My Beard Isn’t Just Super Sexy, Apparently It’s Also Helping Me Prevent Skin Cancer

In addition to trying to win a Zac Brown look-alike-contest, I’m also helping prevent skin cancer.

Makes sense to me.

Via CBS News Las Vegas:

According to researchers at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, beards serve a purpose far beyond making a fashion statement – they can prevent skin cancer.

The website New Now Next is reporting that beards block 90 to 95 percent of all ultraviolet rays from making contact with facial skin.

Best comment from that article: “This news should make Joy Behar very happy.”

I’m 44 years old, and have only started to become concerned about the affects of too much unprotected sun exposure to my skin (in about the last 10 years or so). But spent most of my youth doing just the opposite — trying to get as much sun as possible Within the last year I’ve had 3 basal cell carcinomas removed from my face and head.

So I’m taking the caution to protect my skin much more seriously these days. I initially started growing my current beard back in November last year as part of Movember. But our new son recognizes me in large part by my beard  (and he love tugging on it, much to daddy’s consternation and painful yelps). But it turns out it might be doing me more good than I thought.

Here in Central Texas, I ride my motorcycle probably 300 days per year, and I wear a half-helmet (no face guard or shield). I’ve gotten into a habit of applying sun screen to my face and arms every morning before I leave the house. But the beard also helps to keep my face warm on those cold 30 degree rides to work in the morning. And finding out that it also helps prevent skin cancer?

That might be all the information I need to convince my lovely wife to let me keep it a while longer.

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Reminds me of my current favorite t-shirt from the guys over at Ranger Up: Beards Save Lives:

Before all you Mustachioed Mega-Men get upset, we want to make our mustache policy clear. Ranger Up loves a good mustache. A mustache will make you a goddam sexual Tyrannosaur!

However, if you want to be able to deflect bullets with a glance, you’re gonna need to get yourself a combat beard.