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maybe some men are shaving too much

I grew a beard for the first time in years, since I retired from the Army National Guard recently. My wife wants me to keep it, despite it being mostly white, so it will stay. I keep it trim though, shaving the top of my cheeks and my neck.

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While I can't dispute the results when looking at a group of men, I think this will vary when looked at case-by-case. I grow a pretty solid beard, but all of my ex-girlfriends preferred it when I was freshly shorn. I also tend to get more compliments and attention from women when I am clean-shaven, than when I'm sporting a few months of growth.
 
My beard has turned almost completely white. Normally I would have shaved it off in March as the last of the snow melted, but not this year. I few years ago I developed something called excoriation disorder. It's where a person picks at any bumps or abnormalities on the skin, it's related to hair picking. Mine has left scars on my neck, but my beard covers it up so I have kept it this year. My girlfriend doesn't seem to mind it, but she does tell me when it needs to be trimmed.

Merk
 
I also think it would vary more person to person. Some guys look better with facial hair and some don't. Also certain facial hair styles look better on certain face and head shapes. I think it's mostly about finding what works well for you, and makes you feel comfortable and confident.
 
in their study, they used the some people digitally enhanced each way :001_smile
for hook-ups the stubble was more desirable, and a real beard for marriage :001_tt1:
but maybe this just works on Australian women:001_huh:
i had a beard when i got married, and my wife always wants me to grow it back, but now my hobby in the handlebar. maybe she just wants to see less of my face:001_07:
 
I also had a beard when I got married, and haven't shaved it since. It changes size and shape with the seasons, but I always keep some from of beard and mustache.

At Christmas my twin brother (not identical, but we certainly look like brothers) showed up clean shaven for the first time in 20 years. When we left my wife said don't ever shave that all off. By Easter he was back to a thick circle beard and quite the walrus mustache.
 
I don't tailor my grooming habits to attract women. I keep myself well-groomed as a matter of self-respect. If you go down the rabbit hole of contorting yourself (clothing, personality, grooming, politics, etc.) for the purpose of attracting women, there's no end to it. Let them come to you as you are, as you want to be.
 
Of course women who are looking for a long term commitment look for a man with a full beard. If he has the patience to grow one, he has the patience to deal with anything the ladies can dish out. : )
 
I have a goatee in the summer and a full beard in the winter. My wife and I worked out a deal because she hates the full beard. I had one for almost a year once, and she never let up with the nagging. But, I did make a deal to have a full beard from the first of fall to the first of spring. I shaved completely once in the last 15 years since I met her. She made me promise to never do that again. LOL.
 
So for Australian women, which most of us will rarely if ever encounter, the descending order of preference is:
  1. Heavy stubble (10 days growth)
  2. Light stubble (5 days growth)
  3. Full beard
  4. Clean shaven
The article doesn't mention which came dead last, so I just went by order of mentioning. And if I were a gambler, I'd gladly bet a gazillion dollars that this order would be 4-2-1-3 for American women. I get more dates and second glances when I'm clean shaven, but I'm avoided like the plague with any appreciable amount of facial hair, and I can grow a fairly robust beard. Every woman I know seems to equate facial hair with laziness and apathy towards appearance.
 
I think I can safely say that no matter what facial here I'm donning, it's mostly for me and reflects how I feel, rather than for the ladies!
 
And if I were a gambler, I'd gladly bet a gazillion dollars that this order would be 4-2-1-3 for American women.

This is definitely different person by person. I haven't been in the market for a few years, but when I was, clean shaved was in last place, light stubble was in first, and heavy stubble/beard was somewhere in the middle.
 
I don't tailor my grooming habits to attract women. I keep myself well-groomed as a matter of self-respect. If you go down the rabbit hole of contorting yourself (clothing, personality, grooming, politics, etc.) for the purpose of attracting women, there's no end to it. Let them come to you as you are, as you want to be.

:thumbsup:
 
Last time I went to grow the goatee back it was snow white. Not something I wanted at the time. Due to a job search, I will just keep my mustache - which I have had since October 1981 and keep it trimmed. Perhaps when I become employed again, I might change my mind. But because of how much it ages me, it isn't likely. Having been married since September 1982, my wife has only seen me without the mustache twice. Once when I surprised her by cutting it off when we had been married about 2.5-3 years and once for her family. She asked me to grow it back immediately and I did. She had previous to that only seen me without it in photos.
 
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