Why do men grow beards?

Beards protect the skin on your face, especially your chin and cheeks, from strong UV rays, reducing the risk of skin cancer or sunburn. Also, in cold environments, mustaches and beards act as a natural scarf, preventing the lower part of your face from losing body heat. Similar to nose hair, beard hair also acts as a primary barrier, filtering out airborne dust, pollen, and harmful substances from entering your respiratory system directly. There's also a hypothesis that beards served as a shock absorber in the past, cushioning impacts to the chin and lower face during physical altercations or fights, thus reducing injuries 😅 So, with all these apparent benefits, why don't women grow beards? 🤔 After puberty, men experience a surge in male hormones (testosterone), which stimulate hair follicles, leading to the growth of thick, coarse beards. However, women only produce about 5-10% of the amount of male hormones that men do, which isn't enough to sufficiently stimulate hair follicles. Furthermore, female hormones also tend to inhibit body hair growth.