Shaved or Stubble? Study Reveals Type of Facial Hair Women Find Most Attractive

OK, as you know, we at MenStuff aren’t about revealing the “secrets” about how to get women. That’s a ridiculous, antiquated concept and we’re more about highlighting the best products, activities, and things we find, try, and discover; and will only post things if there are quantifiable studies behind them, and this is one of those cases.

Australian researchers have discovered that women love a little bit of scruff on their men. This is according to a new study which had more than 8,500 women assess pictures of men’s faces, which were either clean shaven, bearded, or stubbled, and then rate each image for sexual attractiveness.

Images with men featuring any type of facial hair ranked 15-20 percent “more attractive” than images showing clean shaven men.

The reason: it’s said to be due to the fact that women associate facial hair with masculinity.

“Masculinised and, to an even greater extent, feminised faces were less attractive than unmanipulated faces when all were clean-shaven, and stubble and beards dampened the polarising effects of extreme masculinity and femininity,” explains the study. “Relationship context also had effects on ratings, with facial hair enhancing long-term, and not short-term, attractiveness.”

So there we go, women tend to find stubble the winner. And if you’re looking for some beard-trimming and grooming tricks, check out our guide to finding the best beard for your face, and if you want the pros to help you out, check out Cape Town Beauty Bar.

The New York style beauty bar, which is situated in the Cape Town CBD, not only offers, but now specialises in  men’s haircuts, styling and colour, beard shaping and shaving options, and a gents’ facial, which can be added to any treatment or incorporated separately.