Face it, chaps: Women hate beards because they fear the man will have 'lower romantic attachment'



Shave it off: Women find beards a turn-OFF according to recent research

Gentlemen, this is one to take on the chin. Women don’t find beards terribly attractive.



While men think other males look better with a beard, females prefer a fellow to sport nothing more than heavy stubble, a study has revealed.



The Australian researchers said women may be put off by beards as they make the wearer look more aggressive. Men, however, value the macho look.



For the study, scientists photographed ten young men with four lengths of facial hair – clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble and fully-bearded.



They then showed the pictures to more than 500 men and women and asked them to rate the models’ looks, health and masculinity.



Both sexes agreed that the hairier a man was, the more masculine he appeared. Similarly, both said men with light stubble seemed the least healthy.



However, they disagreed when it came to the appeal of a beard.



The men rated a full beard and heavy stubble as being equally attractive – while the women clearly preferred the heavy stubble, the journal Evolution and Human Behavior reports.



The University of New South Wales researchers suggested women may be wary of ultra-masculine men because they tend to have ‘lower romantic attachment’. Men, however, respect macho traits.

The topic has been studied before but with mixed results. This, said the researchers, may be because these scientists used false beards and colouring pencils, rather than asking men to grow beards.

However, bearded bachelors needn’t despair. The study also showed that women rate men with full beards as having the best parenting potential.

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The researchers said this may be because beards make men look older, more mature industrious.

A beard may also help convey sincerity and ambition.

For those men who want to experiment for themselves, the definition of a full beard was at least six weeks’ growth.



That'll pass: But a little bit of stubble is okay as far as women are concerned

To sport light stubble, a chap shouldn’t shave for five days. Heavy stubble, meanwhile, requires ten days of growth.



Science gives us various theories as to why men have beards, from protecting the delicate facial skin from sunlight to buffering blows to the jaw in a fight.