There are many beard benefits you might not even realize. Sure, it looks cool and grabs the attention of women, while adding confidence to nearly any man’s look.
But there’s also some health benefits and other pros that you probably never even realized about.
Behold the twelve beard benefits.
1. Growing a Beard Makes You Look Older
In most cases, this is a big pro.
Especially if you’re known as one of the “baby-faces”, a label that 100% of the men labeled as such are guaranteed to hate.
On average, a good beard makes men look 2-5 years older (and more experienced) than they are.
Every bearded man already knows this, as the process of shaving after sprouting a beard for months will suddenly make you look like a little boy again, causing you to immediately regret the decision.
“But the reason I’m being called baby face is that I can’t grow a beard! How’s knowing that beard would chance this actually help me then?”
Fret not, every man has follicles in place to grow a full beard, if your genetics and hormonal status won’t make it happen naturally, there are still at least 9 scientifically-proven tricks to grow a beard faster naturally.
2. Beard Makes you Appear Intelligent
Although some hair on your face won’t actually make you smarter, it will make you appear more knowledgeable.
It’s not certain why this is the case, maybe because most of the ancient scholars and great men had beards, or that they make you look more experienced.
Whatever the case, a study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology in 2016, showed that women perceive bearded men as more intelligent than non-bearded men1.
Thus, having a beard for a job interview could in some cases be beneficial.
Look at the fellow on the image, it’s evident that he’s a smart fellow, perhaps a teacher? Just look at that beard, he must be at peak level intelligence.
3. Bacterial Protection for Face and Lungs
Facial hair and mustache act as an extra “buffer zone”. This buffer zone prevents bacteria and allergens from reaching your mouth, nose, and respiratory system.
This offers some protection against infections and such, much more than your nose-hair alone would.
Another health pro of beard is that it helps with acne.
Not only by covering it, but also by preventing you from shaving, which would result in opens that drive in bacteria and cause dryness of the facial hair area.
“But…but I’ve heard that beards are nasty and full of bacteria! How can you claim that it actually reduces bacterial exposure?”
Well, as I said, the beard is a buffer zone. Instead of the allergens and bacteria to end up in your mouth, nose, and respiratory tract, they end up in your beard. From there you can easily just wash them away with some beard shampoo.
4. Beard Benefit: Cold & UV-Ray Protection
Let me ask you this: How often do you apply sunscreen to your hair?
Never? Right, because unless you’re bald, the hair on top of your head will protect you from sunburns. Well, the same goes for a beard, as it protects the lower part of the face from the damaging and aging effects of the sun’s UV-rays.
According to a study from Oxford University2, a beard can block up to 95% of the harmful UV exposure, resulting in a smaller chance of sunburns.
And when it gets cold, thick beard acts as a beanie for your jaw.
Optionally, you could also flex on the non-bearded by posting pictures of your icy beard to social media, because, why not.
5. Beard Makes you Look More Masculine
I’d like to argue that this is the primary benefit why most men grow a beard.
Most men feel like men, and want their bodies to show that as well, and – there’s no better way to showcase masculinity and manliness to everyone than growing a majestic beard.
Since beard growth is largely a result of testosterone and DHT (the male hormones), it’s also an evolutionary cue for masculinity.
This is probably why women (and other men as well) judge men with beards masculine, confident, and mature. There are many studies that have looked into this, but perhaps the most extensive review comes from Dixson et al1.
6. Studies Prove that Women Love Beards
Braun recently did a trial in New York, where they asked men about their beards.
More than half of the interviewed men told the company that they feel more attractive with a beard, and 55% reported that they frequently receive compliments about their facial hair. 41% told the consumer-goods company that they feel more confident with some strands on their face.
So if men feel more attractive with a beard, how do women perceive bearded men?
According to the Journal of Evolutionary Biology1 female reviewers perceive men with facial hair to be more masculine and significantly more attractive.
According to another study by Neave et al. women perceive men with beards to be masculine, aggressive, socially mature, dominant and experienced. All types of facial from stubble to full beard were rated as more attractive than images of the same men without beards.
This might come as crushing evidence for men who can’t grow any facial hair, but don’t worry, if your genetics and hormones don’t allow you to naturally grow fur on your chin, there are still ways to fix that patchy facial hair of yours naturally.
7. You Have More Time on your Hands
This might come off as a weird beard benefit, but hear me out.
Constantly shaving your face is a major waste of time!
In fact, on average, men waste nearly 5-months of their life shaving. 139 days to be exact.
Imagine all the things you could do in that amount of time. Traveling, hobbies, starting a side business, enjoying time with your family…
…All while also looking like an absolute bad-ass since you would do all of that with a great beard.
8. You Become the Shapeshifter
Well, not really, but the way you trim and groom your beard, can help you greatly to alter its shape or at least the visual impact of the shape.
Have a look at this infographic by Business Insider for example:
Whereas hair on the top of your head is a great tool for manipulating the upper shape of the face, your facial hair can be used to make your jawline and chin appear more angular, or more round, sharp, whatever fits your bill.
Simply shape it yourself, or go to a barber and tell him what kind of shape you are after.
Having a hair that’s short on the side combined with a beard that gives your jaw a sharp angular line, is guaranteed to completely transform any babyfaced geek into a real mean looking bad-ass (if that’s what you want of course).
Alternatively, if you begin to look too scary and manly, you can grow the sides of your hair longer and shape your beard rounder, giving you a more “approachable” look.
In any case, one benefit of a full beard is giving you the ability to shape your face. It’s almost like an extra piece of clothing or accessory. For some amazing beard styles to try out, check out our ultimate guide.
9. Makes it Easy for People to Buy you Gifts
Every Christmas, the stress of finding gifts for your loved ones is booming.
But if you have a beard, your close ones don’t need to stress about your gifts.
Why? Because there’s so much stuff that can be bought to a man who cares about his whiskers.
I even made a list of beard gifts, including beard oils, beard-related clothing, beard combs, beard brushes, beard care kits, beard washes, beard trimmers.
This one might be a beard benefit you wouldn’t normally even think about…
…But it’s good to know that your loved ones will likely not have to worry about what to get for you.
10. Beard Improves your Relationship (No Joke)
As explained above; women find bearded men more desirable and attractive.
Science has also shown that on average, women rate bearded men to be “best romantic partners, either for a fling or a long-term relationship”.
Not only this but actually performing the act, has been shown to increase testosterone levels, which increases the rate of beard growth in men.
This creates a nice little loop where the beard boosts your attractiveness and chances of finding partners, which then leads to more that type of encounters, which boosts testosterone, which supports beard growth even further.
“Our findings suggest that beardedness may be attractive when judging long‐term relationships as a signal of intrasensual formidability and the potential to provide direct benefits to females” – Dr. Dixson et al1.
11. Something to Stroke when Thinking
Almost all historical great men and scholars had beards.
Not by coincidence, as beards signal intelligence and maturity, expertise even.
Perhaps because of the above, one common trait has been linked to beards, and that is; thinking.
When playing something like Alias, and you get a word to explain that says “thinking”, what’s the first thing you do?
You stroke the beard, like thousands of great thinking men have done through history.
12. Beards Signal Authority and Trust
Universally, studies suggest that facial hair is a clear signal for multiple traits that make men more reliable and trustworthy.
Some commonly reported features that reviewers associate with images of bearded men included:
- Authority
- Trust
- Expertise
- Maturity & Experience
- Confidence
- Responsibility
“Facial hair, or beardedness, is a powerful socio signal, and an obvious biological marker of maturity”. – Dr. Nick Neave
Conclusion
That concludes the 12 crazy benefits of growing a beard. I hope you enjoyed the list and learned something new.
Again, if you’re down here and wonder, “Gee, I can’t grow a beard, and this list just makes me more depressed about it”, don’t worry…
…Here’s how you can grow a thicker beard naturally.
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- What is the Hipster Beard and How it Made Sporting Facial Hair Trendy Again
- 7 Common Beard Mistakes You Should Stop Doing Right Now
There are so many health benefits I didn’t know about and interesting facts. The human being is really an old creature.
Some of these are food for thought. I know growing a beard is a great way to look older. As you mentioned, a babyface isn’t always a good thing. For me, the best thing about being able to grow a beard is you can shave it for a change of style. A friend of mine used to grow his beard out during the winter (to stay warm) and shave it during the summer. Eventually, he tired of shaving it and kept it.
Hmm. Women perceiving bearded men as more intelligent than non-bearded men? That’s a new one. I’ve always had the idea of having beards and this post has just made it a must for me. I’m heading over to read up the post on that.
LOL. Whoever said hair on your face would make you smarter may be correct. I think it surely will make you appear more knowledgeable. I started growing my beard recently and the compliments I’m getting is cool as they say I look like a great man with experience. Hehe.
Tom Hardy made the list yeah. His beard is really something I love to watch specifically in his movie roles and I wish mine can be close to that if possible because it really is awesome.
This is quite interesting, a great read I must confess. I never knew they are so many benefits that comes with growing beards. I’m glad I found this website. Well done
I have heard lots of this pros and con but not for once heard of facial hair preventing bacterial and allergens from reaching the mouth, I mean this seem really true but hearing it for the first time.