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Growing a Jamie Dornan-esque beard might not be the wisest move if you’re on the lookout for a mate. Sincere shock horror.
A recent survey of 100,000 young men on carpal thumb enabler, and dating app, Tinder has found that 74% of clean-shaven men received approving right swipes, while bearded survivalists remained on the digital shelf.
Now, the study was carried out by Gillette, a razor company, so our this-is-slightly-sketch antenna are primed. Yet, 100,000 men is quite the sample. While we’re not too sure what big data means, can we outright call it a lie?
Tinder and Gilette also tried some a/b testing, because we’re living in the year 2015. Bearded users of the app were asked to keep tindering for a week with a bearded profile photo. They were then asked to shave and try out barefaced profile pictures. On average, men experienced a 19% increase in right-swipes. A quarter of these guys saw their approval ratings rise by at least 60%. These before-and-after photos were shown around a campus and 91% of the 284 female students asked preferred the clean-shaven men.
These intriguing statistics might indicate that the age of peak beard is ended, but what about inescapable sex symbol Jamie Dornan and the rise of the rugged Lumbersexual man? There’s even an app to connect single ladies with beards and their owners. Bristlr was launched last October by a bearded 28-year-old software developer in Manchester and boasts 60,000 sign-ups.
So while data may say no more scruff, our hearts and ovaries are asking “But what about Charlie Hunnam’s beard?”
Where do you stand on the great beard debate?
Follow Jeanne Sutton on Twitter @jeannedesutun
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