Beards may contain bacteria which could potentially be developed into new antibiotics, a study has found. Researchers found that clean-shaven men were more likely to harbour infection causing bacteria resistant to antibiotics as compared to bearded men. The student tested swabs from 408 hospital staff with and without facial hair. According to the results, clean-shaven […]

Beards may contain bacteria which could potentially be developed into new antibiotics, a study has found. Researchers found that clean-shaven men were more likely to harbour infection causing bacteria resistant to antibiotics as compared to bearded men.

The student tested swabs from 408 hospital staff with and without facial hair.

According to the results, clean-shaven men are more than three times as likely to be carrying methicillin- restistant staphauerus on their cheeks as their bearded counterparts.

Clean shaven men were also more than 10% more likely to have colonies of Staphylococcus aureus on their faces, a bacterium that causes skin, respiratory infections, and food poisoning. Researchers suggest this may be due to micro-abrasians caused by shaving in the skin, “which may support bacterial colonisation and proliferation”