Beard owners obviously take a lot of pride in their chin tresses, and always take care of it with fancy grooming products.

And, it turns out, that beards not only have been scientifically proven to make men more attractive, research also indicates that the grizzly beards have a lot of health benefit too.

Researchers from The University of Queensland dug deep into this topic, and it was honestly time well spent as there's now proof that beard owners could be hiding a number of health preserving benefits in their facial bush.

One of the benefits is how beards provide a built-in protection from 90-95% of harmful UV rays from the sun, according to the research.

The man who led the study, Professor Alfio Parisi, claims face fuzz has a UV protection factor of 21.

Talking to the Radiation Protection Dosimetry journal, he said, “While beards will never be as sun-safe as sunscreen, they certainly are a factor in blocking UV rays.”

Parisi and his team reached upon this conclusion after conducting an experiment using mannequins.

A number of mannequin heads were left out in the boiling sun, with varying beards – some with full beards, some with partial beards and some were left bare faced.

To make it a fair fight, the heads were kept on being rotated in order to make sure each was exposed to the same amount of sunlight. After that, the scientists were able to measure the level of radiation absorbed in each.

It turns out that since the beard blocks direct sunlight reaching some parts of the face, it, therefore, slows down the ageing process, keeping the skin below young, supple and wrinkle free for longer. Beards could even help reduce the risk of skin cancer.

One tiny little problem, though, is that the study requires a full on Viking beard to get this level of protection, because let's face it, you're basically fighting the sun.

And, it's not just the sun that beards are keeping at bay, but harsh, face stinging winds as well. With an added layer of protection, the skin beneath will stay as soft as it can be.

Moreover, beards also apparently protect eyes, noses and mouths from pesky sneeze-inducing irritants such as pollen and dust.

So, the bottom line is, keep growing that beard even if your mother is after your life to shave. Maybe, just show her this study, it might change her mind.