University of Exeter academic to study history of beards

A university academic is embarking upon a three-year study of the history of beards.

Dr Alun Withey from the University of Exeter will look at facial hair and its relationship with masculinity and health as well as shaving technology.

Despite a prediction in 2014 that 'peak beard' had been reached, its popularity continues.

It is believed to be the first academic study of facial hair over the period from 1700 to 1918.

He said: "We can see facial hair not as some quirky irrelevance in history, but as a unique way of understanding the body, health, medicine and masculinity in the past."

The project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, will examine how beard grooming has evolved from being a medical procedure carried out by a barber surgeon.

Dr Withey said claims of beards being dirty or unhygienic had been made for centuries.

"These sorts of stories highlight our continuing fascination with facial hair, and the different looks which can often come to define an age," he said.