It wasn’t that long ago that we were reading about how beards contained dirt and food (we’ll admit, we made Himself shave that day).
But it seems that we were too quick to judge beards as a new study has found that clean-shaven men are more likely to be carrying germs such as Staphylococcus aureus (more commonly known as staph infection).
Published in the Journal of Hospital Infection, the findings were gathered from 408 healthcare workers whose “facial bacterial colonization rates” were monitored.
It seems that while the data was similar for bearded and non-bearded, certain “bacterial species were more prevalent” in those without facial hair.
While no explanation has been found, we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place: we’re either putting our face on something that’s full of germs or something that irritates our skin!
