A recent study by the University of Queensland has revealed that women prefer men with beards for long-term relationships.
The findings, titled The Masculinity Paradox, studied over 8000 women, showing them a range of men’s faces with varying levels of facial hair – from clean-shaven to Santa level. The participants then ranked the images based on their attractiveness for a brief fling and a long-term relationship.
The final conclusion? Apparently, we like a smattering of stubble when looking for a fling, but when it comes to long-term relationships, the full beard is where it’s at.
“Preferences for light and heavy stubble were higher when rated for short-term than full beards and clean-shaven faces,” the findings read.
“Full beards and faces with stubble received higher ratings than clean-shaven faces for long-term than short-term relationships.
While the findings were grim for clean-shaven men, coming in as the last preference on both counts.
This article originally appeared on InStyle.
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