“First of all, I wish I could grow a beard.”

John Hodgman, Comedian

Advantages & Disadvantages of Having a Beard

You think about growing a beard but are not sure whether this is indeed the right choice for you or not?

I personally have a beard and will show you all the pros and cons of having a beard in the following chapters so that you can better decide if you want to let it grow as well.

Advantages of Having a Beard

1. You can protect your skin from UV exposure
2. Having a beard will make you look more masculine
3. Many women like men with beards
4. Men tend to respect you more
5. Your overall level of authority will increase
6. Growing a beard can be fun
7. You can hide scars and other blemishes behind a beard
8. Beards help you to express your personality
9. Your face will feel warmer in winter
10. Growing a beard enables you to change your look quite often
11. You can even color your beard
12. Protection against microorganism or bacteria
13. Beards can make you look wiser
14. Growing a beard can boost your level of confidence
15. Having a beard can help you look like your idol
16. You don’t have to shave that often
17. Good compensation for losing a bet

You can protect your skin from UV exposure

One advantage of growing a beard is that you can protect your facial skin from excessive sun exposure.

You will not have to use sunscreen on the spots in your face that are covered by your beard since those spots will be protected in an entirely natural manner through your facial hair.

This means that you have to use less chemical sun protection and can just enjoy your time in the sun much more.

Sure, you should still not forget to use sunscreen or other protective measures for the spots that are not covered by your beard to avoid unpleasant surprises 😉.

Having a beard will make you look more masculine

Growing a beard will also make you look much more masculine.

Especially if you have a rather feminine appearance and want to look stronger and more serious, growing a beard can be an excellent way to do so since you will look more masculine in a completely natural manner and don’t have to work for it that much as for many other measures like going to the gym.

Many women like men with beards

Since you will look more masculine with your beard, women will automatically be more responding to your appearance.

In fact, many studies have found that men who had beards looked more attractive to women compared to men who had no facial hair at all.

Sure, this also depends on the look of the individual beard.

Yet, if you manage to wear a three-day beard or a longer beard that is still nicely groomed, chances are that you will also have an easier time in the dating market and more mating options in general.

Men tend to respect you more

Not only women will react to you in a more positive manner, also men will respect you more on average.

In fact, many leaders wear beards and you will just look more competent and authoritative compared to someone who doesn’t have any facial hair at all.

Consequently, growing a beard can also help you in case you lack authority in your circle of friends and want to get a higher social status in the future.

Your overall level of authority will increase

In general, by growing a beard, your overall authority in society will increase as well.

Many people will not admit it, yet your beard will intimidate them a little bit and they will be less likely to mess with you if you have plenty of facial hair since you will just secretly convey the message that messing with you is just not a good idea.

Growing a beard can be fun

It can also just be quite a lot of fun to grow a beard.

On the one hand, you can surprise your family and friends with your new look.

While some of them will not like it, others will love your new cool look.

On the other hand, it can also be pretty nice to look in the mirror and see your masculine face looking back at you.

You will also often be surprised by how much having a beard can change your overall appearance and you will also learn how to play with your look a little bit more in the future.

You can hide scars and other blemishes behind a beard

Another upside to growing a beard is that you can hide blemishes and scars on your face.

You might have been borne with those unpleasant visual characteristics or had an accident and have to live with them right now.

While it would probably be better to just accept how you look in the long run, growing a beard may help you in the short run to overcome your insecurities and to have a better life in general.

Beards help you to express your personality

Beards can not only look pretty nice, they will also be helpful to express your personality.

You can wear a beard in various different shapes and forms.

In fact, opportunities are endless and you may even invent a new beard shape that nobody had before.

In turn, you may become a real trendsetter and can also share your style via social media or on forums.

Your face will feel warmer in winter

Another benefit of having a beard is that your face will just feel much warmer in winter.

If you have a thick beard, barely any cold air will reach your facial skin on those spots and this can give you a pleasant heating opportunity for your face without the need of protecting your skin with a scarf in winter.

Growing a beard enables you to change your look quite often

You also don’t have to wear the same beard type forever.

In case you are just no longer happy with a specific type of beard, you can just change it and go for a longer or shorter variation of it.

You can also get some inspiration on the internet by searching for the most popular beard choices in the world.

Chances are that you will find the beard look that fits best to your individual preferences sooner or later and you should not give up on growing a beard in case you haven’t found the optimal choice yet.

You can even color your beard

If you are the adventurous and outgoing type of person who really wants to be in the spotlight, you could also even color your beard and give it a nice green or red look.

I admit, this is only for a certain group of people who don’t care about the comments of others at all and you don’t have to do that.

Yet, if you really want to take a stand and want to raise awareness of certain problems, chances are that a colorful beard can be the starting point for plenty of discussions.

Protection against microorganism or bacteria

Beards can also protect you against harmful microorganisms and bacteria.

In fact, beards have been meant to protect our skin and our immune system from those microorganisms and you can just use this fact to your advantage by growing a beard since your likelihood of becoming sick may decrease.

Beards can make you look wiser

Many researchers have also found that men with beards look much wiser compared to men who don’t have any facial hair at all.

This is quite intuitive since men with beards generally look older and we subconsciously connect knowledge and wisdom with age.

Hence, the older we expect someone to be, the more we tend to listen to him when we want to get useful advice for our lives.

Growing a beard can boost your level of confidence

Growing a beard can also help you increase your overall level of confidence.

Since people will respect your more and will take you more seriously in general, chances are that also your overall self-worth will increase as well and this can be quite important since a healthy level of confidence is crucial for success in various parts of life.

Having a beard can help you look like your idol

Many rock stars and other famous people wear beards.

Hence, your idol might do so as well.

Thus, by wearing a beard, you may be able to get a similar look like your idol and you may just feel much better due to that.

You can also go to concerts with this look and other people will secretly admire your look and want to be like you.

You don’t have to shave that often

Another practical advantage of having a beard is that you just don’t have to shave that often.

Many people who grow beards just shave their beards a few times a month or even less.

Some of them even let it grow for several months or even years.

This means that you can sleep longer in the morning and don’t have to shave your beard on a regular basis.

Good compensation for losing a bet

Many people also like the concept of growing a beard in return for losing a bet.

In fact, it can be quite a lot of fun to see your friends having to grow a beard who normally would never be the types of people who would grow a beard at all.

Thus, you can suggest this stake for the next time you bet with one of your friends just to make the bet much more interesting.

Apart from the many benefits of growing a beard, there are still some downsides related to it that I will show you in the following.

Disadvantages of Growing a Beard

1. Unkempt beards will deter many women
2. You may have disadvantages in the job market
3. You need some time to trim your beard
4. Skin problems under your beard
5. Not everyone looks good with a beard
6. Growing a beard will make you look older
7. Your happiness should not depend too much on your looks
8. You need the right genetics to grow a strong beard
9. Food may end up in your beard
10. You may sweat more in the face in summer
11. You may just not feel comfortable with having a beard
12. Some people will just not like your beard

Unkempt beards will deter many women

While you might look more masculine with a beard, women will still be grossed out if you don’t take care of your beard in a proper manner.

This means that you will have to wash and trim it on a regular basis to make your wife happy.

In fact, many women don’t like unkempt beards at all and you should really take some time to trim it as neat as possible so that you just don’t look like a homeless person but like a man of style instead.

You may have disadvantages in the job market

Another problem with growing a beard is that you might also have disadvantages when it comes to finding a job. Yes, your beard will look you wiser.

Yet, in some conservative industries like banking and consulting, you will often not see many people with beards and companies may simply not be willing to employ you just due to the fact that you wear a beard.

Sure, this can be considered quite unfair.

However, this is just the reality we live in and you may not want to grow a beard in case you want to work in one of those industries.

You need some time to trim your beard

Even though you don’t have to shave every morning if you grow a beard, you will still need some time to trim your beard and to make it look as nice as possible.

After all, you still want to look attractive with your beard, don’t you?! 😉

Skin problems under your beard

While nobody will basically see it, many people also develop skin irritation under their beards.

Even though you will not have to fear any negative comments from others, you will still suffer itching skin quite often and you should make sure that you are willing to pay this price for your look.

Not everyone looks good with a beard

You should also not expect to look better solely due to the fact that you got a beard.

In fact, many people don’t look better with a beard at all and some of them even look far worse.

Hence, make sure that you are the type of person who really benefits from having a beard.

You can easily check this by asking your friends or by going out and by seeing the overall response from people.

Growing a beard will make you look older

Another disadvantage of having a beard is that you will also look much older on average.

While this can be desirable for people who look very young and want to get a more senior appearance, it can also be rather negative in the dating market since you will often also attract older women who are often less attractive.

Hence, always keep in mind that your senior appearance that comes from wearing a beard will not always be to your advantage.

Your happiness should not depend too much on your looks

It can also be problematic if your level of happiness depends too much on your looks.

What I mean by this is that you should not base your confidence and your well-being on having a beard.

It should rather be based on how you behave and what you achieve in life.

Sure, looking good can help you in various situations.

Yet, it should just not become the gold-standard and the focus of your life in my opinion.

Thus, while growing a beard can be a nice thing, it should not become too important to you and other things should just matter much more.

You need the right genetics to grow a strong beard

While you might think that almost every man can grow a strong beard, this is not true at all.

In fact, many men will just not have the genetics to wear a beard since their beard just doesn’t grow that well.

If you are the type of person who has barely facial hair at all, you will often just be far better off shaving since a weak beard often looks worse than having no beard at all.

Food may end up in your beard

If you are not careful, plenty of food may end up in your beard.

Many people who wear beards are just not aware of this fact since they don’t look in the mirror that often.

Yet, if you have a pretty long beard, eating can become a real problem and you may just look like a mess after your meals.

You may sweat more in the face in summer

While having a beard can be quite comfortable in winter to protect your face against the cold, the opposite can be true in summer since you will tend to sweat much more due to your facial hair.

Hence, you might also decide for growing a beard in winter and shaving in summer to have an optimal balance in this regard.

You may just not feel comfortable with having a beard

While many people love their beards, others will just not feel comfortable with growing a beard at all.

Thus, depending on the type of person you are, you should decide for yourself whether you will be happier with a beard or not.

Some people will just not like your beard

Also don’t think that all people will appreciate your bearded look.

While some people will encourage you to wear a beard, others will just try to bring you down.

Consequently, also make sure that you are emotionally stable enough to deal with negative comments related to your facial hair.

Top 10 Growing a Beard Pros & Cons – Summary List

Growing a Beard Pros	Growing a Beard Cons
Growing a beard can boost your confidence	You have to trim your beard
People may respect you more	Having a beard can deter women
Women may find you more attractive	You will look much older
You can change your look quite often	Problems in the job market
Beards make you look wiser	You will get sneaky comments
Growing a beard can be fun	Your looks should not matter that much
You can look like your idols	Not everyone can grow a beard
Can keep your face warm in winter	Some people don’t feel comfortable
Can protect you against bacteria	Skin irritation under your beard
You can express your personality	You sweat more in summer with a beard

Should You Grow A Beard?

Now that you got all the advantages and disadvantages of growing a beard, you have to decide for yourself whether you want to let it grow or not.

You can also just give it a try and can remove your beard later on if you really don’t like it at all.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beard

https://www.beardbrand.com/blogs/urbanbeardsman/beard-styles

https://www.menshealth.com/uk/style/a759517/how-to-grow-a-beard/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

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