Key points. Women find men with light
Compared to clean-shaven men, bearded men report feeling more masculine (Wood, 1986), endorse male-typical gender roles in heterosexual relationships (Oldmeadow and Dixson, 2016a, Oldmeadow and Dixson, 2016b), and have higher levels of serum testosterone (Knussman & Christiansen, 1988), which may predict social ...
Facial hair is considered an inherently masculine characteristic in our culture. Men with facial hair are perceived as being angrier, stronger and more masculine than men without facial hair.
To break things down even further, the same study showed men with full beards to be the most masculine, aggressive, and socially mature, while light stubble was preferred for both short and long-term partners. In other words, anyone who wore some type of facial hair was found to be more attractive in general.
But recent research suggests that even if people are split over whether beards are attractive or not, men with them still hold the court as the measure of manliness, as well as commitment in relationships.
A study conducted by the Official Journal of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society found that men with moderately full beards are found most attractive, and men with full beards may be perceived as better fathers who could protect and invest in their children. “Men with beards have a powerful look,” Dr.
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.
Since the ability to grow a beard is a sign of physical maturity in men, it is naturally associated with age and grown manhood — as is evidenced by a study that found that beards were associated with maturity, power, and higher social status by both men and women.
Women and men from both cultures judge bearded faces to be older and ascribe them higher social status than the same men when clean-shaven. Images of bearded men displaying an aggressive facial expression were also rated as significantly more aggressive than the same men when clean-shaven.
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.
One of the best studied sexually dimorphic traits is facial masculinity, which includes jaw size, brow ridge prominence, and robustness of the midface6. Facial masculinity is positively associated with some aspects of men's health7,8 and disease resistance9.
A man's ability to grow a fulsome beard isn't actually neatly linked to his testosterone levels. Despite this, a number of studies have suggested that both men and women perceive men with beards as older, stronger and more aggressive than others.
According to a 2013 Australian study, heavy stubble is the most attractive beard length.
Among the female respondents, 57.19% indicated a preference for men with facial hair, and 42.81% preferred clean-shaven faces (frequencies of women's preferences are presented in Table 1).
Overall, a beard doesn't make you warmer in every situation, in essence, a beard actually acts as a temperature regulator instead of a temperature increaser. This is because a beard works to keep you cooler in the heat, warmer in the cold, and overall protected from whatever the world has to throw at you!
Rule #5: Clean Your Trimmings
Guys, clean your trimmings. Seriously. If you have a beard, that means you're a man. And if you're a man, you should act like it and clean up after yourself.
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.
Men of all ethnicities can get razor bumps as a result of shaving, but Black men seem to suffer from them more often than people of other races. Up to 80% of men who get razor bumps are Black. As a result, Black men need to be especially careful when shaving to prevent the development of ingrown hairs.
The goatee is often associated with creativity and individuality. This is a man who doesn't conform to the status quo; he's likely to be found in creative fields, whether it's art, music, or writing.
Whilst numerous media noted the possibility that beard prevalence had peaked in the early 2010s, a YouGov poll suggested that beards had become more commonplace in November 2016 compared with August 2011. This was reflected in the persistent decline in the sales of razor blades between 2013 and 2015.
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. Let's take a closer look at the fascinating differences across various ethnic groups.
The average lifespan of head hair is two to seven years, while a beard will stop growing after two to six years. That's a difference, certainly, yet this doesn't take into account how fast your hair grows — the average is a half-inch each month, but this also varies significantly by individual.