Without further ado, we'll dive right into the topic: "Single and free like an ingrown hair, brotherly like a beard..." You know, it's a long story; why do we grow beards?
If you regularly follow our social media, you know that we briefly introduced this topic with this post. Now, we want to delve a little deeper. We won't make it too long, but let's start by getting to the "root" of the matter.
How Does a Beard Form?
Actually, let's not focus specifically on beards at this point. Because at the root of a beard is hair. So, how does hair form?
Hair grows on every part of our body except for the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet. Hairs are located within sacs called hair follicles (roots). There are about 5 million of these sacs in the human body. So, even if we don't look very hairy, our bodies actually have quite a lot of production points. In fact, let us give you a surprising piece of information: after our head, the area with the most hair follicles is our nose. Thinking about legs, arms, and beards, the nose doesn't really come to mind, does it?
Hair growth is facilitated by the androgen hormone. Because this is a male hormone, men have more hair. Of course, we shouldn't forget that genetics also plays a role. Yes, after this brief introduction, we return to the topic of beards.
Why Do Men Grow Beards?
Beards have a long history, just like their wearers. The story begins with prehistoric humans. The sole reason men were bearded back then wasn't just the absence of razors. (If you missed it, let us mention that this article contains product placement.) At least, scientists say there are three other completely different reasons for it:
1) Cold: Well, back then there were no knitted scarves or shawls from mom. In a naked and non-globally warmed nature, winters were harsh, severe, and merciless. The cold slapped one's face like a slap, but thanks to beards, it was possible to get some protection from the cold.
2) Violence: Back then, if someone felt like "punching" someone in the face, they did. The stronger one literally won. In these primitive power struggles, beards not only protected against the cold but also reduced the impact of punches received during an attack. A thick, bushy, and long beard served as a kind of cushion between the fist and the face, we can say.
3) Sexual Selection: Yeees, this also played a part. Because thick beards resembling a lion's mane made jawlines appear sharper. Thus, a man looked stronger, more masculine, and as if he had been injected with testosterone.
Purely driven by the instinct for survival, beards gained a function and took their place as a social status and symbol of power in ancient Indian and ancient Egyptian cultures. Or the Vikings... The Vikings, proud of their appearance, also used their beards as a tool to instill fear in their enemies. Of course, this situation was not limited to prehistory; throughout history, in many cultures and in various forms, beards played a role as a certain indicator in the social or political life of men.
To Grow or Not to Grow; That is the Question
Even though some professions still have restrictive rules due to various regulations regarding hair, beards, and mustaches, growing a beard or shaving is generally more a matter of choice. In other words, it seems more about establishing an image than worrying about protecting oneself from the cold or taking precautions against a right hook. But is that so?
Many studies have been conducted on the role beards play as an individual choice in the world of men and how they are perceived by the opposite sex. While we won't go into all of them individually, let's give a few comparative examples.
Let's not go back too far, just to 2016, and examine the work of Barnaby Dixson and Markus J. Rantala: The study, involving hundreds of women, concluded that women overwhelmingly preferred bearded men. However, there's another side to the coin. Let's look at Michael S. Wogalter and Judith A. Hosie's 1991 study: It found that men who shave are perceived as much younger, more attractive, and more social. Finally, let's discuss another study that tested the idea of putting these two conflicting results into context: In the study by Zinnia Z. Janif, Robert J. Brooks, and Barnaby Dixson, it was observed that if a photograph of a bearded man was shown among many clean-shaven men, women chose the bearded man. This means that a beard is preferred as long as it is a distinguishing feature.
Yes gentlemen, our job is not easy. To shave or to grow, which provides a stronger and more striking image? While searching for an answer to this question, a more evolutionary theory regarding men growing beards also comes to mind: the factor of a man appearing stronger and more aggressive among his peers. This might sound unpleasant to you now, but let's remember prehistoric humans who grew beards because they served as a cushion... The idea that a beard is a symbol of power has not yet been refuted.
For those interested, there are many more studies on this topic. However, even this much is enough to show that a beard is still not just a mere decoration. We don't know which of these theories makes more sense to you, but we'd like to. Which do you prefer: the beard you meticulously care for, or the shave that makes flies slip?
(We mentioned that this article contains product placement.)