It seems that we're fans of the aul bitta facial hair.

Of course, it's what's on the inside that counts, but if we had to put a face on that internal beauty, we'd prefer if it had a beard, thanks.

That's according to a study from the Journal of Evolutionary Biology which investigated women's preferences around facial hair.

Along with asking about their preferences, they showed 8,500 women pictures of men as they grow out facial hair, from clean shaven to full-on beards.

The subjects were then asked to rate the men on their 'boyfriend potential'.

The results were:

• Men with heavy stubble were the winners with the largest amount of first preferences, while second place was full-on beards and those with a small bit of stubble came third.
• Every participant said they preferred some sort of facial hair over being cleanly shaven.

What say you? Do you prefer running your fingers through a beard or caressing a smooth face?

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