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.
Growing a beard isn't an overnight transformation—it's a journey. The golden rule? Commit to at least three months. No shaving. Resist the urge to reach for that razor, no matter how patchy or awkward things look at first.
Rule #5: Clean Your Trimmings
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.
The study confirmed that “intermediate” beardedness is what most women find the most attractive in a man. Conversely, a man with a full beard is better perceived to be a father and provide security and protection to their family.
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.
Their study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, suggests muscles in men are akin to elaborate tail feathers in male peacocks: They attract females looking for a virile mate. "Women are predisposed to prefer muscularity in men," said study author David Frederick of UCLA.
Once again, the results showed women were more attracted to those who had some sort of facial hair. This graph shows data from the 2016 study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology showing that facial hair of any kind is more attractive than a smooth clean shaven face.
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.
Traditionally, certain ethnicities have been known for growing thick beards, including those in the Middle East, Mediterranean, and South Asia. Other ethnicities are less likely to have thick, full beards.
Indeed, augmented attraction to facial hair is sometimes the case, with a study on the female perception of men with beards revealing that women rated heavy stubble as the most attractive, ahead of full beards, light stubble and clean-shaven faces.
Overall, you should not grow a beard if you want simplicity, professionalism, or if you want to look younger. However, if you think you'll feel better and more confident with a beard, and don't mind the extra patience and maintenance requirements, then go ahead and grow one!
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.
Beard hair grows at a half-inch per month, so you'll be looking at a solid 6 inches by the time you reach day 365. That may not sound like much, but that's a hefty amount of face fur, and you should be fully prepared for what comes with having a beard of that magnitude.
Regularly Trim Your Beard
Even in the early stages of growth, when it comes to how to stop a beard looking scruffy, trimming is key. Not only will it keep your beard tidy, but it will also help to define the shape you want to achieve.
Most men will experience their biggest beard growth from around age 25 to 35, although it varies for each person.
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, ...
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.
Religious beards cut across cultures, continents, and religions. While it's somewhat of an oddity in the Western Catholic and Protestant churches, elsewhere, among such disparate groups as Muslims, Sikhs, Rastafarians, the Amish, and Jews, beards are just optional; they're mandatory.
Our Planet Fitness survey found that more than half of women think dad bods are sexy and even prefer the dad bod over muscular men.
We can talk about kindness and confidence 'til the cows come home, but the fact is it's not just a good personality that makes a guy attractive: a huge number of women are turned on by thin guys with defined features. Whether you're slender but built or straight-up skin and bones, a lot of women prefer a slim partner.
Summary: Cut Throat Club carried out a study, surveying over 100 women and found that overall women preferred men either clean shaven or with a well groomed beard.
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.
Beards can help protect the skin from harmful UV rays, though the degree of protection may depend on hair density and thickness. “You're going to have some protection because hair is a reflective medium,” Dr. Harvey says.
Sweat droplets cling to hairs and therefore stay close to the skin longer. That's why a beard will deflect away much of the heat and help you feel cooler on sweltering days. Plus if you have a long beard, it will help to cool the blood flowing through big veins and arteries in your neck.