Bearded men are more likely to be ready to settle down than those with less facial hair.
Men could be more likely to grow a beard when they’re ready to settle down
Researchers from the University of Katowice, Poland, asked 400 men between the age of 18 and 40 with different levels of facial hair what their “social motivations” were - including maintaining a long-term partner - and the scientists found that men with bigger beards were more likely to be relationship-orientated compared to their clean-shaven counterparts.
Speaking to The Times, the team said: “Regarding fundamental social motives, men having more facial hair reported less mate-seeking motivation, but more mate-retention and kin care motivation.
“Having more facial hair may be used by men to inform other people that their social motives shift from focusing on the mating market to focusing on long-term romantic relationships and family.”
Scientists asked the group to rank certain life goals in order of importance, and the team found those with more facial hair had a “higher willingness to form coalitions and to affiliate”.
Professor Peter Jonason - who co-authored the study in the journal ‘Archives of Sexual Behavior’ - explained: “They are less likely to have a fast life history strategy and instead, tend to invest in others both romantically and familially.”
The research also found older men tended to have more facial hair than younger men, with the team adding their results corresponded to previous studies that showed “people perceive men with more facial hair as older.”