We’ve all been subject to the verbal assault that beards are filthy; home to bacteria with accusers going as far as perpetuating claims that beards are filled with human feces! Although we knew that those claims were a far stretch from the truth, a recent scientific study carried out in an American hospital has come to bearded mans’ defense in a more concrete way.
During this study, which was published in the Journal of Hospital Infection, researchers took swabs of the faces of 408 hospital staff, both with and without facial hair.
Guess what they found?
The faces of the clean-shaven folks were the ones with the bad bacteria. Those individuals were three times as likely to be hosting MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a bacteria responsible for several very difficult to treat infections.
How is this so? According to this study, daily shaving causes microscopic abrasions that allow bacteria to colonize and multiply.
Better yet, they determined that beards provided protection against infection. Though beards can be a host to bacteria, the reality is bacteria from feces was not a likely candidate to be found. More remarkably, there was something fighting and killing off the bad bacteria. So sure, you can find bacteria in a beard, but according to this study it’s a beard full of healthy bacteria that could possibly one day find their way into the development of antibiotics.
Does this mean that there will be any miraculous medical discoveries involving beards in the near future? Doubtful. But when people try to beard shame you with ridiculous claims, point them in the direction of this article, because after all, we really do BEARD BETTER!