There's no single "best beard" as it's subjective, but recent winners of the prestigious World Beard and Moustache Championships include Trevor Mustafa (2025 Best in Show) for his bushy black mane, and MJ Johnson, known for his massive 12-year-old beard, often featured as the "world's best" for his dedication. Other contenders often cited are celebrities like Jason Momoa, Jeff Goldblum, and historical figures like Abraham Lincoln.
According to statistics, the stubble beard style is considered by women to be the most attractive of them all. On the contrary, the mustache and the goatee beard style are considered to be the less attractive beard styles.
Here are the Top 4 Countries with the Best Facial Hair Genetics: 1️⃣ Iran 🇮🇷 2️⃣ Bangladesh 🇧🇩 3️⃣ Italy 🇮🇹 4️⃣ Turkey 🇹🇷 Whether it's the sharp edges of an Italian beard, the dense and bold look from Iran, or the refined styles often seen in Turkey, these countries have set global beard standards.
Rudolph Martino from Alabama now officially has the Guinness World Record for longest beard.
The study confirmed that “intermediate” beardedness is what most women find the most attractive in a man. Conversely, a man with a full beard is better perceived to be a father and provide security and protection to their family.
Once again, the results showed women were more attracted to those who had some sort of facial hair. This graph shows data from the 2016 study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology showing that facial hair of any kind is more attractive than a smooth clean shaven face.
The 3-month beard rule is a guideline to let your beard grow untouched for 90 days to assess its natural growth, thickness, and potential, overcoming the itchy, patchy "awkward phase" (weeks 2-6) where many men quit too early. This commitment allows slower hairs time to catch up, revealing true density, filling in thin spots, and giving you enough length to decide on styling, making it ideal for seeing what your beard can truly become before making shaping decisions.
Again, how fast this progresses can be very different from person to person. You might have trouble growing your beard until the age of 28 and then enjoy a nice full beard for many years to come. Or you might see it losing thickness at an alarming clip after 35.
The perfect beard length depends on your face shape and personal style. For most men, 10–20mm (about 3/8 to 3/4 inch) is the sweet spot. It is long enough to look full but short enough to stay neat. It is versatile, low-maintenance, and almost universally appealing.
Beards are enjoying widespread popularity with a renewed surge to prominence among Australian men.
Mechanical properties vary among different ethnicities. Asian hair demonstrates the highest hardness and elastic modulus, followed by Caucasian and African hairs, respectively.
Your genetics play an important role in your hair quality but there are also lifestyle factors that come to play. A nutritious diet, grooming your beard, and applying medical treatment can all optimise the growth of your beard.
Indeed, augmented attraction to facial hair is sometimes the case, with a study on the female perception of men with beards revealing that women rated heavy stubble as the most attractive, ahead of full beards, light stubble and clean-shaven faces.
Idris Elba
Idris wears the kind of beard that makes you wonder if yours is even a beard. It's full through the jaw, faded into the cut, and shaped like he trims it before breakfast and forgets about it the rest of the day. Never patchy, never overdone — just solid, clean growth that looks like it belongs there.
Put simply, in an average amount of cases, a full beard will add roughly 8 years of age to your appearance. Whether you consider this a good thing or not is up to you! Most men who ask the question about whether facial hair of any kind make you look older are likely teenagers who desire a mature look and appearance.
Although testosterone is a possible cause of poor beard growth, it's important not to overestimate the role it has in the development of facial hair, as the inability to grow a beard is much more likely to be down to genetics.
What Foods Help Beard Growth?
Beards never stop growing. However, individual hairs reach a maximum length, fall out, and begin the growth cycle again. In addition, there is a host of factors that can change growth rate, full length, and length in general.
Given what information we have, it is unlikely he was clean shaven. The simplest reason is that Jewish religious law stipulated that observant Jewish men should not cut or shave their beards.
Women's preferences for beards vary, but studies and surveys often point to heavy stubble or short, well-groomed beards (like a 10-day growth) as highly attractive, signaling masculinity, maturity, and good parenting potential without seeming unkempt. However, some women prefer a clean-shaven look, while others like longer, neatly maintained full beards, emphasizing that grooming, confidence, and what suits your face shape are crucial, as patchy or messy facial hair is generally disliked.
An Evolving Beard, A Consistent Statement
The so-called “Keanu Reeves patchy beard” became a signature look, one that resonated with fans who saw in it a relatable, unpolished charm. Despite the speculation, Reeves' beard has always maintained a natural, somewhat inconsistent pattern.
Each November, you might notice more men sporting new mustaches or letting their beards grow wild — but it's not just a style trend. It's part of Movember, a global movement dedicated to raising awareness about men's health issues, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention.
Some people can even take a few more years to grow a beard. It can even delay up to the early 20s to get the increased facial hair coverage. And in most cases, one can have a full beard growth by the 30s. So, you must wait until your 30s to confirm that you can't grow a beard.
Does Trimming or Shaving Help Your Beard Grow? A widespread belief is that regular trimming or shaving stimulates faster and thicker hair growth. But here's the truth: this is a hair myth. Trimming or shaving doesn't affect the biological process of hair growth.