Ask anybody who has ever bearded up, and they’ll tell you that life changes once you adopt your inner werewolf. You feel different and people also look at you differently. Moreso to its perpetual glamour, a beard is more than a fashion statement. The impact that it has upon a person’s life is way bigger than you might think, and there are some scientific studies that have been done to warrant that.
Research conducted by the University of Queensland in Australia and published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology where thousands of heterosexual women were surveyed regarding men’s sexual attractiveness, masculinity and the longevity of relationships revealed that a healthy beard makes a guy seem more alluring.
The authors of the study reportedly collected statistics from 8,520 women and split them into three groups. They showed all three groups manipulated pictures of the same men with varying degrees of facial hair, from clean-shaven faces, light stubble, heavy stubble and thick beards.
Ultimately, the groups were asked to contemplate a different question about the man’s sex appeal, with the first group tasked to rate men’s beardless-to-bearded faces for overall sexual attractiveness. The ensuing batch was asked to score the pictures based on short-term attractiveness regarding men most suited and desirable for a fling or a one-night stand, while the last set treated the pictured men in a long-term aspect. They paid particular attention to which men had faces that indicated they were in for the long ride: a good fit for marriage and commitment.
Of course, the results varied as were the women’s areas of speciality and depending on what the woman was looking for. Overall, the groups concurred that the sexiest men were those sporting heavy stubble, followed by short stubble. Men with full beards and clean-shaven men were rated the lowest on the overall sexiness scale.
Men with light stubble won the short-term fling or one-night stand contest. Men with heavier stubble were the also-ran, submitting that the scruffy look appeals to women looking for fun, but not commitment.
Peculiar to marriage and commitment, like a long-term partner whom a woman could have babies or settle in for the span, men with heavy stubble and full beards were the clear winners. The overall deduction was that men who are ready to commit might do better if they shave less often. The researchers’ theory appeared to be that for women who are looking for a long-term mate, beardedness may be more attractive as it “indicates a male’s ability to compete for resources.”
Co-author of the beard length study and human behavioural ecologist at the University of Queensland, Barnaby Dixson, stressed that both sexes rate men with beards as older and more masculine, and describe them as generous, sincere, industrious and self-confident. While he also found that facial hair is associated with some antisocial traits, such as aggression and social dominance, Dixson said that even so these traits might not be pleasant if one is looking for a fun fling, they might be alluring if you want an alpha male to support your family and fend off predators.
In another study where Dr Dixson and colleagues surveyed 1,577 men and women from Brazil and the Czech Republic about facial hair, it was found that gay men also gave higher ratings to male partners with a healthy amount of whiskers.
“Homosexual men preferred hairier stimuli than heterosexual women, supporting past findings that homosexual men have strong preferences for masculine traits,” the report established.
Brazilians preferred bigger beards than Czechs. Homosexual men preferred men with beards similar to their own. Czech women favoured men with beards that were like the beards their dads had during their childhood.
Seeing that a beard doesn’t grow naturally for every man, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery established that more men with hairless faces were seeking hair grafts. The practice, the society included, is however most fashionable in Asian countries.
