According to studies, it is found that men who have beards are found more attractive than men who don’t have them.
The research, which was published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, saw 8,520 women asked to rate photographs of men with and without beards for their facial attractiveness. Each of the men was snapped clean-shaven, five days after shaving, 10 days after shaving and, finally, four weeks after shaving.
The women involved were randomly assigned to treatments wherein they rated faces for either attractiveness in general, attractiveness for a short‐term relationship or attractiveness for a long‐term relationship. Incredibly, every single woman surveyed as part of the study preferred the pictures of the men where they were sporting facial hair.
Heavy stubble came out on top, receiving the highest rating for general attractiveness. Men with full beards were the second most popular just ahead of light stubble. The researchers surmised that beards have a positive association with age and masculine social dominance among women.
“Beards may be more attractive to women when considering long-term than short-term relationships as they indicate a male’s ability to successfully compete socially with other males for resources,” the research concluded.