The Unfortunate Side Effect That Beards May Have Had On Your Hair Growth

Beards are everywhere lately. According to a 2019 survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Honest Amish (via New York Post), 75% of men feel more confident with facial hair and 40% would spend a night in jail if it meant having the "perfect" beard. But it's not only men who find something special in facial hair, so do women. A 2020 study published in Evolutionary Psychology found that 57.19% of women prefer men with facial hair.

As much as beards are currently all the rage, it turns out that having a beard may come with an unexpected side effect. Granted, you may look great, feel better about yourself, and catch the eye of a beard-loving human, but it could possibly lead to baldness. If you're thinking that can't possibly be true and you're checking the date to see if this is some sort of April Fools' Day joke, let's clear up a few things: This is just a hypothesis and there's no guarantee that your illustrious, perfectly groomed beard will result in you eventually going bald, but there's some interesting data behind it. Also, if it did, it wouldn't be the end of the world, because bald can be extremely sexy. Just take a look at Taye Diggs and Stanley Tucci, as well as all the other bald kings out there. 

From an evolutionary standpoint, we have hair on our heads to keep us warm. Thousands of years prior to the trendy Carhartt knit cuffed beanies that so many of us rock, head hair was the next best thing. For men who didn't have hair on the top of their heads, it's been hypothesized that beard growth evolved out of the necessity of keeping men warm, which makes sense considering we do lose about 10% of our body heat through our head, according to a 2008 study published in BMJ.

In modern times, however, it seems that when you add a beard to the equation, it can throw off how the body regulates its temperature. A 1988 study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology found that sweat evaporation in bald men was two to three times higher than in those with hair on their heads when they were exposed to what the study called "light hyperthermia." It was also found that when the evaporation rates of the chins and foreheads of women and unbearded men were measured, they were "practically equal." In bearded men, the evaporation rate was 40% less than the rate measured on the forehead. In other words, although the hypothesis that beards may play a role in baldness as a means to regulate body temperature was supported as a possible explanation on the end of the researchers, that doesn't mean if you have a beard, you'll go bald as a result. 

If you're a man who fears possibly going bald someday, don't. For starters, there's a whole slew of other things that you could be concerning yourself with instead, and secondly, baldness in men, especially as they age, is very common. According to "Endotext" (via National Library of Medicine), 30% to 50% of men will experience varying degrees of hair loss by the age of 50 and a 2023 study published in the International Journal of Trichology found that by age 65, 53% of men and 37% of women will have started balding, with ultimately 80% of men going bald during their lifetime. 

When it comes to hair loss, genetics account for 80% of it, according to a 2017 study published in PLoS Genetics. Other contributing factors of hair loss can be linked to hormonal changes, medical conditions, as well as side effects to certain medications or radiation therapy, per Mayo Clinic. Although rare, hair loss can also be the result of intense shock or emotional stress. Also called "acute telogen effluvium," in these cases, as much as 70% of the head hair is lost in as little as two months, according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.

Takeaway? If you have a beard and you love it, then keep it. If you fear balding, know that it's a natural part of life, and you're not alone. You can't undo your genetic makeup and you certainly can't avoid aging. Learning to love yourself as you are may be a feat for some, but at least it's not wasted energy unlike worrying about the things you can't change.