Bearded beaus will be pleased to know that women deem them the most fitting long-term partner, according to a new study.
The research, conducted by the University of Queensland, Charles Sturt University and the University of New South Wales, observed how 8,520 women responded to images of clean-shaven, stubbled and full-bearded men.
From their findings, researchers were able to decipher who the average woman considers to be the most attractive fit.
“The idea behind the research was to find out how beards affect male attractiveness to females in long term relationships versus short term relationships,” researcher Dr Danielle Sulikowski told news.com.au.
Which Brad do you prefer?
The group of women were shown four photographs of 16 different males, all at different stages in their facial hair growth, and asked to prove ratings on their level of attraction.
“There were four different stages — clean-shaven, five days’ growth, 10 days’ growth and a full beard,” Dr Sulikowski said.
The participants rated men with no facial growth to be the least attractive, while citing men with stubble as the average ideal.
“Stubble was considered the most attractive — more attractive than beards and more attractive than a clean shaven face — but men with beards were considered more attractive than clean shaven men.”
‘Hey girl, do you like my stubble?’
Luckily for Ben Affleck, he looks handsome with both a beard and some light stubble.
However, it should be noted that stubble was only considered the most appealing option for a short-term fling; when it came to going the distance, most women preferred a full beard.
“Our findings suggest that beardedness may be attractive when judgeing long-term relationships as a signal of intrasexual formidability, and the potential to provide direct benefits to females,” said lead researcher of the study, Dr Barnaby Dixson.
“Relationship context also had effects on ratings, with facial hair enhancing long-term, and not short-term, attractiveness.”
Do you agree with the study’s findings?
