his family would react to the change, but he knew their reactions would be big, so had a camera ready to capture them. “I knew it would be hilarious which is why I recorded it,” he said. “Kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity to do that type of thing.”
Appearances matter, and that goes for facial hair too. That was highlighted by a 2014 study published in the journal Psychology that looked at the way beards can influence how an individual is perceived.
As part of the study, researchers presented participants with a series of experimental questions along with two facial photographs. One presented a bearded face while the other a non-bearded one.
Participants were asked to choose which they perceived more trustworthy within the context of the question. Time and time again participants chose the bearded faces as trustworthy.
It’s difficult to know for sure whether Bolding’s daughter, Shelby, had her perceptions of her father changed by his decision to shave his beard off, but she certainly had a big reaction as the video he posted to TikTok shows.
It captures the moment Bolding encountered Shelby for the first time since his shave. His daughter appears oblivious to the change at first, as she is eager to use the bathroom.
However, when she does eventually glance up at her dad sporting only a moustache, it’s clear she’s stunned by what she sees. “How?” she asks. “How is…how did you cut your face?”
“What do you mean?” Bolding replies at which point a visibly confused Shelby screams before running off into a nearby room.
At the time of writing, Bolding’s video has been watched over 700,000 times, with viewers much amused at Shelby’s reaction. “Her reaction was so valid,” one user wrote. “My same reaction to the first time seeing my dad without a moustache,” another said.
Elsewhere one user commented: “I’m not sure how to tell you this but it might have been a mistake.” Bolding may have enjoyed the reactions his efforts got, but he’s not entirely keen on the end results. “I did regret it afterwards,” he said.
Thankfully, hair grows back. “I would say it has been a wild and funny experience,” he said. “I liked shocking everyone. But I am definitely growing it back out eventually.”
