Birchbox Man

Study Shows Women Find Beards Less Attractive than Bare Faces. Bummer.

Unfortunate news, fellas. Despite the overwhelming popularity of beards these days, recent research from Canada has found that ladies prefer clean-shaven faces. The study, led by psychologist Paul Vasey from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, included 200 women from New Zealand and Samoa and was published in the journal, Behavioral Ecology.

While this comes as something of a blow, there is a positive side: Vasey found that men with beards are generally associated with higher social status. Also, when the study’s participants were shown photos of bearded guys making “aggressive expressions,” subjects perceived them as “more aggressive” than bare-faced guys with the same agressive expression. So, yeah, the takeaway here is that if you’re looking to exude aggression and be less attractive to woman but also boost your social status, rock the whiskers. Confusing? Definitely. We say just be yourself—or as Russell Simmons might put it, “Do You!“—and the ladies will dig your style.

If you’ve got a beard, we do recommend maintaining sharp and clean facial hair lines. Try Jack Black’s Beard Lube, an all-purpose pre-shave treatment, shaving cream, and aftershave.