Winter is upon us and for many men, growing a beard can help keep your face warm.
However, one expert actually claims that having a facial hair could be good for your overall health.
2
2
TikTok is a platform for posting to your ideas Dr Karan RajanA beard is better than no beard.
He cited a 2014 study which compared hospital workers without and with beards.
“It found that clean-shaven faces were three times more likely to carry MRSA”Dr Rajan stated.
MRSA, a deadly superbug of bacteria, is extremely difficult to treat.
It is easy to spread in hospitals, and it becomes more difficult to treat with each infected patient.
The bacteria is carried on the skin, inside the nostrils, and into the throat.
It can lead to mild skin infections such as impetigo and boils.
If the bacteria gets into a break in the skin it can cause life threatening infections.
Dr Rajan explained that this could have made these workers more likely to contract MRSA. “Shaving creates micro-abrasions, which are perfect breeding grounds for this bacteria.”
He said, “Beards can give you super soft skin.”
“This is because the beard helps protect the skin beneath from the sun’s damaging rays.
“But your beard acts as a barrier and prevents you from touching your skin constantly around the face.”
“This stops you accidentally rubbing off the oils produced by your sebaceous glands which keep your skin oiled and moisturised.”
Dr Rajan explained that having a beard can reduce the chance of skin cancer and sunburns in areas where you have been bearded.
He stated, “There is evidence to show that having facial hair reduces UV exposure by a quarter compared to clean shaven face.”
“Although facial hair can lower the risk of skin cancers like melanoma, you shouldn’t ditch the sun cream”He said so.
FACIAL FUZZ
Previous reports have shown that bearded men are more susceptible to germs than dogs. This includes deadly bacteria in the facial fuzz.
Researchers found that almost half of all beard samples contained bugs that could pose a threat to human health.
Last year’s study was designed to assess whether humans could contract a dog-borne illness from an MRI scanner that was also used by vets for their examinations.
In examining the beards of 18 men and the necks of 30 dogs from a number of breeds, scientists found that even hounds had lower levels of microbes than the beards surveyed.
Professor Andreas Gutzeit, of Switzerland’s Hirslanden Clinic, said: “The researchers found a significantly higher bacterial load in specimens taken from the men’s beards compared with the dogs’ fur.”
We will pay for your stories
Are you a Central Recorder reporter?