Rumor has it, and experience knows it – there exists no woman on this planet who wouldn’t look twice at a man with a well-groomed beard. Dating 101 guides (the male edition, obviously!) probably have an entire section devoted to perfecting this art. I mean, as a woman, I can definitely tell you that had I been Xerxes, I’d have gifted Gerard Butler’s Leonidas a dozen more Spartas as long as he’d kept that smashing beard of his.

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So, what is it about facial hair that makes women (and some men) go va-va-voom? For one, boys start to look like men. Jawlines get defined, the eyes acquire a sense of innate animal magnetism, and if you’re a guy with a weak chin, a beard is definitely a godsend! Simply put, if you have a beard, your sex appeal as a guy just skyrockets. Psychology experts too have proved that most women find men with a light to medium beard attractive, and that for women at the peak of their fertility phase, increased facial hair directly corresponded to perceptions of enhanced masculinity, dominance, and social maturity. Nature’s call to mate, in short.
But what do you do when you’re one of those unlucky few who just can’t grow one, no matter how hard you try? Or have a scrub jungle instead of a lush Amazonian rainforest? Does this mean that this is the end of all your No-Shave November dreams? Not if this one has its way.