The paparazzi caught RPattz galloping through a Los Angeles airport last week wielding some ample beard. So his new face furs, are they for a new film? To protect his tender cheeks from the oncoming winter chill? To help girlfriend Kristen Stewart with her exfoliating regime? And most importantly: Does it optimize or obliterate a dude’s hotness? We investigate a few case studies below to try to decide.
Who: Jake Gyllenhall
Why: Unknown. This photo comes from last fall. Judging from his shirt, maybe he has plans to partake in a lumberjack pancake-eating contest? Or he had tickets to see Fleet Foxes.
Workability: Low-medium. It seems like he’s overcompensating for those hopelessly adorable blue peepers of his. Perhaps if the fluffiness were scaled back a bit, it would be a little less overwhelming.
Who: Zach Efron
Why: Unknown. This snap comes from the Charlie St. Cloud premiere last fall, so maybe it’s aimed to toast up his face.
Workability: Low. I know what he’s doing here — or at least I think I do — he’s doing the whole But I’m a grown-up! thing and that’s cool. But some facial structures simply shouldn’t be hidden by little hairs. And this is one of them.
Who: Brad Pitt
Why: He needed it while filming World War Z in Malta last summer.
Workability: Medium to high. It’s Brad Pitt, guys. Plus I’m always a sucker for a little scruff on an otherwise pretty face (most of the time). However, I don’t think that he always pulls it off quite right.
Who: Ryan Gosling
Why: Don’t care.
Workability: To 11, sincerely. Remember this is the dude who the hell out of a perhaps horoscope-referencing silky jacket. And you know, other things. Like that creepy mustache in Lars and the Real Girl. What can’t the dude pull off?
What do you think about facial hair? Are there any styles you don’t tolerate? Are there any that you extra-appreciate in a dude?
guest
Danny Masterson made hair look sexxy as fuck.
Ryan Gosling does a damn good job too.
It really depends on the guy. Patrick Dempsy, for example, is sexy, but when he grew out a scruffy beard for his depression phase in Grey’s Anatomy… god was he ugly.
guest
Maybe some guys can pull it off (if they’re handsome enough to be celebrities…) but my personal taste is guys
without
facial hair… Never found it attractive for some reason.
guest
Some guys can pull it off and some can’t. I like a bit stubble at most or else clean shaven is best. Let me see how hot you are
guest
i looooooove facial hair on men! but not all men can pull off the full on beard as those pics above. im sure if jake and rpatz just had hair the that resembled the phase after scruff, they’d be hot. =D but i loooove me some facial hair. but yeah… always a line. lol.
daffodil / 1615 posts
Depends on the guy. Usually I’m indifferent, unless your facial hair looks awful (i.e. looks like someone stuck pubes to the guy’s face or is something along the lines of a trash ‘stache).
guest
some people look so hot with it. some just look creepy. it really depends.
guest
I prefer no hair but some guys can pull it off.
daisy / 506 posts
Another important thing to consider: Is it a FULL beard or is it patchy? That can make a difference!
guest
Depends on the dude. I prefer my husband w/ facial hair, I get all sad whenever he shaves lol
rose / 786 posts
I think MY man looks hot either way, although I do prefer the facial hair.
guest
I like sideburns on a guy and i don’t mind a little gottee either. I like their face to have a little scruff on it, but just not to much! I hate beards!
guest
I think it depends on each man, but it’s always best when the facial hair is groomed and neat. I hate seeing straggly hairs sticking out every which way from their chins.
dahlia / 2103 posts
The only one of those examples that looks good, in my opinion, is Ryan Gosling (and he looks SO FUCKING good that he makes up for all the rest of them, including Jake’s plaid shirt). I think it totally depends on the guy and the personality. I prefer the clean-shaven look with a few exceptions. What I really do not like are the mustaches that are sort of thin and straggly. If you can’t grow a ‘stache, don’t try!
guest
It definitely depends on the man. Not all can pull it off, and in my opinion, none of them did in the pictures you uploaded other than Ryan Gosling. I do prefer my men with a little scruff, though. Something trimmed and neat, but still masculine and edgy.
sunflower / 413 posts
Depends. I sooo against the lumberjack/santa beard thing lol. I don’t mind it if they keep it groomed well. Maxim Chmerkovskiy from Dancing With the Stars so soo hot with his but I don’t know if he would look good without it lol.
daffodil / 1525 posts
Why: Don’t care. <-hahahha.
as a rule, guys are usually better without facial hair. some can pull it off though, as previous users said. my boyfriend hasn’t shaved since i last visited him like a month ago. it looks really cute buuut i’ll probably have him shave it when i visit him again
guest
I’m more likely to be attracted to a guy who has facial hair than one who doesn’t. Maybe it’s the whole “men grow facial hair and I like men” thing – could be how my brain works. Dunno. But I prefer scruff more than anything. If it gets too thick then I end up associating them with a man who is lazy and just doesn’t have time for personal grooming. If a man is always clean shaven, then I’ll peg him as someone who cares too much about personal grooming. Totally judgmental, I know, but I like scruff. Just how it is.
Out of all the pictures here, I like Ryan’s facial hair best. The beards = gross. Brad = getting a bit too hairy in that picture. Zac = looks like mascara streaked on his face.
guest
I think a goatee fits most men than like a long beard. I’m sorry if that sounds weird but like I’d say that if Robert and Jake for example trimmed the beard down a bit it’d look better. Zac on the other hand I don’t think can really work it either way. It just looks wrong on him.
guest
depends on the face… I could not even begin to imagine my husband without facial hair he always has a stash and short beard it fits him. My daddy always has a mustache he shaved it once when i was 13 my mind was completely blown i didnt know what to think lol.
guest
It depends if they can rock it.. I usually like slightly scruffy guys.. but not Santa Claus-status. LOL.
guest
I didn’t think I would like facial hair, until my boyfriend grew a goatee…and I discovered I loved it. Lol.
guest
For me, it just depends on the guy. Typically I’m not a fan of facial hair.
guest
Seems lately almost all of my male friends are growing beards. One has a chin puff beard, another has a boxed short beard, and a third has a “wish it was full” scraggly beard. Honestly, I don’t like any of them, although the boxed short beard isn’t bad – until there’s food stuck in it. To each their own, but if the guy expects me to shave my legs then he’ll have to shave his face, lol.
guest
Beards are almost a prerequisite for me now.
guest
jake looks really disgusting…and it sucks because he’s SO HOT!!!!!! he looks good with a little facial hair but not that lumberjack look
guest
It depends on the guy, his confidence, and if it fits his personality. Some guys honestly look better with it but some guys just look gnarly. Plus it has to be the right kind of facial hair for that individual. I think facial hair is way sexy, but not on every guy!
guest
usually it breaks a man, but some can pull it off. brad pitt still looks attractive in that pic, the rest of the men do not.
guest
Some guys can pull it off and others can’t. My boyfriends beard and moustache combo is supah sexy
I like some groomed facial hair but too much scruff is hard to like for me.
guest
If you want me to shave my beard, then I want you to shave your head.
orchid / 174 posts
I love scruff… My ex with scruff was so gorgeous. It was odd seeing him when he would shave, actually, I used to beg him not to. And Taylor Lautner with a little scruff? Mmmmmmmmmm!