Why you should be dating a man with a beard
Men with beards could be better romantic partners, a study shows…
A recent study has revealed that men with beards might be more stable romantic partners.
The study, published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, examined the "facial hair enhancement motivations" of 414 men aged 18 to 40.
It found that men with beards are less likely to seek new romantic partners and are more content with maintaining their current relationships.
Clean-shaven men reported more "mate-seeking" motivation.
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"Men having more facial hair reported less mate-seeking motivation, but more mate-retention and kin-care motivation," the study stated.
According to The UK Times, study co-author Professor Peter Jonason from Warsaw’s University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski said, "Bearded men are in it for keeps."
"They are less likely to have a fast life history strategy [seeking numerous partners] and instead tend to invest in others both romantically and familiarly," Jonason explained.
The reason? It largely comes down to the care required to maintain a well-groomed beard.
"Beards, as opposed to stubble, [are] difficult and time-consuming to grow. Men with full beards may signal their disciplined nature," Jonason said.
"Maintaining a clean-shaven face requires the effort of frequent facial hair removal," the study noted.
However, "more facial hair requires more effort to keep it clean … regular care of facial hair requires time, effort, and resources. Thus, facial hair enhancement motivation may be related to the desire to present oneself to other people as a resourceful and well-organized person."
The study emphasised that facial hair maintenance is crucial, as "growing bushy, unhealthy-looking, or dispersed facial hair may discredit a man rather than give him an advantage".
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It also noted that some men may grow beards to cover "physical inadequacies".
The authors claim this is "the first study on facial hair enhancement motivation in men" and suggest further research on different beard types beyond clean-shaven skin, light stubble, heavy stubble, and full beards.
Overall, the study found that "having more facial hair may be used by men to inform other people that their social motives shift from focusing on [the] mating market to focusing on long-term romantic relationships and family."
Source: PEOPLE
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