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A few years ago, the gatekeepers in charge of deciding when things have a “moment” announced beards were officially “in,” with people from Portland to Williamsburg ditching their razors and supplementing their ironic mustaches with flowing facial hair.
This was just before the advent of the man bun, and while that regrettable trend has mercifully come and gone, beards are still going (and growing) strong.
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I was one of the many people who became a proud member of Beard Mafia during that time (mostly out of laziness) and I haven’t looked back since then.
While maintaining a beard can be kind of a pain in the ass, there are more than a few upsides of having one, like hiding any extra chins you might have acquired and having something to stroke when you’re deep in thought.
Now, a new study has revealed what might be the best perk yet.
According to Yahoo, a group of researchers has found women dig facial hair as much as they do the long ball. They showed 8,500 participants pictures of men sporting various degrees of facial hair and asked them who’d they’d be most likely to pick as a long-term partner.
According to the study, you’re not doing yourself any favors if you’re shaving every day, as women prefer these styles in order:
- Stubble (around 10 days worth of growth)
- Beards (grown over the course of a month)
- Light stubble (a few days worth)
- Clean-shaven
The researchers attempted to provide an explanation for the results, saying:
“Beards consistently render men with an older, more masculine, socially dominant and aggressive appearance.
Beards may be more attractive to women when considering long‐term than short‐term relationships as they indicate a male’s ability to successfully compete socially with other males for resources.”
I’ll take what I can get.