A lot of trends fall out of style and don’t ever come back (R.I.P. wide-leg jeans), but it looks like beards have made a solid comeback. So solid, in fact, that a recent survey found that one in five men would be willing to give up sex for an entire year if it meant growing the perfect beard.
Did they really think about what they were signing up for?
The survey, conducted by beard grooming brand Honest Amish via OnePoll, asked 2,000 Americans how they felt about facial hair. It specifically asked male respondents how far they would be willing to go to get the perfect beard. A whopping 22 percent said they would give up sex for a whole year if it meant growing a full, lustrous beard. Shockingly, more men were willing to give up sex than shave their heads—only 18 percent said they would shave their heads for a full beard.
The other lengths men were willing to go to? Forty percent said they would spend a night in jail, 40 percent said they would give up coffee for a year, and 38 percent said they would stand in line at the DMV for a full day.
Full beards looked like they were falling out of style in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, but they’ve become hugely popular today. Now, 73 percent of men surveyed said they think beards make men look more attractive. Meanwhile, only 63 percent of women agreed. However, half of the women surveyed admitted they would be more likely to accept a date from a stranger with a beard than without.
So, what exactly does the perfect beard entail? The biggest complaints men had about their facial hair was uneven growth (50%), slow growth (44%), patchiness (42%), uneven color (31%), and beard color that doesn’t match their hair (26%).
Unfortunately, giving up sex or coffee for a year won’t have any effect on your facial hair, but you can at least rest assured that that’s not the most attractive feature. Focus on flexing your funny bone—72 percent of respondents said sense of humor is the most attractive quality in men and women.
