Is the Beard Trend Over?

Priya Rao


Are beards over?
Are beards over?

Just when we were getting used to seeing beards everywhere, it may be time for men who enjoy the attention of the opposite sex to invest in some shaving paraphernalia. In a new University of New South Wales study, researchers found that "when people are confronted by a succession of bearded men, clean-shaven men become more attractive to them."


SEE MORE: The Most Adorable Pictures of Prince George on the Australia/New Zealand Royal Tour



Researchers studied 1,453 bisexual and heterosexual women and 213 heterosexual men, who were shown 36 images of men's faces. The first 24 pictures were a mixture of bearded and non-bearded men; the last 12, however, showed clean-shaven and bearded men. They then ranked their attractiveness on a scale of minus four to four. According to The Guardian, "The more beards they'd already seen, the less attractive subsequent beards were, and vice versa with clean-shaven men."


SEE MORE: All of Kate Middleton's Looks on the Australia/New Zealand Tour


Researcher Robert Brooks said, "It appears that beards gain an advantage when rare, but when they are in fashion and common, they are declared trendy and that attractiveness is over. The bigger the trend gets, the weaker the preference for beards and the tide will go out again. We may well be at peak beard."

Well it looks like everyone from sometimes-bearded Jake Gyllenhaal to always-bearded Zach Galifianakis need to break out their razors (they can keep their other hipster accoutrements). The end for beards is in sight.


See more from Vanity Fair:
Inside theVanity Fair Oscar Party
15 Men's Essentials for Spring
Kate Middleton Hates the $1 Million Renovation to Her Home