Huffington Post:
Interestingly enough, the study found that of women with minimal pop culture exposure, the majority surveyed find men to be less attractive when sporting a full face of hair. However, this same group of women also perceived bearded men as garnering higher respect and being more powerful than clean-shaven men.
Fear, and respect, the beard.
This less attractive issue could be because a lot of ‘beards’ are just sloppy scruff and looks ‘dirty’.
What is interesting is that in many cases, a well kept beard makes a man look older (which might play into that respectable issue). It’s actually a common trick used in tv shows and movies when they want to make an actor look older. Just as a five o’clock shadow is used to give the impression of a rough life, poverty etc.