Editing Beard (section)

==Biology==
The beard develops in human males during [[puberty]]. Beard growth is linked to stimulation of hair follicles in the area by [[dihydrotestosterone]], which continues to affect beard growth after puberty. Dihydrotestosterone also promotes [[Hair loss|balding]]. Dihydrotestosterone is produced from [[testosterone]], the levels of which vary with season. Beard growth rate is also genetic.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Randall VA |title=Androgens and hair growth |journal=Dermatol Ther |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=314–28 |year=2008 |pmid=18844710 |doi=10.1111/j.1529-8019.2008.00214.x |s2cid=205693736 |doi-access=free | issn = 1396-0296 }}</ref>

===Evolution===
[[File:Baerte ohne text.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Different types of beards: 1) Incipient 2) Moustache 3) Goatee or Mandarin 4) Spanish-style 5) Long sideburns 6) Sideburns joined by a moustache 7) Style Van Dyke 8) Full beard.]]

[[Biology|Biologists]] characterize beards as a [[secondary sexual characteristic]] because they are (mostly) unique to one sex,<ref>"The Battle of Stamford Bridge" ''1066 Mosaic DVD'', n.d. Accessed May 3, 2025. </ref>
yet do not play a direct role in reproduction. [[Charles Darwin]] first suggested a possible [[evolution]]ary explanation of beards in his work ''[[The Descent of Man]]'', which hypothesized that the process of [[sexual selection]] may have led to beards.<ref>{{cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles |title=The Descent Of Man And Selection In Relation To Sex |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2004 |page=554 }}</ref> Modern biologists have reaffirmed the role of sexual selection in the evolution of beards, concluding that there is evidence that a majority of women find men with beards more attractive than men without beards.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dixson |first1=A. |title=Sexual selection and the evolution of visually conspicuous sexually dimorphic traits in male monkeys, apes, and human beings |journal=Annu Rev Sex Res |year=2005 |volume=16 |pages=1–19 |pmid=16913285 |last2=Dixson |first2=B |last3=Anderson |first3=M |doi=10.1080/10532528.2005.10559826 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Geoffry F. |chapter=How Mate Choice Shaped Human Nature: A Review of Sexual Selection and Human Evolution |title=Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology: Ideas, Issues, and Applications |editor-last=Crawford |editor-first=Charles B. |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1998 |pages=106, 111, 113 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Skamel |first=Uta |chapter=Beauty and Sex Appeal: Sexual Selection of Aesthetic Preferences |title=Evolutionary Aesthetics |editor-first=Eckhard |editor-last=Voland |location=New York |publisher=Springer |year=2003 |pages=173–183 |isbn=3-540-43670-7 }}</ref>

[[Evolutionary psychology]] explanations for the existence of beards include signalling sexual maturity and signalling dominance by the increasing perceived size of jaws; clean-shaved faces are rated less dominant than bearded.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Puts | first1 = D. A. | title = Beauty and the beast: Mechanisms of sexual selection in humans | doi = 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.02.005 | journal = Evolution and Human Behavior | volume = 31 | issue = 3 | pages = 157–175 | year = 2010 | bibcode = 2010EHumB..31..157P }}</ref> Some scholars assert that it is not yet established whether the sexual selection leading to beards is rooted in attractiveness (inter-sexual selection) or dominance (intra-sexual selection).<ref>{{cite book |last=Dixson |first=A. F. |title=Sexual selection and the origins of human mating systems |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |page=178 |isbn=978-0-19-955943-5 }}</ref> A beard can be explained as an indicator of a male's overall condition.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Randy |last1=Thornhill |first2=Steven W. |last2=Gangestad |title=Human facial beauty: Averageness, symmetry, and parasite resistance |journal=Human Nature |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=237–269 |doi=10.1007/BF02692201 |year=1993 |pmid=24214366 |s2cid=24740313 }}</ref> The rate of facial hairiness appears to influence male attractiveness.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Barber |first=N. |title=The Evolutionary psychology of physical attractiveness: Sexual selection and human morphology |journal=Ethol Sociobiol |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=395–525 |doi=10.1016/0162-3095(95)00068-2 |year=1995 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Etcoff |first=N. |title=Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |year=1999 |isbn=0-385-47854-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/survivalofpretti00etco }}</ref> The presence of a beard makes the male vulnerable in hand-to-hand fights (it provides an easy way to grab and hold the opponent's head), which is costly, so biologists have speculated that there must be other evolutionary benefits that outweigh that drawback.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zehavi |first1=A. |last2=Zahavi |first2=A. |year=1997 |title=The Handicap Principle |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/handicapprincipl0000zeha/page/213 213] |isbn=0-19-510035-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/handicapprincipl0000zeha/page/213 }}</ref> Excess testosterone evidenced by the beard may indicate mild [[immunosuppression]], which may support [[spermatogenesis]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Folstad |first1=I. |last2=Skarstein |first2=F. |title=Is male germ line control creating avenues for female choice? |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=109–112 |year=1997 |doi=10.1093/beheco/8.1.109 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>Folstad and Skarsein cited by {{cite book |last=Skamel |first=Uta |chapter=Beauty and Sex Appeal: Sexual Selection of Aesthetic Preferences |title=Evolutionary Aesthetics |editor-first=Eckhard |editor-last=Voland |publisher=Springer |year=2003 |pages=173–183 }}</ref>