You guys should buy a sefer called “hadras ponim zokon” written by Moshe Weiner. It talks about the importance of keeping your beard; not even trimming it.
The Kapischnitzer Rebbe ZT”L was one of the most biggest Torah Giants before World War 2, and he won the respect of even the litvisher gedolim including the Chazon Ish ZT”L.
During the Holocaust, the Nazis ym”s forced the leaders of every community to clean the streets with a toothbrush. The idea was to humiliate them in front the Poles who would stand by and laugh, pointing at the elderly Rabbi with the long beard, scrubbing the streets with a toothbrush.
On one such occasion, the Kapischnitzer Rebbe was, naturally, chosen to receive the “honor” of cleaning the streets that day.
While he was scrubbing, a Nazi commander ordered one of his soldiers to cut off the Kapischnitzer Rebbe’s beard r”l. When the soldier approached with the big scissors in his hand, the Rebbe looked up and immediately understood what was about to happen. he held up his hand and shouted angrily “rather cut of my fingers but don’t touch my beard!”
startled by the Rebbes stubbornness, the soldier steeped back and did not carry out his evil command. This story goes to show the great importance of having a beard, so much so that the Kapischnitzer Rebbe was willing to have all of his fingers cut off in order to keep his beard. One of the reasons why it is so important not to touch your beard is because it is written up in Zohar that the yud gimmel midas harachamim are in the strands of the beard. Cutting it off would be cutting off the yud gimmel midas harachamim.