Ladies, it’s that time of year. Don’t bother adding Gillette ProGlide or aftershave to the grocery list because the playoff beard is back.

Five o’clock shadows increase across the Midwest, as the Chicago Blackhawks battle through the semifinal round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

According to Pro Sports Extra, the playoff beard is a tradition started back in the 1980s by the New York Islanders. Since then, it has taken hockey fans everywhere by storm. It involves the theory of not shaving one’s facial hair from the time the playoffs begin until their team is either eliminated from contention or until they win the Stanley Cup.

This tradition is not taken lightly.

NBC Sports Network projects the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins as the favorites to meet for the Stanley Cup in the 2013 NHL playoffs. This may mean the razors and shaving cream may stay locked away long enough to give Chicago fans the true experience of the playoff beard’s full effects.

The NHL playoff beard is traditionally known to represent the passion and support that each fan has for his favorite hockey team throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. It is also a sign of masculinity. However, since 2009, the playoff beard has taken a whole new meaning.

The NHL Beard-A-Thon began during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.  Team players and fans participate in this beard-growing showdown.  The purpose is to grow beards to raise funds for NHL team charities.  Over the last four years, this Beard-A-Thon has raised some huge sums of money for charities throughout the U.S.

The NHL website states that in 2010, the Pittsburgh Penguins led all NHL teams by raising $91,000 for the Mario Lemieux Foundation. The 2010 Stanley Cup champions and their fans raised $41,000 for Chicago Blackhawks charities, and Washington Capitals fans raised $38,000 for Capitals charities.

“I think it’s very underrated and it should be promoted way more than it actually is,” said John Bender, 24, of Chicago, Ill. Bender is a contestant in this year’s NHL Beard-A-Thon. “It’s a charity people can get into. It shows support of your team and raises money for a great cause. It needs to be advertised during every game.”

Currently, the Boston Bruins lead in the 2013 Beard-A-Thon team rankings with more than $71,000 and the Blackhawks hold fifth place with about $11,500 raised towards team charities. The official Beard-A-Thon website can be accessed at www.beardathon.com where fans can enter to participate or pledge for their favorite team.

“I grew one every year they were in since 2009,” said Bender. “I’ve played on hockey teams for six years now, so it’s a symbol of team bonding and traditions that goes back to the old times.”

In addition to the NHL Beard-A-Thon, this year CSN Chicago is holding a playoff beard challenge for Chicago Blackhawks fans. Participants enter the progress of their playoff beards following each game resulting in the Blackhawks continuance in the playoffs.  The winner of this challenge will receive an all-exclusive men’s grooming package.

So when you’re passing a playoff beard on the street, recognize a fellow Chicago sports fan and possibly a man contributing to good causes. Maybe he needs to feel that masculine camaraderie. Whatever it may be, as long as the Hawks continue their run in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff beard will live on.