To Beard or Not to Beard?

Research Shows Clean-

Shaven Workers May Shed More Bacteria from
Their Faces Than Bearded Ones
(https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/postings/2015/05/to-beard-or-not-to-beard.php)
To beard or not to beard?
We asked the physicians.

University of Utah research finds beards do contain bacteria- but that's not all.

While there is bacteria found in beards- just like the rest of the human body- it's
not harmful. In fact, research conducted in part by University of Utah physician Samuel
R.G. Finlayson, M.D., M.P.H. found that certain bacterial species were more
prevalent in clean-shaven workers. Surprised?

Possible reasons include tiny infections left from small cuts sustained while shaving,
leading to bacteria colonization and proliferation. When asked about the study,
Finlayson stated it turns out that clean shaven healthcare workers may shed as
much or more bacteria from their faces than bearded ones.

Whats in Your Beard?

(https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2016/june/whats-in-your-
beard?linkID=Title&utm_campaign=PAT-PCP-Newsletter-6035-June2016&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua)

Not only were the bearded men less likely to harbor bacteria than their clean-shaven
counterparts, Dr. Kovarik says, but the clean-shaven men actually had higher rates of
certain bacterial species. This was attributed to micro-trauma to the skin that occurs
during shaving, which could support bacterial growth.

Are beards good for your health?

(http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35350886)

The beardless group were more than three times as likely to be harbouring
a species known as methicillin-resistant staph aureus on their freshly
shaven cheeks. MRSA is a particularly common and troublesome source of
hospital-acquired infections because it is resistant to so many of our current
antibiotics.
To Beard or Not to Beard? Bacterial Shedding Among
Surgeons.
Parry JA, Karau MJ, Aho JM, Taunton M, Patel R.
Abstract
Beards in the operating room are controversial because of their potential to retain and transmit
pathogenic organisms. Many bearded orthopedic surgeons choose to wear nonsterile hoods in
addition to surgical masks to decrease contamination of the operative field. The goal of this
study was to determine whether nonsterile surgical hoods reduce the risk of bacterial shedding
posed by beards. Bearded (n=10) and clean-shaven (n=10) subjects completed 3 sets of
standardized facial motions, each lasting 90 seconds and performed over blood agar plates,
while unmasked, masked, and masked and hooded. The plates were cultured for 48 hours
under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Colony-forming units (CFUs) were quantified,
expanded, and identified. Overall, the addition of surgical hoods did not decrease the total
number of anaerobic and aerobic CFUs isolated per subject, with a mean of 1.1 CFUs while
hooded compared with 1.4 CFUs with the mask alone (P=.5). Unmasked subjects shed a mean
of 6.5 CFUs, which was significantly higher than the number of CFUs shed while masked
(P=.02) or hooded (P=.01). The bearded group did not shed more than the clean-shaven group
while unmasked (9.5 vs 3.3 CFUs, P=.1), masked (1.6 vs 1.2 CFUs, P=.9), or hooded (0.9 vs
1.3 CFUs, P=.6). Bearded surgeons did not appear to have an increased likelihood of
bacterial shedding compared with their nonbearded counter parts while wearing surgical
masks, and the addition of nonsterile surgical hoods did not decrease the amount of bacterial
shedding observed.

Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

PMID: 26942473 DOI: 10.3928/01477447-20160301-01

[Indexed for MEDLINE]