Benefits And Reasons Why You Should Grow A Beard

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OK, let’s face it; there are certain characteristics that makes a man a real man and they are easy to spot from a distance – powerful, courage, strength, reliability, charisma, being self-assured (to name a few) and, of course, a kick-ass beard. It’s not the man that makes the beard but, rather, the beard that makes the man and without the presence of badass facial fur all other qualities become inconsequential.

Beards, by themselves, carry the ability to speak for themselves and lay testament to the power, status, wisdom and style of the man that carries it. It has a pre-eminent power that demands respect and we all know that men with beards carry a certain air of cultured, refined finesse and know what they want, where they are going and how to get there. So, the choice is yours; are you going to be the clean shaven effeminate wimp or are you going to rise from the masses and allow your beard to shape you into the real man that you deserve to be? We all want to be bad to the bone and sporting a beard of epic proportions is the way to attain that.

Here are some surprising reasons and benefits why you should start growing, grooming, stroking and loving your beard that just happens to be condensed awesomeness.

1 – Women dig it, love it and become entranced by your face carpet

Bearded model

A beard makes you look more attractive

In a society where we are taught to shave from the age of 15 and are conditioned to believe that we need to be clean shaven in order to look respectable in the eyes of society – and women – we listened and we shaved. But, alas, as with all other generations and beliefs in the past, this has been proven to have been a ludicrous notion and completely incorrect – as all men with beards can attest – but in the same sense we (the bearded men) have been fortunate and given a huge advantage with the opposite sex. Not only does your beard exude masculinity and power but women are used to the hairless androgynous males of today and when a man with a beard enters the room, he fills it with his presence, and immediately all attention is on him.

There’s a certain sparkle in the eyes of a woman that lays her eyes on the bearded man; she’s intrigued, entranced and drawn to it like a moth to a candle flame. Even women that proclaim that they don’t like beards can’t help but be interested in them; they want to touch them, stroke them, possibly frolic in them. To them, it opens a new vista of exploration.

A study conducted by the University of New South Wales found that beards drastically affect the socio-sexual attributes of a man and how women perceive the said man. The study had women and men view pictures of various men during 4 different stages of beard growth; clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble and full beard. The conclusion was that women perceived heavy stubble as the most attractive but perceived the full-bearded men as more reliable, better fathers and better protectors. They also found that the masculinity increased linearly with beard size. Like we said, beards are just tough and it works with the ladies.

Kip from Napoleon Dynamite with a Beard

Actor Aaron Ruell with and without a beard

Case in Point: Beards are just better – from creepy, voyeurish dweeb into a real man.

2 – Builds up protection against allergens

Another excellent reason why you should grow a beard and this one is related to health. Your nose hairs trap more than just dust but also function as filtration system that traps and dispels dangerous pollutants that might enter your airways. Strange as it seems, your beard does the same which just lends credence to its fierceness. According to Dr. Clifford W. Basset, the medical director of Allergy and Asthma care of New York, the more hair you have under your airways – a.k.a the more epic your beard – the more pollutants get snared and kept out of your airways which leads to a reduction of allergies and can even help prevent asthma by trapping dust particles and dust mites.

Deborah Waddell, lead clinical advisor at Asthma UK, corroborates Dr. Bassett’s statement and says that a beard or moustache can act as a “Thames Barrier” for the airways and prevent foreign particles from entering them. However, she also says that since these particles get trapped, our man fur needs to be cleansed regularly. The benefits of growing a beard just keep on coming and this isn’t even the only one.

Luciano Pavarotti without a beard

When you hear Luciano Pavarotti’s name, a bearded look pops in your head

Luciano Pavarotti; one of the greatest opera singers of our time and you might think that he has a great voice or a humongous pair of lungs and we’re here to tell you that no, no, it isn’t one of those things. It’s because the man has his own personal air filtration device ON.HIS.FACE!!

3 – Protection against the sun, lowers chances of skin cancer and helps in keeping your skin youthful

The University of Southern Queensland did a study to find out how much of an effect beards have on the amount of UV radiation that reaches our skin from the sun. The astonishing result, which was published in the Journal of Radiation Protection Dosimetry, found that up to 95% of UV radiation was blocked by bearded faces. This means that grand beards have a direct effect on the prevention of basal-cell carcinomas (which happens to be the most common form of cancer) and it is interesting to consider that 4 out 5 cases of skin cancer in men occur on the face, head or the neck. Not only does a beard have a direct effect on minimising cancer but it also keeps you young.

The sun is also to blame for up to 90% of the visible signs of ageing and thus, if you have a decent face carpet, your skin will be kept looking young and vital. However, it is always a wise choice to still apply sun lotion when heading out into the sun for a day since your forehead doesn’t gain the same benefits as the bottom of your face. So, if you have a beard, slowly stroke it with appreciation and thank it for keeping you safe from all those dangerous UV’s and if you don’t, we highly suggest that you start growing one ASAP and start thanking it for the future protection that your beard of focused epic-ness will grant you!

4 – It makes you more masculine and gives you the appearance of being healthier

Italian bearded model

A bearded look enhances your masculinity

This one is a no-brainer but yet an important point to touch upon. As we have said earlier, men with beards carry a certain air of cultured and refined finesse about them but that’s not the only facet of masculinity that gets enhanced. It demands respect from men and women alike because a man with a beard carries the testament of a man that decided to put down the razor and stick it through to the end. The bearded man has the look of a man that carries his wisdom with him; it’s the look of the intellectual, the professor, the doctor, the guru and the man that has a tale to tell. The beard truly does speak for itself but not in the beginning; the early stages will be a battle but allow it to mature and you will find that you, yourself, mature with it. A beard speaks of power, triumph, direction and when things go sideways, the bearded man is who people turn to because the beard speaks of the man a story of action, clarity and solutions. As your beard grows, you come to learn more about yourself; you will find that it changes your mindset and you will come to see yourself as a critical decision maker that exudes strength and creates his own destiny. This transformation of consciousness forces you into the alpha mindset which increases your self-confidence, determination and discipline; it sets you apart from the rest. A man with a well groomed beard is not a man who is to be second guessed – he makes his decisions and sticks with them. He carries his strength and masculinity with him wherever he roams and it’s on display for all to see it. A man with a beard is not to be trifled with. A beard is also the sign of a warrior, the sign of honour, sexual virility and it’s well placed as such. A study published in Behavioural Ecology found that bearded men appeared more intimidating to other men. Researchers theorize that it could be the fact that a beard accentuates the jawline which in turn makes a man look more aggressive when he’s angry. Guess no robbing will take place if you sport your beard in the middle of night. Another brownie point with the ladies; they need to feel safe. A prime example of beard derived masculinity. Fidel Castro went from smooth skin boy to bad-ass bearded man with the power to carry out a revolution.

Fidel Castro without a beard

A beard gives you a more authoritative appearance

5 – Your beard is guaranteed to give you a blemish free skin by preventing razor rash, acne and ingrown hairs

Razor rash, acne and ingrown hairs are something that we all detest. The hours of scratching our itchy faces and even contemplating the use of a cheese grater or sand paper to relieve the never-ending itching has been a curse upon us all at one stage or another but by growing a beard you will never have to worry about this again. No more razor rash makes for a happier man. Apart from the razor rash, there are many of us that suffer from acne and pimples; at times they can even lead to unsightly scarring. With a beard this will not be a problem anymore since your beard will not only cover as camouflage for any scars but also prevent it from ever occurring which will boost your confidence. When we shave we irritate the skin and effectively break the protective barrier of our epidermal layers which in turn allows various bacteria to enter into the microscopic wounds; when the subaceous glands (oil glands) in our skin get infected by acne vulgaris bacteria the end result is acne, spots, pimples and folliculitis (inflammation of the hair follicle) and nobody wants that. Not only does putting the razor down have that effect on our skin but our beards provide us with a secret weapon; that weapon being, natural skin moisturiser. Beards prevent us from rubbing off our natural skin moisturiser and even protects our faces from wind burn.

6 – Beards keep us warm during the winter

Beard keeping a man's face warm during winter

It is better to have a beard during bone-chilling winters

Not only do beards protect us from wind burn but we have all experienced those bitterly, bone-chilling cold winters where we have nothing to protect our faces with and we prayed for warmer weather or a scarf to materialize out of thin air but with your epic beard you never have to worry about that again. Your beard is guaranteed to keep your face warm, even in the coldest weather and as a best friend, while you thank it, it speaks back and says, “Don’t worry, I got you, buddy”.

George Lucas without a beard

One of the greatest film directors of all time opted for a bearded look

Look at this guy; George Lucas. Instead of shaving, he utilized his time and directed Star Wars. In other words, growing a beard that speaks for itself has the potential to make you a billionaire.

7 – You are wasting 139 days of your life shaving

Yes, that’s right; a staggering 139 days of your life goes down the drain (literally) because you shave. Dr. Herbet Mescon from Boston University calculated that if a teenager starts shaving at the age of 15, then in his 55 years or so years of shaving, he will spend an approximate 3,350 hours at this task. This equates to 139 full days and it doesn’t include the thousands of dollars that gets spent on razors, shaving creams, lotions etc. We can guarantee you that there are much better things to do with your time. For instance…

Best Beard Grooming products on Amazon

Beard Grooming products available in Europe here

Also interesting:

1. 10 DIY Beard Oil Recipes

2. Honest Amish Beard & Body Soap

SourcesMirror.co.uk | Fox News | Thought Catalog | BuzzFeed


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