The Bearded Bunch – The 2017 World’s Sexiest Men
Beards remain on a roll as we enter 2017. The list of 2017’s 100 Sexiest Men as voted by readers of Glamour includes plenty of facial hair. In fact, eight of the top 10 are sporting beards or stubble. The top spot went to Jamie Dornan who graces the big screen as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. Here’s how the top 10 shapes up:
1. Jamie Dornan (beard)
2. Aidan Turner (beard)
3. Robert Pattinson (beard)
4. James McAvoy (beard)
5. Luke Evans (beard)
6. Chris Evans (beard)
7. Mike Colter (beard)
8. Matt Bomer (no beard)
9. Tom Hiddleston (no beard)
10. Joe Wicks (beard)
Extending our examination to the top 20, we see that 15 have beards or stubble and just five of the top 20 are clean shaven. Overall, 63 of the top 100 celebrity men all had some kind of facial hair.
The results are based on the votes of 80,000 Glamour readers. It appears the beard is here to stay for a bit longer and is far more than just a hipster trend.
So why do the female readers of Glamour gravitate to the beard? In the study, “The masculinity paradox: facial masculinity and beardedness interact to determine women's ratings of men's facial attractiveness,” researchers at the University of Queensland find that women judge men with beards as more attractive than clean-shaven faces for long-term relationships.
The researchers manipulated a series of photos to alter the appearance of male faces -- from clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble and full beards. They also altered features like the brow ridge, cheekbones and jaw line. Then they asked 8,520 women to rate them for physical attractiveness.
When women viewed the images, they found that a beard appears to help make a man's face look more reliable for a long-term relationship even if they have masculine features.
“Masculine faces are judged as more attractive for short-term relationships over less masculine faces, whereas beards are judged as more attractive than clean-shaven faces for long-term relationships,” Dr. Barnaby Dixson, lead researcher, wrote in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology. “Our findings suggest that beardedness may be attractive when judging long-term relationships as a signal of intrasexual formidability and the potential to provide direct benefits to females.”
The story, “Does facial hair make men more attractive?” in International Business Times quotes psychologist and language expert Judi James as saying:
"The bearded male is seen as being stronger and more alpha. Clean-shaven equals equality and youth but the beard signals virility and blatant masculinity. It defines the difference between the sexes and it suggests a desire for alpha power in times of crisis and change."
Unfortunately, not everyone is graced with whiskers that are balanced, evenly distributed and symmetrical, but there is help in the form of facial hair transplantation.
Dr. Bernard Arocha of Arocha Hair Restorathas performed man facial hair transplants over the years. For the most part, they are identical to hair transplants on the scalp. Hair follicles are harvested from areas of dense growth – typically the back of the scalp – and inserted one-by-one to fill in patchy areas in the beard and/or mustache areas. Depending on the patient’s goals, the number of follicles transplanted can range from a few hundred to more than 1,000.
As for Jamie Dornan who tops the Glamour list, he says he hates the way his face looks without a beard. Appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show, he said he look too young without facial hair, and he compared his clean-shaven face to a thumb.
Before and After Images of Facial Hair Transplants
Visit our gallery for the latest before and after results of our facial hair transplant patients.