Study Says Some Beards Are As Dirty As Toilets
John Golobic, a microbiologist in Albuquerque, swabbed the beards of a few randomly selected men and was surprised at what he found. As he told a local news channel, “I’m usually not surprised, and I was surprised by this.” In addition to the normal bacteria you’d expect, several of the beards contained a disconcerting amount of fecal bacteria.
Some contained so much that they were comparable to toilets. Even though the bacteria was generally not bad enough to make anyone sick, Golobic did say that the results were still a little concerning. “There would be a degree of uncleanliness that would be somewhat disturbing,” Golobic said. He recommends that anyone sporting a beard should pay close attention to washing their hands and their beard. “[Also], try to keep your hands away from your face, as much as possible,” he said. To give some comparison, he added that if such levels were found in a city’s water system, it would need to be shut down for disinfecting.
