BEARDTOBER.

No purchase is necessary to enter or win Beardtober 2026. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

This contest is open to individuals aged 18 and above who possess a natural beard. Must be a legal resident of the United States. Contest is not open to Beard Octane Employees, Affiliates, Wholesalers, or the immediate family members of these.

The Beardtober 2026 submission period begins Tuesday, September 29, 2026 and ends Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time (ET).

Entries received after the submission period has closed will not be eligible.

(1) Upload your Most Majestic Beard Photograph to the Gallery directly above.

-OR-

(2) Post your Most Majestic Beard Photograph on Instagram with the following Hashtags:

#BEARDTOBER2026 & #BEARDOCTANE 

*YOU MUST USE BOTH HASHTAGS!

SUBMISSIONS MAY TAKE UP TO 24 HOURS FOR REVIEW & APPROVAL, THEY ARE NOT AUTOMATIC!

All beards and mustaches are welcome! Beards of all lengths, shapes, sizes, and styles are eligible to compete.

Your submitted beard or mustache must be natural and grown by you. Fake, synthetic, costume, or digitally generated facial hair is not permitted.

AI-generated or AI-altered images are not allowed. Your entry must be an actual photograph of you and your actual facial hair. AI-generated photography, backgrounds, beard enhancements, or other AI-created elements may result in disqualification.

Keep the focus on you and your beard. Photos featuring obvious or intentional competing beard-care brand placement, logos, products, or promotional material may be disqualified.

Keep it appropriate. Nudity, partial nudity, shirtless photos, or other inappropriate content will be disqualified. Remember, this is a beard contest. Please wear clothes.

Previous Beardtober winners are welcome to compete again! Winning in a prior year does not prevent you from entering or winning Beardtober 2026.

Each contestant may submit ONLY ONE (1) PHOTOGRAPH to the contest, so make sure you submit your Best Glamour Shot! Extra entries will not be displayed. Entries from the same household under multiple email address will be disqualified.

Photos must be clear, well-lit, and high-resolution so our judges can properly evaluate your entry. Filters, AI enhancements, or heavy photo editing that changes or misrepresents the appearance of your beard or mustache are not permitted and may result in disqualification.

Your photo must feature only the entrant. No other individuals should appear in the photo.

Absolutely NO minors may appear in submitted photos.

When will my entry appear in the gallery?
All submissions are reviewed before appearing in the public contest gallery. Please allow up to 24 hours for review and approval. Entries that do not meet the Beardtober Contest Rules may be rejected or disqualified.

Is my entry included in the People's Choice Award?
Yes! Every approved Beardtober entry is automatically entered into the People's Choice Award, where the public can vote for their favorite entry. Voting is conducted through the contest platform using Facebook validation to help maintain the integrity of the voting process.

Am I entered into the other Beardtober categories too?
Yes! Every approved entry is also automatically considered for the applicable judged Beardtober categories: Best Beard Under 6", Best Beard Over 6", Best Mustache, and Best Beard Overall. Unlike the People's Choice Award, these categories are not determined by public voting. Winners are selected by our community judging panel according to the contest judging criteria.

Prizes are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash or credit. Beard Octane is not responsible for any malfunction or warranty of any third party prizes.

Voting by the public will only be allowed for the “PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD”.  To vote, simply cast your vote on the gallery above. Limit 1 vote per person. Voters must have a valid Facebook account to ensure votes are legitimate.

Winners will be announced during our Livestream on the Beard Octane YouTube Channel on Thursday, October 29th at 8pm EST.  Winners will also be contacted via email/social media to claim their prizes.  Prizes must be claimed by 11/05/26 at midnight EST.

Photo & Content Usage: By submitting an entry, whether through direct upload, social media tagging, or another approved entry method, participants represent that they own the submitted content or otherwise have the necessary rights and permission to submit it. Participants grant Beard Octane a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, publish, display, crop, resize, edit, and otherwise use submitted photos and content for promotional, marketing, advertising, social media, email, website, and other commercial purposes. Entrants retain ownership of their original content.

Keep It Clean: Inappropriate, offensive, obscene, hateful, or otherwise unsuitable content may result in immediate disqualification. Beard Octane reserves the right to disqualify any submission that does not comply with these Official Rules or that we determine is inappropriate for the contest. This is also our official "no nipples" clause. You know who you are.

Contest Integrity: Beard Octane reserves the right to disqualify entries or participants involving fraud, bots, automated entries, vote manipulation, tampering, false information, or other attempts to unfairly influence the contest. If technical failures, platform outages, unauthorized interference, fraud, or other circumstances beyond Beard Octane's reasonable control affect the fairness, security, integrity, or proper administration of the contest, Beard Octane reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel the contest as reasonably necessary.

Third-Party Platforms & Brands: This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Meta, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Gleam, Ooni, Igloo, WWE, Bulliant, YETI, Carhartt, Blackstone, Solo Stove, or any other third party identified in connection with a prize unless expressly stated otherwise. By entering, participants acknowledge that these third parties are not responsible for the administration of the contest and release applicable social media platforms from claims arising from participation in the contest to the extent permitted by law.

Prizes & Fulfillment: Prizes will be shipped or otherwise fulfilled by Beard Octane or its designated fulfillment partners to eligible winners at valid addresses within the geographic area permitted by these Official Rules. Beard Octane reserves the right to substitute a prize with an item of equal or greater approximate retail value if an advertised prize becomes unavailable for reasons outside our reasonable control. Winners are responsible for any applicable taxes and any costs or expenses not specifically included with the prize.

Winner Verification: Potential winners may be required to verify their identity, eligibility, age, shipping information, or compliance with these Official Rules before receiving a prize. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to respond within the stated timeframe, cannot provide required information, or is determined to be ineligible, Beard Octane reserves the right to select an alternate winner in accordance with the applicable judging or selection process.  Prizes must be claimed by Nov 5th 2026, Midnight ET.

Judging & Decisions: By entering, participants agree to abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of Beard Octane and the contest judges. All judging decisions are final, subject to applicable law. Any ties will be resolved according to the judging criteria established for the contest.

Privacy: Information collected in connection with the contest will be handled in accordance with Beard Octane's Privacy Policy and used as reasonably necessary to administer the contest, verify winners, fulfill prizes, and for any other purposes disclosed when the information is collected.

Applicable Laws: This contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Changes to the Contest: Beard Octane may make reasonable changes to these Official Rules when necessary to correct errors, clarify the rules, address circumstances affecting the administration or integrity of the contest, or comply with applicable law. And yes, this includes fixing our typos because we're a bunch of bearded maniacs who sometimes can't "proorfread."