ARE BEARDS AS DIRTY AS STUDIES SUGGEST THEM TO BE?

We've all read the headlines 'beards are dirtier than toilet seats!' usually attached to some form of 'study' or so called 'research' which usually is not overly reliable either.

Well, today I wanted to jump right into the deep end so to speak, and challenge such findings discovered on the internet in the hope of squashing them as nothing more than internet rumours and stupid social media hearsay.

So, where did it all begin, and who started the 'poop in your beard' rumour to start with? If you read and believed everything you see on the internet we would be forced to feel like our furry faces are nothing more than bacteria ridden sponges that harvest nothing but nasties, when truth be told, it's not nearly as scary as you'd think it to be.

This so called study began when a Mexican radio station decided to show a rather unusual (and somewhat uncomfortable!) interest in men's beards, so they decided to send out one of their own news anchors to investigate what lurks below the fuzzy facial surface.

The swabs taken came back to show a small amount of a certain bacteria that is also found in human faeces, but not exclusively. But instead of further investing such findings, they decided to over hype the negatives points and went full HAM as the internet soon followed, which in turn only massaged the madness.

Credible news websites reported it, social media shared it, your friends went above and beyond to point the finger at your now so called ''filthy face'' and laughed out loud about it.

The story became so massively exaggerated as reports began to suggest ''scientists'' had reported these findings to be factual. When truth was no scientists were ever involved in the ential so called studies in the first place.

Almost like Chinese whispers on a school playground, word spread like wildfire, until one (of what I assume to be a bearded) fellow had now had about enough of this so called BS (no pun intended).

These new independent findings quickly shown that supposedly 'clean shaven' faces were as equally full of bad bacteria, and in some cases even more filthier than those who sported a beard.

We have discussed this topic before in our 'TBS' beard blog, but since then crappy story has continued to stink and still circulates its way around the interwebs with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Hasn't anybody stopped to think that how clean our faces and beards are may have something to do with our individual hygiene? and may actually differ from one guy to another, bearded or not?

Assuming we are dirty simply because we have a beard sounds a little crazy and over the top in my honest opinion. But what do you guys think? As always take a moment to let us have your thoughts, comments and any feedback that you might have in regards to such a topic.

Do you have a beard related subject you'd like to see discussed in a future 'The Beard Struggle' blog? Let us know in the comments section you'll find below.

And until next time, Beard on Brothers, Beard on...