You've Heard Of Peak Oil?

What about "Peak Beard?"

After years in the cultural ascendancy, covering all manner of faces from Hollywood to hipster-ville, it seems that the beard’s day in the sun might finally be over.

A new study published in the journal Biology Letters suggests that we might have reached ‘peak beard’, with the overwhelming popularity of facial hair meaning that the beard is no longer unusual enough to be attractive.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales found that when test subjects were shown a succession of clean-shaven men followed by individuals sporting anything from light stubble to Charles Darwin-style face-clouds, it was the second group that rated more attractive.

However, the opposite was also true, and when the test subjects (comprising of 1,453 heterosexual or bisexual women and 213 heterosexual men) were shown a succession of photos of men with facial hear, it was the un-bearded individuals that were deemed better looking. Novelty, it seems, is a key determinant in the attractiveness of beards.