Although beards have a bad reputation as being a breeding place for germs, new research study has discovered that your facial hair may actually fight infection, according to a press release from the BBC.

Throughout the study, which was published in the Journal of Medical facility Infection, researchers swabbed 408 healthcare facility personnel faces, with and without facial hair.

Surprisingly, the results discovered that clean-shaven individuals were most likely to be harboring a huge selection of germs. In fact, they were 3 times as most likely to be bring methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) on their faces.

Why? The scientists factor that shaving may trigger micro-abrasions in their skin “which may support bacterial colonization and proliferation.”.

This concept likewise raised another possible description– that beards deal with infection.

Dr. Adam Roberts, a microbiologist at University College London, checked this hypothesis by growing over 100 different germs in petri dishes that were drawn out from beards. In a couple of samples, he discovered that a particular microbe was killing the other germs.

So, does that suggest your beard may bring prescription antibiotics of some kind?

“Possibly,” Roberts stated very carefully.

He recognized the microorganisms as part of a types called Staphylococcus epidermidis. Roberts then tested this germs against a drug-resistant kind of E. coli, which it exterminated easily.

Although there haven’t been any new prescription antibiotics introduced in the past three decades, you probably won’t see “Beardicillin” on the market anytime quickly, as checking an unique antibiotic is very expensive and has a high failure rate.

In the meantime, Roberts and his team have just recently isolated anti-adhesion particles from beard microbes, which stop germs from binding to other surfaces. They believe that this might be of interest for oral health, as it could be added to toothpaste and mouthwash to protect enamel from germs.

Who understood beards could be so flexible?