Beards keep men healthy and handsome, researchers say

The age of the lumbersexual is here to stay. Contrary to negative claims, researchers from the University of Southern Queensland, insist that a thick, rugged beard makes a person healthier and handsomer, reports Mental Floss.

The research team carried out a study in 2012, left a group of mannequins, some bearded and some bare-faced, under the harsh sunlight of the Australian outback. After comparing the amount of radiation absorbed by each subject, they discovered that beards blocked 90 to 95 percent of the harmful UV rays from the faces of the mannequins. In fact, this level of built-in protection in human beard-owners can also successfully slow down the aging process and reduce the risk of developing skin cancer.

Men’s Journal quotes Alfio Parisi, one of the scientists on the study, saying that, “The percentage of UV blocked to the skin depends on the thickness and angle of the sun. ... Provided the beard is of reasonable thickness, I do not think there is a need to slather sunscreen over the beard due to the protection it provides.”