是时候把胡子留起来了

It does more than cover up the lower half of your face. It even does more than function as a babe magnet. A beard can also provide its host with health benefits.

它除了能遮住你的下半张脸，在吸引美女方面更有作用外，胡须还可以为主人提供更多健康益处。

However, just last year, there was conversation to the contrary. During the pandemic, a graphic from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showing many variations of the beard and which were best for wearing a mask kicked off a game of Telephone. Suddenly, headlines blared that the CDC reported having a beard increased your risk of getting COVID-19 (per BeardBrand) — which isn't true.

然而，就在去年，有一种相反的说法。在疫情期间，美国疾病控制中心(CDC)的一幅图表显示了多种胡须的变化，以及哪些胡须最适合戴口罩。随后，开始了一场电话游戏。很快，报纸头条大肆宣扬疾病控制中心报告说留胡子会增加你患2019冠状病毒疾病的风险---- 事实并非如此。

It's also not true that beards are laced with feces, as articles have reported. According to Snopes, that misinformation comes down to one "study" — that didn't adhere to the proper guidelines for a rigorous study, didn't involve a team of microbiologists, and didn't even conclude that poop was found in beards. What it did reveal is that bacteria normally living in the intestines were present. Although it sounds unappealing, that's not a big deal. Human skin is alive with many microbes, and it's not unusual for bacteria found in the gut to also be at home on the skin.

正如文章报道的那样，胡子上有粪便的说法也是不正确的。据 Snopes 称，这种错误信息可以归结为一项“研究”——它没有遵循严格研究的适当指导方针，没有涉及一个微生物学家团队，甚至没有得出结论认为在胡子中发现了粪便。研究结果表明，正常情况下生活在肠道中的细菌确实存在。虽然这听起来没什么吸引力，但也没什么大不了的。人类的皮肤上有许多微生物，肠道中的细菌在皮肤上也能找到并不罕见。

As long as beards are shampooed regularly (and preferably conditioned, oiled, balmed, brushed, and trimmed, per Esquire), they'll be clean, and soft too.

只要定期洗胡子(最好是经过调理、上油、打包、刷毛、修剪过的，就像《时尚先生》所说的那样) ，胡子就会干净、柔软。

In summer, a beard is a natural sunblock, according to a study from the University of Queensland in Australia. The study found that compared to a clean-shaven face, a bearded one is protected from 90 to 95% of harmful ultraviolet rays. This not only reduces your chance of getting sunburn, but also of developing skin cancer.

根据澳大利亚昆士兰大学的一项研究，在夏天，胡须是天然的防晒霜。研究发现，与刮得干干净净的脸相比，留胡须的人免受90 - 95%的有害紫外线的伤害。这不仅能减少晒伤的机会，还能减少患皮肤癌的机会。

This protection depends on the density, color, and thickness of your beard, though, so a light scruff isn't going to block as many rays as a full, dark, Santa-style beard.

不过，这种保护作用取决于胡须的密度、颜色和厚度，所以浅色的胡须，不会像深色的圣诞老人式胡须那样阻挡那么多光线。

In winter, bushy beards may also act as a kind of scarf. Studies have found that a beard keeps the skin under it warmer than a shaved face (per 24/7WallSt).

在冬天，浓密的胡须也可以作为一种围巾。研究发现，胡须比剃过的脸更能保暖。

Those big bushy beards are also quite effective at trapping environmental irritants and allergy triggers, similar to the way hairs in the nose filter them out. This can be good or bad. The good: The coarse hair of a beard filters out the dust and pollen that cause asthma and allergies before they can enter the nose or mouth and infiltrate the respiratory system. The bad: If you don't wash your beard often enough — twice a day — the irritants and allergens may accumulate and increase the length of exposure (per 24/7WallSt).

那些又大又浓密的胡须在捕捉环境刺激物和过敏原方面也很有效，就像鼻子里的毛发把它们过滤掉一样。这可能是好事也可能是坏事。好处:在灰尘和花粉进入鼻子或嘴巴并渗透到呼吸系统之前，胡须上粗糙的毛发可以过滤掉导致哮喘和过敏的灰尘和花粉。坏处:如果你洗胡子不够勤——一天洗两次——刺激物和过敏原可能会在胡须上积累，并增加接触时间(每24/7WallSt)。

Beards also indirectly protect the appearance and health of the skin due to the absence of shaving. Shaving can lead to such problems as ingrown hairs, razor bumps, or folliculitis (inflamed hair follicles). Any bump or pimple on the face can be nicked by a razor and bleed. Shaving also strips the skin of moisture.

由于不用剃须，胡须也间接地保护皮肤的外观和健康。剃须会导致毛发内生、剃须肿块起或毛囊炎(发炎的毛囊)等问题。脸上的任何肿块或丘疹都可能被剃刀刮伤并流血。剃须也会带走皮肤上的水分。

With the dual benefits of reflecting the sun's damaging rays and holding in essential moisture, a heavy beard also helps keep skin looking youthful. Sun exposure, as we all know by now, leads to premature aging, such as wrinkles and age spots (per 24/7WallSt). And dry skin not only feels uncomfortable and tight, it can lead to flaking, scaling, or peeling as well as fine lines and cracks (via MayoClinic).

浓密的胡须不仅能反射太阳的有害光线，还能保持皮肤的水分，还能让皮肤看起来更年轻。众所周知，日晒会导致过早衰老，比如出现皱纹和老年斑。干燥的皮肤不仅让人感到不舒服和紧绷，还会导致皮肤脱落、脱落、脱皮以及细纹和裂缝。

When you have a beard, you're less likely to rub off the helpful, youth-enhancing oils the sebaceous glands on your face produce. Many people absent-mindedly touch their face and remove these oils. But beneath the hairy cheeks and jowls, the oil remains put.

当你有胡子的时候，你就不太可能擦掉脸上皮脂腺分泌的有益青春的油脂。许多人心不在焉地抚摸自己的脸，把这些油抹掉。但是在毛茸茸的脸颊和下颚下面，油脂仍然存在。

You may be sporting a beard to look older and more sophisticated right now, but when you go beard-free in the distant future, you'll be revealing that smooth, glowy skin that's underneath. And you'll look younger for it.

现在你可能想留胡子让自己看起来更成熟、更老练，但在遥远的将来，当你不蓄胡子时，你的皮肤就会变得光滑、有光泽。这样你看起来会更年轻。