Is Your Face Naked and Afraid?

It turns out that bearded faces are quite possibly freer of germs than their clean-shaven counter parts. While some studies have shown that beards may contain more bacteria than bare skin, what kind of bacteria are we talking about exactly? Turns out that beards may hold bacteria that have antibiotic properties. Not only that, but a majority of the beard products bearded men use contain antibiotic properties as well. Research has also found that bare faces are actually more susceptible to harboring infectious bacteria. These types of bacteria are quite often resistant to antibiotics.

There was a study performed that tested a sample of men with and without facial hair using swabs. The results yielded that barefaced men were three times as likely to be harboring infectious bacteria such as staph infection or “MRSA”. They were also 10% more prone to carry Staphylococcus aureus on their faces, which not only causes skin and respiratory infections, but also food poisoning.

Some suggest that such results may be due to the tiny abrasions and cuts that razors cause, and while the bacterial colonization may be similar in men with and without facial hair, it seems that there is identifiable bacterial species that is more rampant in men without beards.

I would also like to add that much like the hair in your nose, the hair in your ears, your eyelashes, the hair on your head, the list goes on and on, the hair on our bodies is meant to protect certain areas of the skin and our orifices from the sun and other harsh elements that humans may come in contact with. Our faces are no different.