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Beards

Hammer89

It's official, sort of.

Every single woman from a study pool of 8,500 said that they preferred men with facial hair, which is remarkable when you think about it.

The womens were shown pictures of men who were clean shaven, then five days without shaving, then 10 days without shaving, and then four weeks without shaving. According to the study, men with 'heavy stubble' were deemed the most attractive, followed then by men with full beards.

What do the womens of Boards think?

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eviltimeban

Paul McCartney looked good with a beard:

Mickeroo

I can only assume that picture was taken the day they recorded their rendition of "Keep your Hands off of my Baby"

Beanntraigheach

I wonder if the results would be significantly different if this survey were taken during a period when facial hair wasn't fashionable/usual?

Plopsu

Beanntraigheach wrote: »

I wonder if the results would be significantly different if this survey were taken during a period when facial hair wasn't fashionable/usual?

I would imagine so. Even twenty years ago the results would have been very different.
There are women who like beards and women who don't. The wedge in the middle that make up the bulk of this study just like what's in fashion.

Wibbs

I've had one all my adult life. I could grow one at 15, but waited until 18 to go full on. I hated shaving with a passion. Dunno why. Even as a little kid I used to draw a beard on my school photos. Drove the parents mad.

Must have had one in a previous life.

None of my rellies had one so I dunno where it comes from.

My hair grows very slowly though, so requires a trim maybe twice a year. To get to the level of the McCartney pic above from clean shaven would take me at least six months. Makes maintenance easy mind you. Though I could never grow the full hipster/Ronnie Drew(thankfully). It also never got particularly course, so beard rash was never an issue with lady friends.

Beanntraigheach wrote: »

I wonder if the results would be significantly different if this survey were taken during a period when facial hair wasn't fashionable/usual?

When I first grew mine back in the mid 80's I knew nobody my age who had a beard. Just me. They weren't "in" at all. I'd reckon yeah, the results would be different alright if the same survey had been held back then. I can't recall a woman ever being put off by it TBH. Some were vocal in liking it, maybe because it was unusual then?

o1s1n

eviltimeban wrote: »

Paul McCartney looked good with a beard:

Beard looks good but not so sure about the baby head he has growing in his armpit.

GBX

Grew a beard in the past 4/5 years. Cant see myself ever not having any form of facial hair now.

Road-Hog

GBX wrote: »

Grew a beard in the past 4/5 years. Cant see myself ever not having any form of facial hair now.

Each to their own but there a beard has to be one of the most uncomfortable/irritating things imaginable......

fyfe79

Have had a short beard for the last few years (going a bit gray now though!), and can't imagine shaving it fully. I close shave my neck every second day, as I dislike hair on that area (gets quite itchy), but use an electric shaver set to a "3" on the facial hair every week or so. It's more of a styled 'designer' stubble I suppose. As people have said here, I think it brings definition to the face by highlighting the jawline - and there's some evolutionary traits at play here which makes one more attractive to women when you do this.

My wife likes it and can't imagine me clean-shaven or worse, with a big wiry rug on my face. Grooming is essential.

fyfe79

Road-Hog wrote: »

Each to their own but there a beard has to be one of the most uncomfortable/irritating things imaginable......

It is if you don't groom it.

seamus

Here's the actual study, which as one would expect, is considerably more nuanced than the article implies;

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jeb.12958

It doesn't say that "women don't like clean shaven faces and love bearded ones". As a whole, on average, women will rate a stubbly/bearded face about 25% more attractive than a clean shaven one.

So, sorry lads. Just because you're waving your bellybutton tickler beside a clean-shaven Brad Pitt, doesn't mean the ladies are going to choose you over him.

Worth noting that you need to tweak the facial hair to the face type. They manipulated the faces to appear more stereotypically masculine and feminine and found that the unmanipulated faces were in general more attractive than those which are exceptionally masculine or feminine.

But if you are in possession of such a face, you can improve your look by choosing the facial hair to match. If you have a feminine face (often called baby-faced, or mistaken for a teenager when you shave), then you can benefit the most with heavy stubble or a beard. If you have a very masculine face; strong jawline, etc, then a beard is not for you, go with light-to-heavy stubble.

Apparently on average everyone comes off better with heavy stubble. So it's always worth a look.

Remember though that these are general trends, averages. Just because this says that a certain look is on average more attractive, doesn't mean that it will work for YOU. Give various looks a go, and go with what you think makes you look best. I look best with about 3-4 days growth, about 2/3mm of hair. Beyond that and into heavy growth I just look like I have bad personal hygiene.

GBX

Road-Hog wrote: »

Each to their own but there a beard has to be one of the most uncomfortable/irritating things imaginable......

fyfe79 wrote: »

It is if you don't groom it.

Thats it. When I first started growing it, I didnt put much time into keeping it right. Now I do. Trimmed, oiled etc. Much better and easier to manage!

Wibbs

seamus wrote: »

I look best with about 3-4 days growth, about 2/3mm of hair.

Jaysus I'd need 3-4 weeks to get that length. Mad how we can differ. Though to be fair my hair grows daftly slowly. Not normal at all. Even as a kid I only needed a trip to the barber once a year(short back and sides, my oullad would insist, while I sat on a plank above the barber chair). Same for my nails. A mutant I am.

completedit

eviltimeban wrote: »

Paul McCartney looked good with a beard:

It's because he has a soft shapeless 12 year old boys face without it. What an average guy, how the hell was he a teen hearthrob? :O His appeal has aged about as well as Frankenstein.

Wibbs

completedit wrote: »

What an average guy, how the hell was he a teen hearthrob? :O

Well huge talent, fame and all that helped, though he was sought after by the women before all that. He lost his virginity to his babysitter apparently. Lennon was on record admitting he was jealous in the early days of his mate's success with women. I can see how he'd be appealing with the whole babyface thing going on. Though as Lennon also said their egos were kept in check by the fact that Ringo got the most fan letters from the ladies.

Tchaikovsky

Non-electric shaving and acne was a nightmare back in the day.

eviltimeban

completedit wrote: »

It's because he has a soft shapeless 12 year old boys face without it. What an average guy, how the hell was he a teen hearthrob? :O His appeal has aged about as well as Frankenstein.

Are you kidding??

c2f4631674aba30877dbea512460640a--the-beatles-musicians.jpg

Those eyes are amazing. He was also incredibly charming and charismatic, not to mention a pretty good singer and songwriter.

Sure, that puppy-dog look would be unappealing to some, but in the mid 60s, there was no bigger heart throb. You have to remember that this was 50 - 55 years ago as well, so what makes a "heart throb" now is a little different to then. Look up 70s heart throbs and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway back to beards. Beards are manly.

completedit

He looks a bit like Shawn Mendes in the first pic tbf. Terrible in the second pic.

*Everyone looks better in black and white though.

bnt

Road-Hog wrote: »

Each to their own but there a beard has to be one of the most uncomfortable/irritating things imaginable......

If that starts happening to mine, it gets trimmed shorter. That solves that problem. A beard doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, but an electric trim every 10-14 days or so is a lot less work than shaving daily.

Greyfox

New gf doesn't like beards.. goodbye having a beard for me

mickrock

mickuhaha wrote: »

And dominant men can get more mating opportunities by intimidating rivals to stand aside.

Beards even help in chess games? Interesting.

Zorya

I like beards best, short ones, not straggly things with half a picnic hiding in them.
Himself grows a beard for 6 months of a year as he works outside. Usually he has kept it trimmed with scissors and the odd barber's attentions. Couple of weeks ago he got notions and insisted I buy him a snazzy beard trimmer. Locked himself away in the bathroom with it, Mother of God, it was the beard trimming version of Father Ted fixing the car dent (- ooops, I'll just trim a bit more on the other side, aaaannnd...ooops.. etc etc.)
We have to wait a few weeks now until I can look at him without laughing.

Useful.Idiot

I find the common perception that beards are a trend or a fad very amusing. It's not like it's an edgy haircut. It is literally just letting your facial hair grow naturally. And of course it needs to be maintained and shaped and cleaned if you want it to be attractive, you wouldn't let your head hair go wild and free.

At what point in history did being clean shaven transition to being the norm?

seamus

Useful.Idiot wrote: »

At what point in history did being clean shaven transition to being the norm?

Most likely when it could be associated with wealth and youth.

That is, personal grooming and healthcare being only things that wealthier people could afford, well groomed facial hair was likely a sign of aristocracy, clean shaven indicated you had so much money you could waste it on frivolities.

What people people attractive does move in fads. There was a time when youthful boyish looks were in the highest demand, so being clean shaven would be a must if one was a hipster.

Acosta

Hammer89 wrote: »

It's official, sort of.

Every single woman from a study pool of 8,500 said that they preferred men with facial hair, which is remarkable when you think about it.

The womens were shown pictures of men who were clean shaven, then five days without shaving, then 10 days without shaving, and then four weeks without shaving. According to the study, men with 'heavy stubble' were deemed the most attractive, followed then by men with full beards.

What do the womens of Boards think?

It's just fashion. If the poll was done 10 years ago when nobody had a beard the result would have been the other way around.

cannotlogin

Very surprised at this. Absolutely hate facial hair on men and beard rash is horrible. Give me a clean shaven man any day.

pgj2015

Greyfox wrote: »

New gf doesn't like beards.. goodbye having a beard for me

thats a great way to start a relationship. she will be wearing the trousers in that relationship anyway.

Gwildor

Greyfox wrote: »

New gf doesn't like beards.. goodbye having a beard for me

New GF would be quick to become ex GF if she made me choose...

SEPT 23 1989

Useful.Idiot wrote: »

At what point in history did being clean shaven transition to being the norm?

After WW1 when men came home from living in their own sh1t getting eaten alive by rats under constant shelling from the Germans

They had enough of looking and feeling like tramps so the Beards went immediately

Hammer89

Gwildor wrote: »

New GF would be quick to become ex GF if she made me choose...

This is the type of manliness that only beard-wearers emit. You wouldn't find some Tom Cruise-looking yoke of a thing come out with this. Nope. You'd find him bent over a table being pegged to within an inch of his life by his girlfriend.