Mesopotamian rulers in 3000 BC proudly donned beards, believing they made wearers look especially brawny. Ancient Greeks only snipped their facial hair in times of grieving. Alexander the Great was clean shaven, fearing his enemies could latch on to his beard amid combat. The first 15 US presidents didn’t have a single strand of facial hair. And backtracking all the way to 30,000 BC, cave paintings portrayed men devoid of beards—it’s assumed these ancient humans rid themselves of unwanted whiskers with flint blades.

There have been some interesting trends over the ages, too. The beardstache, braided goatee and mutton chops are a few styles that have inspired great intrigue—or, great comedy.

Era after era, beards have cycled in and out of popularity. Whether or not men chose to wear facial hair was often determined by religious significance, war reasonings, and individual preference. They’ve held court as everything from a disheveled offense to signs of celebrated divinity.

With modern shaving techniques, it’s easier than ever to swiftly erase any sign of a beard, revealing a face softer than a baby’s backside. But considering the time and, quite importantly, the opinion of the ladies, what’s really better—beard or no beard? Do women find beards more attractive? Let’s divert to female views.

To Beard or Not to Beard

Studies show that facial hair—or lack thereof—can play an overwhelming role in a man’s romantic ventures. And according to human behavior, the reasoning is deeply implanted in our genetic code.

In 2016, the University of Queensland, Australia, decided to evaluate attractiveness, as well as susceptibility to choose a partner for a short or long-term period, based on amounts of male facial hair. The scales were measured at clean shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, and a thick beard.

Researchers comprehensively polled over 8,500 women, who were divided into three groups—the first rated overall attractiveness, the second rated short-term attractiveness (for a quick fling or a one-night-stand), and the third rated long-term attractiveness, or level of interest for a potential life partner—kids, settling down, and the like. Each group of women was provided with photographs of men with different levels of facial hair, and the images were altered to show the same men with either more or less facial hair. Photos of each male were broken down into 16 segments.

The answers were published in the Evolutionary Journal of Biology and varied based on what each woman was looking for. And each group produced a different set of results.

The first group found the sexiest men to be sporting heavy stubby, followed by short stubble, followed by a naked face. Full beards were lowest on the totem pole in regards to overall attraction.

The second group of women rated men with light stubble more attractive on the one-night-stand scale, and heavy stubble followed as the silver medalist. This suggested light stubble is a magnet for a fling, but not for serious romantic ventures.

When it came to long-term commitments, though, opinions switched gears. Men with full beards and heavy stubble came out as clear winners.

Making Sense of the Data

While the research shows clear-cut opinions, a more important factor to dive into is the why. What is the reasoning behind a woman’s attraction rating on the beard scale?

The researchers, including the study’s co-author, Barnaby Dixon, concluded that women looking for a long-term partner saw heavy facial hair as a sign of a “male’s ability to compete for resources.” A full swath of facial hair signals a range of traits, including masculinity, confidence, and experience—and women also rated men with facial hair as appearing older. A full beard implied even more, including traits of aggressiveness and dominance. Researchers note that attraction to these traits is deep-rooted, and genetics are directing women towards an “alpha” that can keep a family, as well as them, safe.

Reproductive Status and Beards

Another study conducted in New Zealand evaluated approximately 500 women in varying reproductive states. The study asked pregnant, premenopausal, postmenopausal, and women close to or in ovulation to rate the attractiveness of men based on their facial hair. The results were telling.

Pregnant as well as pre and postmenopausal women found clean-shaven faces or faces with light and heavy stubble to be more attractive than their heavily-bearded counterparts. And premenopausal women that were in high-fertility days of their cycle tipped the scales towards heavy stubble.

Women in this study that had clean-shaven partners tended to rate clean-shaven men as more attractive—and the same was the case for women with bearded partners. But in this study, the preferences were of subtle variations, and changed only slightly according to hormonal and reproductive states.

Thinking of Shaving or Growing a Beard? Read this First.

Here’s what we know: women like bearded men. Women also like clean-shaven men. They like men with funky goatees. And some women will even tolerate a strange mustache. According to women, some of the most attractive men in Hollywood have beards—we’re talking about Gerard Butler, Bradley Cooper, and the like. But other women think the sexiest men in Hollywood are those with no facial hair—Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, and more.

The answer in attracting women doesn’t wholly lie in your facial hair. While different levels of beardedness will contribute slightly to varying degrees of attraction, your unique facial structure may have an overwhelming say in exactly how much facial hair works for you—and for many, it’s none at all.

Dating and relationship expert and founder of The Modern Man, Dan Bacon, says that a beard, height, and other physical traits are a smaller piece of the overall puzzle. What’s most important regarding attraction, he says, is not about being clean shaven or growing a mile-long beard—it’s about behaviors and personality traits.

So before you take a weedwhacker to your face or search high and low for products to speed up facial hair growth, relax, and let your personality, not your facial hair, do the talking.