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One way to determine if men might make a great romantic partner may depend on whether they have facial hair and the effort to maintain it.
A study published last month in Archives of Sexual Behavior suggests bearded men may not only be seeking a female partner but also keeping the one they’re with as well as taking an interest in caring for their children.
“Men having more facial hair reported less mate-seeking motivation, but more mate-retention and kin care motivation,” the authors of the study wrote.
Researchers studied 414 men between the ages of 18 and 40 who reported the current amount of facial hair and how motivated they were to maintain it, as well as “gender role stress, intrasexual competitiveness, and fundamental social motives.”
The study divided men between age and those who maintain very little or no facial hair which requires some effort, and others with a full beard, which requires time, effort, and resources.
“Thus, facial hair enhancement motivation may be related to the desire to present oneself to other people as a resourceful and well-organized person, regardless of the actual length of facial hair. Additionally, people perceive bearded men as older suggesting that men’s facial hair management behaviour may be related to their motivation to appear younger or older compared to their age.”
The study zeroed in on the time men spent taking care of their beards because “growing bushy, unhealthy-looking, or dispersed facial hair may discredit a man rather than give him an advantage.”
Past research has suggested that bearded men are perceived as more trustworthy and friendly, the authors noted. Other studies also said the amount of facial hair was associated with sexual maturity, age, and masculinity.
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“Having more facial hair may be used by men to inform other people that their social motives shift from focusing on mating market to focusing on long-term romantic relationships and family,” the authors wrote.
Researchers also found that clean-shaven men had a “higher motivation to enhance their facial hair” as those who reported more competitiveness in the dating world did not display more facial hair.