Male Facial Hair Research Articles

A Retrospective Analysis of the Association Between Male Facial Hair and the Incidence of Peri-Prosthetic Infections.

Background: The wearing of male facial hair has been undergoing something of a renaissance for a number of years, with medical colleagues in the surgical disciplines being no exception. Meanwhile, there are a few reports in the literature that beards might have an increased bacterial colonization. This study aims to determine if wearing a beard leads to an increased rate of infection in total hip or knee arthroplasty. Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 20,394 primary hip and knee replacements that were implanted at a single university hospital. The rate of infections that occurred within one year after surgery and the surgeons performing the surgery were recorded. The surgeons were classified into clean-shaven and beard wearers. The beard wearers were further classified by individual facial hair styles, namely a moustache, chin beard, round beard, or full beard. Results: The overall rate of surgical site infections 365 days after surgery is 0.75%. There was no statistically significant association between surgical site infection and the presence of facial hair (p = 0.774) or specific beard types (p = 0.298). Conclusions: The results presented in this study show no differences in infection rates across different facial hair styles of male surgeons.

Alexander Maxwell. Everyday Nationalism in Hungary, 1789–1867.

Alexander Maxwell. <i>Everyday Nationalism in Hungary, 1789–1867</i>.

Sexual Selection, Signaling and Facial Hair: US and India Ratings of Variable Male Facial Hair

The objective of this study was to address the putative ancestral social signaling value of male facial hair, in concert with variable cultural meaning. The ability to grow facial hair might have served as an honest ancestral signal of male age, social dominance, strength and health. Male facial hair may also have had signaling value for attractiveness, though these might be less strong than effects tied to male-male competition. Male facial hair can also be modified, giving rise to cultural variation in its potential signaling function. We surveyed N = 252 US men and women and N = 280 Indian men and women, ages 18–25, about sociodemographics and attitudes toward male facial hair. Participants rated a randomized series of nine images of a composite male model with facial hair with respect to: preferred style, estimated age, attractive to potential partners, assertive, physically strong, friendly, and healthy. Types of facial hair were group into three categories: clean shaven, partial (e.g., Van Dyke, soul patch, stubble) and beard. Supporting hypothesized differences, results show that more male facial hair was positively associated with age estimates and negatively with friendliness, and positively related to assertiveness and physical strength. Supporting hypotheses, women preferred less facial hair and rated less facial hair as more attractive. Some sample differences arose, such as Indian participants perceiving greater age range estimates than US respondents. These data indicate patterned variation in evaluations of male facial hair that can be situated within an evolutionary and culturally evolved signaling framework.

A close shave? Performance of P2/N95 respirators in healthcare workers with facial hair: results of the BEARDS (BEnchmarking Adequate Respiratory DefenceS) study

P2/N95 filtering face piece respirators (FFRs) protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from airborne infections. This study assessed the impact of facial hair on quantitative respirator fit in 105 male HCWs, of whom 38 were clean shaven, and assessed the prevalence of male facial hair at the study facility. Only 34 (32%) male HCWs overall achieved an adequate FFR fit, including 47% of clean-shaven men. No full-bearded HCWs achieved a fit. Adequate respirator fit decreased significantly with increasing facial hair (P<0.01 for trend). Facial hair was present on 49% of male employees. This study supports quantitative fit testing prior to P2/N95 respirator use.

Negative frequency-dependent preferences and variation in male facial hair.

Negative frequency-dependent sexual selection maintains striking polymorphisms in secondary sexual traits in several animal species. Here, we test whether frequency of beardedness modulates perceived attractiveness of men's facial hair, a secondary sexual trait subject to considerable cultural variation. We first showed participants a suite of faces, within which we manipulated the frequency of beard thicknesses and then measured preferences for four standard levels of beardedness. Women and men judged heavy stubble and full beards more attractive when presented in treatments where beards were rare than when they were common, with intermediate preferences when intermediate frequencies of beardedness were presented. Likewise, clean-shaven faces were least attractive when clean-shaven faces were most common and more attractive when rare. This pattern in preferences is consistent with negative frequency-dependent selection.

Individual Facial Coloration in Male Eulemur fulvus rufus: A Condition-dependent Ornament?

Researchers studying individual variation in conspicuous skin coloration in primates have suggested that color indicates male quality. Although primate fur color can also be flamboyant, the potential condition dependence and thus signaling function of fur remains poorly studied. We studied sources of variation in sexually dichromatic facial hair coloration in red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur fulvus rufus). We collected data on 13 adult males in Kirindy Forest, Madagascar, during two study periods in 2006 and 2007, to determine whether variation in facial hair coloration correlates with male age, rank, androgen status, and reproductive success. We quantified facial hair coloration via standardized digital photographs of each male, assessed androgen status using fecal hormone measurements, and obtained data on reproductive success through genetic paternity analyses. Male facial hair coloration showed high individual variation, and baseline coloration was related to individual androgen status but not to any other parameter tested. Color did not reflect rapid androgen changes during the mating season. However, pronounced long-term changes in androgen levels between years were accompanied by changes in facial hair coloration. Our data suggest that facial hair coloration in red-fronted lemur males is under proximate control of androgens and may provide some information about male quality, but it does not correlate with dominance rank or male reproductive success.

The effects of facial hair manipulation on female perceptions of attractiveness, masculinity, and dominance in male faces

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of systematic alterations in male facial hair on female perceptions. A within-subjects design employed one condition (facial hair) incorporating five levels (clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, light beard and full beard). All levels were applied to three different facial designs, constructed using FACES software. The resulting 15 male faces were rated by 60 females on various attributes. Male faces displaying a full beard were considered the most masculine, aggressive, socially mature, and older. Males with a light beard were considered the most dominant. Males with light stubble were considered to be the most attractive, light stubble was also preferred for both short- and long-term relationships. These findings are discussed in terms of age preferences and good-genes models.

The shrinking world: skin considerations in a global community

The shrinking world: skin considerations in a global community

The evolutionary significance and social perception of male pattern baldness and facial hair

Both male facial hair and male pattern baldness are genetically based, suggesting that they contributed to fitness. The multiple fitness model provides an evolutionary interpretation of the social perception of male pattern baldness and beardedness in terms of the multidimensional meaning of physical maturational stages. Male facial beardedness is associated with the sexual maturation stage and is hypothesized to signal aggressive dominance. Male pattern baldness, by contrast, is associated with the next stage of physical maturation, termed senescence. Pattern baldness may signal social maturity, a non-threatening form of dominance associated with wisdom and nurturance. We tested these hypotheses on social perceptions using manipulated male facial stimuli. We presented faces with three levels of cranial hair, including full, receding, and bald, and two levels of facial hair, beard with moustache and clean shaven. Consistent with the model, a decrease in the amount of cranial hair was associated with increased perceptions of social maturity, appeasement, and age, and decreased perceptions of attractiveness and aggressiveness. Targets with facial hair were perceived as more aggressive, less appeasing, less attractive, older, and lower on social maturity than clean shaven faces.

Relationship between plasma testosterone and dihydrotestosterone concentrations and male facial hair growth.

Linear facial hair growth and the density of facial hair were measured by a photographic method and their relationship to plasma testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations was examined in twelve healthy men. In addition, we investigated eight men with coeliac disease in whom we have previously demonstrated reversible androgen resistance. The divergence of plasma T (increased) and DHT (decreased) concentrations in this condition enabled examination of possible independent actions of these androgens on facial hair growth. Linear facial hair growth was significantly reduced in coeliac patients compared with controls and correlated with plasma DHT but not with plasma T concentration. Conversely, hair density was significantly greater in coeliacs than controls and correlated only with plasma T concentration. These abnormalities of facial hair growth and hair density appeared more marked in treated patients receiving a gluten-free diet. These findings suggest that T and DHT may have independent roles in the control of male facial hair growth, i.e. T for hair follicle priming and DHT for promotion of linear growth. The relationship between hair growth abnormalities in coeliac disease and withdrawal of dietary gluten requires further investigation.