Women prefer facial hair to be thick, which is why they tend to find this style most attractive. The study also found that although women saw men with heavy stubble to be less ready to settle down than their full bearded counterparts, they also rated them as the most attractive overall.
In 2017 research, it was found out that a man's facial hair influences a woman's mate preferences. Women are more attracted to bearded men. Another study proved that men with full beard growth are regarded as more masculine, aggressive, socially mature, and attractive. Men with light beards are believed to be dominant.
Another study found that men with beards may be seen as more masculine, mature and as having a higher social status. These traits are clearly important contributors to the overall sense of attractiveness.
Women aged 45-60 showed the strongest preference (46%) for clean-shaven men, with only 21% of that demographic finding beards attractive. Yet women aged 18-29 disagreed: for them, the bearded look was just as attractive as a freshly shaven face.
A new study found that women perceive men with facial hair to be more attractive as well as physically and socially dominant. Women tend to associate more masculine faces with physical strength, social assertiveness, and formidability.
Different strokes for different folks and all that, but there was a study done in 2008 that found women consider “heavy stubble,” or about ten days of beard growth to be the most attractive length.
Beards Highlight Masculine Features
Beards accentuate a man's jawline and cheekbones, hallmarks of classic masculine beauty. They can transform the face, making it appear stronger and more chiseled. Thus, for many, beards enhance a man's attractiveness by amplifying these features.
To break things down even further, the same study showed men with full beards to be the most masculine, aggressive, and socially mature, while light stubble was preferred for both short and long-term partners. In other words, anyone who wore some type of facial hair was found to be more attractive in general.
A study published in The Royal Society Open Science has found that women are more attracted to men with beards. Almost 1,000 women took part in the study which determined that women preferred men with beards because they found them more physically and socially dominant. It's not all good news for bearded men, though.
Women's current preferences for men's pubic hair
Another survey of 300 women found 64 percent preferred their guys trimmed, 16 percent preferred a clean-shaven man and 20 percent found the natural look best.
A new study shows that facial hair says a lot about a man and that attractiveness peaks at the "heavy stubble" phase. Researchers photographed 10 men at four stages of beard growth: clean shaven, 5-day "light" stubble, 10-day "heavy" stubble (shown), and fully bearded.
4. Full Beard. Looks like you can go full throttle with the beard if 17 percent of 18 to 24-year-old women have a say. 15 percent of the middle group agreed, but an overwhelming 33 percent of the oldest group approved of the long beard look.
Beards appear to (1) make men look more dominant and aggressive (Albert et al., 2020), (2) exaggerate facial expressions of anger (Dixson et al., 2021), and (3) compensate for a diminutive jaw size (Sherlock et al., 2017).
After looking at whether you have patchy or full facial hair, Thad recommends looking at your face shape when determining your beard style. “The goal is to make your head look as oval as possible.” In aiming at an oval shape, you increase your head's overall symmetry and proportionality.
Beards heighten the sense of perceived age, social status and aggressiveness in the observer and those with facial hair are often seen as having a more manly persona.
Beards also impact perceptions of aggression. A research study showed photographs of bearded and non-bearded men with both groups pulling the same aggressive facial expressions, such as scowling and barring their teeth. The bearded men were rated significantly more aggressive and intimidating than the clean-shaven men.
According to studies, beards make a man look older by nearly 8 years. interestingly, the longer the beard, the older you look. So, if you want to look older, grow a beard (or a longer one). If you want to look younger, shave (or trim) your facial hair and use Volt Beard Color to help cover your grays.
Going by the findings of a study, women find men with facial hair more attractive than clean-shaven ones, and think they make better partners in the long run. Maybe it's the time you start investing more in a beard gel than a shaving cream, eh?
Science has shown that there is no link at all between testosterone levels and beard length.
On all of the above studies, the heavy stubble growth of 10 days was rated as the most attractive facial hair type, followed by the light stubble growth of 5 days. Next was the light beard, the full beard, and on average, the clean-shaven face scored the least points.
33.9 percent of participants said a mustache makes a man look more mature, 22.3 said it made him look more masculine, and 26.4 percent just said outright, “It's sexy.”
Most men will have a full beard by their early 20s, but some may need to wait until they hit 30 to reach full beard growth. Puberty might initiate the facial hair growing process, but how fast and thick your beard grows will depend on factors that we'll discuss below, including genetics and hormone levels.
Multiple studies have found that men look more masculine, dominant, aggressive, and strong when they wear a beard. Indeed, men also report feeling more masculine when they have facial hair.
Sporting a clean shaven look makes one appear professional, elegant, and is one of the best ways to highlight your facial features such as a strong jawline among other stand-out facial features. Your face is one of the first things people around you notice and develop an impression about you.
There's also the whole personal taste angle. Some women love a little scruff on the jawline and some just like a clean, freshly shaved look. Whether a person is innately drawn to a beard or likes the feel of it, a partner's preference for facial hair could be as unique as the style of the facial hair itself.