Does Having A Beard Make You Look Older?

One of the major concerns you get when you notice your stubble growth is how you’d look. You will soon start to wonder…

Does Having A Beard Make You Look Older?

While many men want to spot a beard, they also want to look younger or hot with a beard on. However, keeping a beard may have you looking some years older. In this article, we consider the truth of this statement and whether you can look youthful with a beard on.

Bearded men across age groups generally look older than clean shaved men of the same age bracket. This is particularly true in their younger years – a bearded 24-year-old man is likely to be perceived as older than a clean shaved man of similar age. Older men tend to look younger when growing a beard mainly because beards cover wrinkles.

Rocking a beard can help achieve various looks.

From covering wrinkles and double-chins in your old age to increasing your perception and appearance.

Older men, in particular, may benefit from growing a beard as it provides a great detraction from balding heads and wrinkled smiles. While you are more likely to look older with a beard on, you may style it in several ways to achieve your intended look.

Does Having A Beard Make You Look Older?

Spotting a beard has always been revered as one of the ‘masculine’ things to do for several years. As a bearded man, you want to keep it stylish and clean.

On the other hand, you are concerned about the older look that comes with keeping facial hair. But do beards really contribute to an older look?

The answer is yes. Keeping facial hair may have you looking older than your actual age. Like other bodily features such as size and height, people may think you older or younger than you actually are.

That may explain why your friend gets into bars and clubs without ID checks. On a serious note, some studies have shown that bearded men may look older than clean-shaved men.

A 2013 study on celebrity looks showed that men looked older with a beard on. Interestingly, the longer or fuller the beard is, the older you appear.

This study featured a panel of 300 individuals who rated celebrity looks with a ‘before and after’ clean shave/bearded look. A scientific study also corroborates this fact, cementing the fact that beards may contribute to an older look.

Consequently, a 43-year-old bearded man will look older than a clean shaved man of the same age.

Why Do Men Look Older With Beards?

Understandably, having (or not) facial hair impacts your appearance, but why does it translate to being older? Generally, growing your hair gives you a more ‘mature’ look, and beards are no different. The following are some of the reasons why you may look older as a bearded man.

1. Clean shaves and fresh cuts naturally connote the look of younger men, but that is due to societal inclinations. Because beards only grow as you get older, we are wired to consider bearded men older than clean-shaven men of similar ages.
2. Another reason why men look older with beards is greying and beard style. Your beard hairs may begin to change color as you age. Spotting a grey beard is synonymous with older men and will make you look older than your colleagues. You can also achieve an older look by dyeing your facial hair. By doing so, your ‘cool dad or uncle’ status needs no further introduction.
3. The type of beard you keep is also essential. If you keep long beards and they aren’t well-trimmed, you will begin to look older—the same holds for full and round beards. While being bearded has men looking older due to these factors, not all men look older with a beard. Keeping neatly trimmed and clean beards can make a man look younger. Especially when he has a ‘baby face’. If you desire to add a few years to your look, you should try growing your beards longer or fuller.

Do you want to keep a beard without graying or looking older? Not to worry, we have got you covered.

Can A Beard Make You Look Younger?

It is not all bad news with keeping a beard, though. You can grow your beard to achieve just any look you want. And that includes looking younger.

The beard type and style may be the difference between looking older and achieving a younger look. As you get older, your jawline’s definitive appearance begins to wane. Growing a trimmed beard can enhance your jawline’s appearance and make you look younger.

Beards can make you look younger if they are dyed the right color. If your beard grows gray, dyeing it black or dark brown will make you look more youthful. In addition to color, the quality and condition of your beard are essential to achieving a younger look.

Treating your facial hair with products like beard oil will make it softer and less scruffy. An older man with a neat beard will look better than a younger man with scruffy sideburns. Less fuller beards also contribute to a younger appearance.

You can channel your beard into scar masks and wrinkle-proofs to make you look younger.

A neat beard effectively hides sunburns, scars, and lip wrinkles. Another way your beard can make you look younger is by detracting from other facial features like a long forehead, balding head, or double/weak chin.

Other factors that combine with beards to make you look younger include exfoliation and moisturization. It is important that you take care of the face wearing the beard to achieve that youthful look.

Read Also: Are Gray Beards Attractive?

Exfoliation helps to remove excess oils from the skin around the beard, preventing acne breakouts and scarring. Moisturization also provides UV protection for the face, as beard oil does to your facial hair. These practices, combined with growing a trimmed beard, will make you look younger.

Will A Beard Make You Look More Attractive?

Beards may be considered as our body’s natural makeup as they hold the key to enhancing our looks. Because they can be styled in several ways, beards contribute to overall physical appearance and attractiveness.

A tidy and well-groomed beard will certainly look the part, enhancing your attractiveness in the eyes of suitors, friends, and strangers. However, our individual preferences mean that some humans prefer, and find, clean shaved men more attractive.

This peculiarity is replicated in two diverse results of scientific studies on whether beards make you look more attractive as a man. In 2012, a study geared towards gauging the impact of facial hair on impression formation found that women and men generally hold a positive rating for bearded men in terms of physical appearance.

Another research into the influence of beards on male attractiveness “showed participants a suite of faces, within which we manipulated the frequency of beard thicknesses and then measured preferences for four standard levels of beardedness. Women and men judged heavy stubble and full beards more attractive…”

Researchers found that the ten-day stubble was constantly chosen as attractive by women.

On the other hand, a paper on the “evolutionary significance and social perception of male pattern baldness and facial hair” found that women may not necessarily find you more attractive as a bearded man.

The study “presented faces with three levels of cranial hair, including full, receding, and bald, and two levels of facial hair, a beard with mustache and clean-shaven.

Consistent with the model, a decrease in cranial hair was associated with increased perceptions of social maturity, appeasement, and age and decreased perceptions of attractiveness and aggressiveness. Targets with facial hair were perceived as more aggressive, less appealing, less attractive, older, and lower on social maturity than clean-shaven faces.

It may be confusing for the average human to find two diverse results for similar scientific studies. However, this is the scientist’s reality. And just like the scientist, you’ll have to find what study is more relevant to your objective.

Read Also: When Does Beard Stop Filling In, Developing

While the general scientific consensus is that beards may cause you to look older, it also means they have an undeniable impact on your appearance. Thus, you may style your beards in several ways to make yourself look even more attractive.

Looking Attractive With A Beard On?

The following are some of the tips for looking youthful and more attractive with a beard.

• Take Care Of Your Beard: Your beard is a carbon reflection of how much care it gets. If you want to look attractive with a beard, products like trimming scissors, beard oil, shampoo and comb are essential. Regular washing and leave-in growth oils also help in keeping a lush and healthy beard that’s free from itches and bumps.
• Beard Styling: To look more youthful and attractive, you must pay attention to your beard style. Thankfully facial hair grows thicker and fuller as you age, allowing you to try different looks and styles. Factors to consider when choosing a beard style include head shape and facial structure. If you have a broad forehead or round cheeks, a full beard can make you more attractive. Oval-shaped faces combine well with shirt sideburns and long goatees. For more ideas, you can read our post on beard styles here.
• Lastly, it is important to keep your beard well-groomed. As you probably know or experienced in puberty, a haughty beard adds some extra years to your age. However, keeping your beards cut and well-trimmed gives you a clean and more youthful appearance.

Proper beard styles, care mechanisms, and regular trimming are essential steps in your journey to looking attractive with a beard on. The most important factor in this journey is patience. It takes some time to achieve the ‘perfect’ look, and you should be ready to run the full course.

Do Beards Make You Look Thinner?

If you are a fat guy with a round face, a beard will definitely you help look much more attractive and thinner. This happens both because beards cover double chins but also because a beard (depending on the beard style) can make your face look more angular.

The reality is that facial hair can change the way others look at you entirely.

In my opinion, if you are a fat guy and you are able to grow a nice beard just do it.

It will instantly boost up your confidence and make you feel better.

Will Beards Age Your Skin Faster?

There is a widespread myth that facial hair age your skin faster.

I can’t understand exactly how they back their opinions but I imagine they think so because a beard can cause several problems like irritation, skin dryness, etc.

However, the reality is different.

Facial hair protects your skin. According to several studies, it doesn’t allow 90-95% of UV rays to reach your skin preventing wrinkles.

To sum up, there are several factors that contribute to skin aging but facial hair growth is not one of those for sure.

Conclusion

Science asserts that clean-shaven men look younger than their bearded contemporaries. Indeed, beard growth may cause you to look older, but there are several methods (like those above) of achieving a youthful and charming look like a bearded man.

However, these methods all depend on genes, grooming, beard care, and preferred style. You could cut some years off your current look and age with the proper beard style.

And…that’s it for today’s article. I really hope you found it helpful and interesting.

Have any questions or you just wanna share your thoughts on the subject? Leave us a comment below, and we’d make sure to respond.

Until next time,

Stay safe,

Tasos