Men with distinct facial hair are perceived as more aggressive, dominant, older, and more formidable, mostly by other men.
Social Perceptions: Studies have shown that bearded men are often perceived as more dominant and mature. This can lead to greater respect in certain professional or social contexts.
Key points. Women find men with light stubble most attractive, and men with full beards as most masculine. A fuller beard is perceived as indicative of good fathering ability and more investment in offspring. Some women do not care for men's facial hair at all.
Since testosterone is what causes facial hair to grow, you might expect a thicker beard to be a sign of higher than average levels of this hormone. But most adult males actually have similar testosterone levels. In addition to changes like puberty, certain conditions also influence beard thickness.
The male beard is one of the most visually salient and sexually dimorphic traits and a hypothesized potential marker of other traits, such as dominance, masculinity, social status, and self-confidence.
The Evolutionary Advantage. Way back in the day, a beard was like a neon sign flashing "strong and healthy." It signalled to potential mates that a man had good genes and could protect a family. Even now, studies show that women tend to associate beards with maturity, dominance, and even higher social status.
Does No Beard Mean Low Testosterone? That's not entirely true. Testosterone can influence facial hair quality, but when your genes are not favorable for beard production, testosterone can't help. Most men have similar levels of testosterone, including men without a beard.
Additionally, facial hair has been shown to positively impact mating success in highly competitive environments (Barber 2001; Dixson et al. 2017). These observations are all consistent with the hypothesis that beards evolved to enhance fighting performance by providing protection to vulnerable aspects of the face.
There is no specific ethnicity that can't grow facial hair, but East Asian individuals, such as Japanese and Chinese, tend to have less facial hair and slower growth rates compared to other ethnicities.
The study also found that women were not only more attracted to them, but expected to have longer relationships with men rocking a beard.
Men with Beards May Be More Stable Romantic Partners, Study Says: 'In It for Keeps' Cara Lynn Shultz is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. Her work has previously appeared in Billboard and Reader's Digest. Wondering if someone might make a good romantic partner?
The full beard remains a timeless classic, dominating the beard trends of 2025. Known for its bold, masculine appeal, it's perfect for men who want to make a powerful statement.
The majority of women preferred clean-shaven male faces (43.84%), followed by heavy stubble (26.03%) and light stubble (16.44%). Faces with light beard (10.96%) and full beard (2.74%) were the least preferred.
According to a 2013 Australian study, heavy stubble is the most attractive beard length.
Facial Hair as a Sign of Maturity & Attraction. Since you're not going to be seeing any little kids or women sporting beards, it's a known identifier as physical maturity in men. In a similar study to the beard aggression one, it was found that beards are associated with maturity and higher social status by both sexes.
Anthropologist Joseph Deniker said in 1901 that the very hirsute peoples are the Ainus, Uyghurs, Iranians, Australian aborigines (Arnhem Land being less hairy), Toda, Dravidians and Melanesians, while the most glabrous peoples are the Indigenous Americans, San, and East Asians, who include Chinese, Koreans, Mongols, ...
East Asian men (such as those of Chinese and Japanese ancestry) are next on the list of those least likely to experience hair loss. For example, while around half of Caucasian men will experience some degree of androgenetic alopecia, a 2010 study of Chinese men found only about 13% did.
Age is a big factor in beard growth. While most men experience some facial hair growth around the age of 16, it doesn't usually turn into a full beard until the mid 20's. Your beard will continue to thicken well into your 30s and 40s, so if your beard is still patchy in your early 20s, try again in a few years.
Leviticus 19:27 in Other Translations
27 You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 27 “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards. 27 "Don't cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard.
The obvious advantage here is that you could stand a better chance of not being KO'd by a single punch as it might not connect directly where someone was aiming for i.e. your chin. There is a theory that your beard can help reduce the friction of a punch, in particular, from a boxing glove.
The individual occurrence and characteristics of chest hair depend on the genetic disposition, the hormonal status and the age of the person. The genes primarily determine the amount, patterns and thickness of chest hair. Some men are very hairy, while others have no chest hair at all.
A combination of aerobic (increase in heart rate) and resistance (weightlifting) training has been found to increase the production of testosterone. This also helps prevent the most common diseases that men are most likely to die from, heart disease and cancer.
Testosterone promotes body hair growth in men. As a result, one common symptom of low testosterone is a loss of body hair. You may notice thinning of your armpit or pubic hair. Many men find the change is most noticeable in their beard because they don't have to shave as often.