Hey Colorado, How Clean Is YOUR Beard?

Beards have always held a fascination for many people.

Maybe dad or granddad had one of those cool beards that go all the way to their belly, or maybe a brother or uncle has one of those neatly trimmed, nice looking beards.

But are they clean?

A recent study done in Switzerland suggests beards may have more bacteria and bugs than dogs do. They studied the beards of 18 men ages 18-76 and the necks of 30 dogs and what they found would make me want to shave my beard off if I had one.

Every single beard tested contained bacteria. And in more than a few of them, the microbe counts were so high they could be considered a threat to human life.

The whole thing was started on a study to find out if men's beards could transmit diseases from dogs and wound up noting the dog's fur was cleaner than the beards of men.

Pogonophobia is the fear of men's beards. After a study like this, it makes sense.