Men’s Beards Carry More Gross Germs Than Dogs, Study Finds

I know it’s kinda gross, but I do let my dog kiss me. I try to make sure his slobber doesn’t go anywhere near my own mouth given that, you know, he’s been licking his balls and everything, but it has happened once or twice. The very thought would make some people want to vomit, yet they’re fine with the idea of kissing a guy with a beard. Big mistake.

  1. Dudes’ beards are disgusting. According to a recent study published in European Radiology, men’s beards hold “significantly higher” levels of bacteria than dogs, which is pretty intense. To come to this conclusion, Swiss researchers studied bacterial samples from the beards of 18 men as well as 30 dogs. The results were pretty clear: beards are gross.
  2. Dogs are clean in comparison. “On the basis of these findings, dogs can be considered as ‘clean’ compared with bearded men,” the study stated. While that doesn’t mean you should go kissing your dog on the mouth or anything, but it is worth thinking about.
  3. So what kind of bacteria are we talking about? While only 23 of the dogs tested had high bacterial samples, all 18 of the bearded men did. Not all bacteria is harmful/dangerous, but much of the stuff on the tested beards was the disease-causing kind, including UTI bugs. Yikes! “The beards of men harbor significantly more microbes than the neck fur of dogs and these microbes were significantly more pathogenic to humans,” read the study.
  4. The study was small but it’s still important. It’s not hard to believe that men’s beards are harbingers for disease-causing bacteria. It doesn’t matter how hygienic the guy is—the hair is on their faces and bound to catch everything from food to simple environmental germs while it just… sits there. That’s not to say that no men should have beards, just that you need to be aware of what you’re locking lips with!
Piper Ryan is a NYC-based writer and matchmaker who works to bring millennials who are sick of dating apps and the bar scene together in an organic and efficient way. To date, she's paired up more than 120 couples, many of whom have gone on to get married. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Cut, and many more.

In addition to runnnig her own business, Piper is passionate about charity work, advocating for vulnerable women and children in her local area and across the country. She is currently working on her first book, a non-fiction collection of stories focusing on female empowerment.
close-link
close-link
close-link