TheFashionForMen – For many men, grooming their body involves a delicate balance between looking like a Neanderthal on a beach, or a member of a flashy boy band. Unlike in previous decades, today’s modern man is very invested in how a man should look or shouldn’t look. For the most part, magazines and pop culture help answer that question, but in certain aspects of style, every man needs to find out what works best for him. Facial hair is a typical example of grooming that has no hard and fast rules. It all boils down to a man’s preferences, and science.
Scientific research can help you know what people are really thinking when they check out your beard. This should help you decide if facial hair is the right choice for you. Generally, people with any facial hair are perceived by society to be aggressive or dominating, and mature. On the other hand, a clean shaven man is perceived to be clean, healthy, and friendly. A man’s beard is a sign of active testosterone and the human brain associates that as indicative of having potential for aggression. That can be seen as a long-standing misconception. However, testosterone might provide other benefits, such as assisting the body in building muscles. That said, it might be common to see bodybuilders taking testosterone boosters from Steel Supplements or similar trusted brands that can help them in their muscle-building endeavors.
One study conducted by J. Archer (2009) titled “Does sexual selection explain human sex differences in aggression?” conducted an experiment which reinforced this. In the study, photographs of bearded and clean shaven men demonstrating aggressive facial expressions e.g. scowling, were compared. Despite all other factors being constant, the men with beards were rated to be much more intimidating and aggressive.
Growing facial hair is a sign of maturity in men. Naturally, it is associated with age and masculinity. Studies have shown that men with noticeable facial hair were identified with maturity, higher social status and power by both men and women.
An extensive study in 2013, conducted by Barnaby J. Dixson and Robert C. Brooks, asked people to rate pictures of one man’s various stages of facial hair growth. The longer the hair was in the picture shown, the more ‘manly’ he was rated. Those with good grooming were rated highly as being more sociable, even though there was no actual interaction to base the judgement on. Interestingly, having a stubble is interpreted by most viewers as a sign of bad grooming. Although this doesn’t mean that a patchy stubble is unattractive, studies have shown that being clean shaven is widely perceived as a good sign of cleanliness, followed by having a beard.
Although a man having facial hair is perceived to be dominant, this may not always be a good thing. A recent study of HR experts by Gillette revealed a strong partiality for candidates with good ‘grooming’. Essentially this means that if you want to get ahead of the competition and cannot be parted from your beard, then impeccably groomed facial hair is crucial. Consequently, investing in quality male grooming products is also fundamental. If you would like some grooming products to keep your facial hair neat and tidy, then you can look at bossmanbrand.com for everything that you could possibly need. The study also revealed that having a stubble was a ‘red flag’ during job interviews. A clean shave or a very neat beard was deemed more suitable, so prepare your razor, do not wear jeans, and choose the right shoes when you plan to attend job interviews.
Unfortunately, whether facial hair makes you more attractive to women is still a matter of personal opinion. Science does not give a definitive answer to this since different girls will give different responses. How your grooming will affect your love life depends on the sort of partner you will find. That said, these are not fixed rules and you are free to groom your facial hair as you please.