Warning! Beards are disease carriers!

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We live in the #beardgang# era thanks to celebrities like Iyanya, Praiz, Noble Igwe, 2 Shot, Lynxx and others.

However, this seemly fashionable fad might be bad for you and the health of your girlfriends as some beards have been compared to toilets!

According to medical experts, facial hair can spread infections including Staphylococci to skin diseases.

Carol Walker, a consultant trichologist from the Birmingham Trichology Centre, UK, says beards and sweat act as a warm insulator for bugs, and lists a number of unhealthy features of facial hair.

"‘The cuticles on the hair – which are like layers of tiles on a roof - trap the germs and grease. Hair around nostrils and mouth is well-placed to harbour bacteria. Men tend to touch and play with their beards and if their hands are dirty, they transfer dirt from their hands on to their face and mouths. If someone (is) eating dairy products it can get stuck in their beard and become a bit rancid. If someone has a cold, a runny nose it can trickle down and be trapped in the nose, beards. Food drink can dribble down too."

Experts also say that doctors and surgeons can transmit bacteria to patients while examining or operating on them, even if they are wearing masks.

Professor Anthony Hilton, head of biological and biomedical sciences at Aston University, UK, said:

"What they found was that men with beards do harbour a significant number of bacteria, more than non-bearded men and women. And bearded surgeons wearing masks did shed more organisms from the beard outwards when they wiggled."