Women prefer bearded men over clean-shaven ones: Study

Dear men, it seems your beard, or the lack of it, can make or break your love life. Going by the findings of a study, women find men with facial hair more attractive than clean-shaven ones, and think they make better partners in the long run. Maybe it’s the time you start investing more in a beard gel than a shaving cream, eh?

The researchers at University of Queensland surveyed more than 8,500 women to rate men with and without facial hair and asked them and a bunch of relationship-related questions.

The photos of men were tweaked using computer graphics to present a variety of profiles with full facial hair, clean-shaven, stubble, moustache and full beards.

The study concluded that women preferred bearded men as more compatible for marriage and the clean-shaven ones more suitable for a casual relationship. Seriously?

As per the report, “Male-typical facial features such as a pronounced brow ridge and a more robust jawline may signal underlying health, whereas beards may signal men’s age and masculine social dominance. However, masculine faces are judged as more attractive for short-term relationships over less masculine faces, whereas beards are judged as more attractive than clean-shaven faces for long-term relationships.”

In simpler words, people with beard are considered to have perfect combination of masculine and feminine features, making them more attractive for long-term. We bet not every woman seconds this logic.

We are confused how a beard can determine a man’s character but according to another study published in journal Evolution & Human Behavior, women believe bearded men make better fathers as well.

Another study done by a dating site concluded 60 per cent women found men with facial hair attractive. Not just this, almost 50 per cent of the participants chose men with a beard and moustache as ideal partners.

(All images used here are representational)