Your Beard Can Say A Lot About Your Desirability As A Partner

To beard, or not to beard? It's a hotly contested debate, both among men and the people attracted to them. Proponents of Camp Clean-shaven sometimes poke fun at bearded guys for being wild outdoorsmen or — gasp — hipsters, while beard lovers sometimes tease their smooth-chinned counterparts for supposedly being less manly (even though we know facial hair doesn't equate to masculinity). As Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson once quipped on "Parks and Recreation," he wore a beard because he was "neither a child nor a woman."

Friendly jokes aside, a lot of men truly are proud of their beards. A survey commissioned by Honest Amish revealed that 75% of the male American participants "feel more confident" when they rock facial hair. What's more, 20% of respondents claimed that they'd "give up sex for a full year" to foster the "perfect beard" (via StudyFinds).

Many male-attracted people also appreciate some scruff along the jawline — as long as they have a few good strategies for preventing beard burn. But this could be more than a matter of personal preference. While personality traits like compassion are obviously crucial to attraction, science tells us that a man's long-term desirability could also be influenced by facial hair.

Romantic chemistry depends on a lot of factors, and the long-term viability of a relationship relies on even more. But looking beyond personal preferences, one 2016 study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology boasts some remarkable data on the overall attractiveness of facial hair. The survey subjects included 8,520 straight or bisexual women who professed an equal attraction to males. These participants were asked to rate attractiveness and relationship longevity based on photographs of men with various amounts of facial hair (more specifically, clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, and full beard). Important to note is that only men of European descent were included, meaning the scope of men tested was quite narrow.

Out of the 8,520 female subjects, all 8,520 preferred at least some facial hair on a long-term partner, whether we're talking a five o'clock shadow or a full-on beard. We'll let that sink in for a moment: That's a 100% success rate for facial hair. Unfortunately, that means clean-shaven guys ranked the lowest of the four groups in all three ratings (overall attractiveness, long-term relationship attractiveness, and short-term relationship attractiveness). But what was the "most attractive" level in the study? Stubble, of course. So, no matter if men can grow light stubble or theirs is a little heavier, they may want to give it a whirl next time they set out on the dating scene.

As with so much in the realm of sexuality and attraction, the preference for facial hair is tied to biology and reproduction. Professor of evolution Rob Brooks — who co-authored the 2016 Journal of Evolutionary Biology study — told HuffPost the popularity of beards is "not surprising given the testosterone pathways are so involved in both dominance and facial hair growth." The study itself explores this idea, stating, "Beards consistently render men with an older, more masculine, socially dominant, and aggressive appearance" and therefore are attractive for long-term partners, as "they indicate a male's ability to successfully compete socially with other males for resources." In other words, folks like bearded men because they look like good providers. Hey there, zaddy energy.

That said, there is such a thing as too masculine. A 2011 study published in Behavioral Ecology found that women preferred overt masculinity in "short-term" partners rather than "long-term" partners. Feminine features aren't any different — as the 2016 study noted, both "extremely masculine and extremely feminine-looking males were least attractive, irrespective of relationship context."

These results highlight another advantage of facial hair, which can hide overly gendered features for a Goldilocks-like "just right" level of masculinity. As the 2016 study puts it, "a full beard ... conveniently masks" features that are unattractive for "long-term prospects." So, unless a man naturally has gender-neutral features, facial hair will almost certainly make him look like more of a keeper — in one way or another (if he's of European descent).