You may have noticed a rising trend – skincare, grooming, and fashion accessory products are not just for the ladies anymore! Gentlemen, you have stepped up your game and are buying more grooming products than ever…
To that end, one of the fastest growing trends of the past year has been the growth (yes, pun intended 😉) of the beard! While scruffy beards are still seen (and not just in the growing stage, but more deliberately scruffy), the fully-grown-out and well-groomed beard has become popular not only with millennials, but with older men as well who are reverting to the days when proper grooming is important, even with more casual dress.
What is growing in my beard?
While there is a new plethora of grooming products and tools for the well-bearded man, there is also an ongoing debate: Is your beard a hiding ground for bacteria or not? While you can help keep that nasty biofilm from your tongue by cleaning it daily with your TUNG Brush and Gel, what do you do about the germs that may be nesting under the chin?
Well, first of all – there is an ongoing debate about whether or not beards really DO hide germs. Several years ago, an informal study (using the term “study” loosely) seemed to suggest that there were more germs in beards than in the average men’s room. BUT WAIT! Don’t go shave your beard just yet, guys. This “study” was the result of an Albuquerque news crew swabbing some beards and testing the swabs for bacteria. Hardly the most scientific study, but worthy of further investigation. Since the chins of clean-shaven men were not swabbed, how could anyone really make a comparison?
The answer may be revealed!
In 2014, a study in the Journal of Hospital Infection was released. The researchers compared the germs found on the clean-shaven faces of and in the bearded chins of 408 men. And they found no distinctive difference in the germs found! Growing a beard did not apparently present a health hazard.
However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t care for your beards, guys. Because as with every other part of your body, hygiene is important. So keep your beard clean and combed…it will be less likely to provide food for the local birds that way 😉 and will be so much softer to the touch (and the kiss!)
