So what's going on? The researchers suggested that shaving might cause micro-abrasions in the skin "which may support bacterial colonisation and proliferation". But there was another more plausible explanation staring them in the face. That beards fight infection. Well, driven by curiosity we recently swabbed the beards of a random assortment of men and sent them off to Dr Adam Roberts, a microbiologist based at University College London, to see what, if anything, he could grow.
Adam managed to grow over different bacteria from our beards, including one that is more commonly found in the small intestine. But, as he quickly explains, that doesn't mean it came from faeces. Such findings are normal and nothing to worry about. Far more interesting, in a few of the petri dishes he noticed that something was clearly killing the other bacteria.
The most obvious suspect was a fellow microbe. We see microbes as our enemy, but they clearly don't see us that way. Down at their level bacteria and fungi spend their time competing with each other. They fight for food, resources and space. By doing so, over millennia, they have evolved some of the most sophisticated weapons known to microbe-kind - antibiotics.
Penicillin was originally extracted from Penicillium notatum, a species of fungus. The microbe-killing properties of this fungus were discovered by Alexander Fleming when he noticed that a fungus spore, which had accidently blown into his lab from researchers further down the corridor, had killed some bacteria he was growing on a petri dish. So could our mysterious microbes be doing something similar? Killing fellow bacteria by producing some sort of toxin?
Adam indentified the silent assassins as part of a species called Staphylococcus epidermidis. When he tested them against a particularly drug-resistant form of Eschercichia coli E. But beards do take maintenance. Conditioner can help make a beard feel softer, but rinse thoroughly to avoid flaking. And use a comb or brush to remove tangles. Apr 22, AM Author: Office of Public Affairs Beards are a hot trend for men right now, but according to one recent news story, they may cause a hairy health situation.
Claim 4: Beards can make allergies worse. For those with allergies , a bigger beard may protect you from pollutants or allergens filtering into the airway, but there's a catch - if you don't clean out the beard, ultimately these allergens will get into the airways. So if you go out in the day, allergens may be caught in facial hair, but if the facial hair is not cleaned those allergens will follow you around all day and may end up in the airway down the road.
Claim 5: Beards can make you sick. Many claim that beards trap germs and harbor bacteria on the face. This goes back to the cleanliness thing. You can't just trim the beard and facial hair, you need to wash the beard to remove particles and bacteria you've been trapping all day long.
If not, you will have bacteria and particles trapped on your face all day. The Bottom Line Facial hair is a personal preference and everyone should be able to express their feelings and fashion sense. And when it comes to beards, there may be some potentially good and bad health effects, but you can mitigate some of the risks by keeping the beard and facial hair clean. This November your donation goes even further to improve lung health and defeat lung cancer.
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