Men with beards carry more germs than dogs, worrying study reveals

It is a trend that 44 per cent of British men sport, but it seems that having a beard could come with some disgusting side effects.

A new study by Switzerland’s Hirslanded Clinic has revealed that men with beards carry more germs than dogs .

In the study, the team sampled the beards of 18 men, as well as the necks of 30 dogs.

The analysis revealed that nearly half (7) of the beards sampled contained germs known to be dangerous to human health.

Meanwhile, all 18 men had high microbial counts in their beards, while just 23 of the dogs did so.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday , Professor Andreas Gutzeit said: “The researchers found a significantly higher bacterial load in specimens taken from the men’s beards compared with the dogs’ fur.”

While the findings might have some men reaching for the razor, it’s important to keep in mind that the study had a very small sample size, and larger studies are needed to verify the findings.

Previous studies have actually found that having a beard is good for you in many ways.

One recent study revealed that beards could actually offer men protection from the sun's damaging UV rays, while another revealed that women find men more attractive when they have beards.