Dudes with beards have been a Thing in the dating world (and the world in general) for a while now. Their popularity surged as hipsters began adopting facial hair and it’s only grown since. Now, guys with beards earn certified zaddy status more often than not, and they’re officially seen as hotter than bare-faced men.
- Seriously, science proved it. A study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology revealed that of the 8,500 heterosexual female participants, every single one of them preferred dudes with beards. The women were shown photos of guys who were clean shaven, ones who hadn’t shaved in five days, ones who haven’t shaved in 10 days, and ones who’d let their facial hair grow for a month. Their choice was clear.
- Stubble gets a lot of love too. While guys with beards were universally seen as hot, “heavy stubble” was actually the highest rated by the participants. Full beards were actually in second place, while “light stubble” came in third. Basically, women liked men who weren’t as smooth as a baby’s bottom, at least facially speaking.
- There may be an evolutionary reason for this. According to researchers, typically masculine features like “an enlarged brow ridge, thicker jawline and longer face” tend to be signs of high testosterone, which many women may not be into. On the contrary, bearded guys tend to be seen as more mature and even socially dominant. Go figure!
- Bearded dudes are just seen as better partners. As the researchers theorized, “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.” Whether or not that’s true, one thing’s clear: beards are hot. Obviously not all bearded dudes are going to be amazing partners, but we seem to think they are, in any case.