Some might say that a man’s life can be divided into two parts: the part when he has a beard, and the part when he doesn’t. Personally, I tend to go clean shaven because facial hair gets crazy itchy, but I’m also quite lazy about shaving, so I have been known to sport some stubble at least.
But dang if some dudes don’t weave their facial locks into their very identity, trimming it up on the regular and treating it with special oils and lotions and musks.
If you ever doubted how strongly some dudes feel about their facial hair, look no further than this study of what some men would be willing to give up in exchange for the “perfect beard.”
A good one-fifth — that’s 20% — of men would be willing to sacrifice a year of sex to grow the perfect beard.
At least, that’s according to a study done by One Poll; it was a sort of “what would you do for a Klondike bar” situation, but for beards.
The study, done on behalf of Honest Amish, asked a barrage of questions of 2,000 Americans to find out just how desperate they are to grace their faces with ideal follicles.
The one thing most men would be more willing to do than anything else to get their beard rocking is to spend a night in jail.
A full 40% of respondents said they’d gladly spend the night behind bars if it would benefit their beards.
Just behind the slammer, 39% said they’d give up coffee for a year.
Which seems like almost as bold a statement as saying you’d give up sex for a year. Almost.
A surprising 38% of men were even willing to spend the entire day standing around at the DMV.
Seems like a bit of a trick question, because any and every trip to the DMV involves standing around all day, amirite?
And 18% of respondents said they’d shave their heads just to get the proper beard.
Honestly, sounds like a fair trade to me.
But then, none of this is actually necessary to grow a beard, just a cold-faced sign of desperation for the naked chins out there.
However, in what may be the most telling stat from the poll, women don’t seem to care quite as much about a man’s beard as men themselves do.
Only 63% of women respondents said facial hair made a man more attractive, compared to 73% of men. And 60% women worried that men weren’t taking care of their beards well enough.
Keeping up the good grooming habits is worth while, too.
“When looked after properly though, half of women surveyed even said they would be more likely to accept a date from a bearded stranger than if he were clean shaven,” an Honest Amish rep told the NY Post .
While the majority of women did prefer some facial hair, 47% said they liked a clean shaven face the best.
The other facial hair styles most women found attractive were a short beard at 35%, followed by light stubble at 31%, medium stubble at 29%, a couple of days’ growth at 27%, and a full beard at 23%.
h/t: Study Finds , NY Post
