Men with full beards are viewed as being more attractive for long-term relationships, according to a study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

Men with stubble, on the other hand, are viewed as a better bet among women looking for a short-term fling.

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia asked 8,520 women to look at a number of photos of men, and provide ratings for physical attractiveness.

The images were manipulated so the men ran the full gamut of facial hair-length, from clean-shaven to full beard. Features such as cheekbones and jawlines were also manipulated to make their appearance more or less masculine.

Participants in the study rated feminine faces as being less attractive than unmanipulated faces when both were clean-shaven. Faces with extremely masculine or extremely feminine features were judged as being the least attractive.