Beards a boon for men's health

Beards may never have gone away per se but they are certainly back in vogue.

The number of bearded celebrities to walk the red carpet at this year's Baftas in London, including Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Hugh Jackman, was confirmation enough of the burgeoning trend for facial fuzz.

Such was the cult status of actor Jon Hamm's beard that New York Magazine honoured it with its very own obituary when he shaved it off.

Celebrity comparisons aside, men arguably grow hair on their face for three reasons: laziness, vanity, or in compensation for a lack of the stuff up top.

Now there's another reason for males to discard the razor.

Researchers at the University of Southern Queensland have found beards are also a boon for men's overall health.

Professor Alfio Parisi, whose study of facial hair was published in the Radiation Protection Dosimetry journal, found that beards block 90 to 95 per cent of harmful UV rays, thereby slowing the ageing process and reducing the risk of skin cancer.

Correctly applied sunscreen has a UV protection factor of 30 plus.

Professor Parisi discovered facial hair can have a UV protection factor of 21.

“While beards will never be as sun-safe as sunscreen, they certainly are a factor in blocking UV rays," Professor Parisi said.

The researchers conducted the study by leaving mannequin heads out in the scorching Queensland sun, some with full beards, some with partial facial hair and some completely bald-faced.

The mannequins were regularly rotated to face different directions and the UV exposures to each head were measured.

Yet, medical reason, or no medical reason, we all know a beard screams one thing and one thing only: "I am a red-blooded man."



Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/beards-a-boon-for-mens-health-20130328-2gx1i.html#ixzz2OvXM6RrA