Why the beard is still in

So beards have been all over magazines, blogs and the red carpet this year but most women still hate them. But not, Ellie O’Byrne, a unapologetic beardophile

It’s all too common for women to roll their eyes at the forest of manly facial foliation that’s sprung up in recent years, but I have a suspicion I’m not really alone in being delighted by the trend for men to grow a “full set” and wear it with pride.

David Beckham had to shave or face a kissing ban from Victoria Beckham in March. In May, a pseudoscientific story that beards had been found to contain fecal matter went viral, despite the story later being debunked by offended beard fans. Graham Norton, Brad Pitt, Roy Keane and heck even George Clooney have bearded up but many female columnists continue to bemoan the beard, claiming they’re unkempt, distasteful and uncomfortable to kiss.

Call me a cavewoman, but I’d prefer the tickle of a full beard against my skin than the painful sandpaper-like rasp of kissing a partner with five o’clock shadow. I asked some female friends, but not many would own up to sharing my pogonophilia (the correct term for a love of beards).

Warnings emerged in 2014 that we may have reached “peak beard”. A study by researchers in the University of New South Wales (UNSW) revealed that, in an example of “negative frequency- dependent sexual selection”, women responded more to bearded men in a line-up of clean-shaven men, and vice versa. Presented with a never-ending procession of hipster beards, researchers hypothesised that women would opt for novelty factor and choose clean-shaven men. The idea was that men would quickly cotton on to the shift to get their shift.

David O’Gorman set up www.lovelybeards.com last year after noticing the prolific social media interest in celebrities like hirsute UK model Ricki Hall, whose beard is his trademark. Part online community, part e-business (O’Gorman has his own range of natural beard grooming products, including scented oils and waxes, that he sells through the site), lovelybeards.com has taken off; after six months in business he picked up an award for best use of Instagram at the Social Media Awards 2015.

O’Gorman thinks attitudes have changed so much towards beards that they’re here to stay. “In business or work environments it was never acceptable to have any kind of facial hair, but now businesses are open to their employees having beards,” he said. “Years ago, if people saw a guy with a beard they’d think, ‘God, they look homeless,’ but now you meet people from all sectors with beards; solicitors, radio presenters, artists. Beards are going nowhere.” There’s a generational aspect to our beard tolerance. In the supermarket, I asked the cashier who was scanning my groceries. A middle-aged lady, she grimaced in disgust. “Oh, no,” she said.

“They’re horrible. A small bit of designer stubble is ok, but do you know what I really hate? Those big ginger ones.” Hmm. Obviously not a Conor MgGregor fan, so.

Roy Keane, David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Graham Norton

and Ricki Hall all showing pride in their manly charms.

Apparently, lovelybeards.com has a dedicated following amongst women too. “Some girls give out about their boyfriend’s beards when they start growing them but they come back with positive comments. I think some women pretend to hate beards because they think it’s expected but deep down they love them,” O’Gorman said.

Societal norms aside, there are countless studies documenting the primal reasons why women respond to facial hair. In short, a beard lets the ladies know how much testosterone a man is packing.

Another study from the frankly beard-obsessed researchers at UNSW in 2013 found that out of 10 sample pictures of men with different levels of facial hair growth, 351 heterosexual women rated clean shaven men as least attractive. Men with a 10-day beard growth scored the highest.

I called another friend. To my delight, Jean responded without pause: “I love them. Have you googled Bord Bia Man?” I googled Bord Bia Man. Apart from the obvious appeal of a man who wields a carving knife with manly ease, having himself seasoned and cooked the lamb to perfection, he also demonstrates a firm handshake, an earthy connection to nature and a beard.

It’s a little too short and Bee-Gees-esque for my liking, but Jean stands firm: “It’s a perfect beard. Nice and thick, but still groomed.” Perhaps the real appeal of the beard is that it allows men to muscle in on the formerly female-dominated territory of personal grooming without losing their sense of masculinity? David O’Gorman agrees. “It’s one of the only things that men are very proud of about their appearance,” O’Gorman said. “A lot of the guys on the site have gained confidence in themselves since growing their beard, or maybe they’ve lost a bit of weight, or met a new partner.” With male depression and anxiety rates soaring and with reported rises in other image-related problems such as eating disorders and body dysmorphia affecting young men, surely a bit of a confidence boost and some pride in their masculinity is no bad thing.