Sex.co.nz

You’ve seen George Clooney and Colin Farrell with stubble.  You may have even thought, “Either grow a beard or shave it off, dude.  You look like you have a dirty chin.”

But these guys may know something that you don’t.

Women go gaga over guys with stubble.

A study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found that women prefer men with stubble or light beards over clean-shaven or bearded men.

Bearded men were perceived as too aggressive, while clean-shaven faces were considered too young.

Stubble, on the other hand, indicated that a man was mature enough to be able to grow a beard but was no Neanderthal, either.

Facial hair has long been a sign of masculinity and dominance.  Growing a full beard not only makes you look aggressive; it also makes you look five years older than you really are, as any 18-year-old male wanting to purchase alcohol can tell you.

Women don’t find bearded men attractive, according to this study, and are unlikely to choose a man with a beard for a short-term relationship.

But being clean-shaven isn’t much of a better option.  Women identified clean-shaven men as being less attractive than men with stubble and a poor option for a long-term relationship.  They also perceived a clean-shaven man to be weak and less masculine.

Men with some facial hair came out on top of all categories, including most attractive and the best candidate for a short-term or long-term relationship.

So put down that razor for a few days and see if the girls take note.  Because there’s one advantage to stubble that the study doesn’t reveal: it’s a heck of a lot less work to shave once a week than to shave every day.