Beard Keeping You Cool in Summer?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the effects of having a beard during hot summer months, exploring whether beards can provide cooling benefits or if they contribute to discomfort due to heat. Participants share personal experiences and varying perspectives on the topic.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that beards can act as insulation, potentially keeping the body cooler by impeding heat transfer and trapping sweat, which contributes to evaporative cooling.
  • Others argue that in high ambient temperatures, beards can feel hotter and stickier, leading to discomfort, despite the potential cooling effects when drenched in sweat.
  • One participant mentions that a beard can shade the skin from direct sunlight, which may help keep the skin cooler.
  • Another perspective is that the beard collects sunlight, radiating heat away from the skin underneath, possibly preventing the skin from getting as hot as it would without the beard.
  • Some participants humorously note that having a beard simply makes one look "cool," adding a social or aesthetic dimension to the discussion.
  • There are mentions of personal experiences with beards in various temperatures, with some stating that their beards do not bother them even in high heat.
  • One participant raises a question about the lack of empirical evidence regarding the temperature differences between bearded and non-bearded skin.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the cooling effects of beards. While some support the idea that beards can provide cooling benefits, others share personal experiences that contradict this notion, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference personal experiences and anecdotal evidence without empirical verification, leaving the discussion open to interpretation and further exploration.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in personal grooming, heat management, or those curious about the social implications of facial hair may find this discussion relevant.

chefralphson
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I was watching a ball game and the pitcher had a full thick beard. I wondered why you would have a beard in the summer time because of how hot it would be. My cousin told me that it would keep you cooler. Any reason why I should believe this? It doesn't make sense to me.
 
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chefralphson said:
It doesn't make sense to me.
Like any insulation, it impedes the transfer of heat. If the surrounding air is above body temperature, the beard will keep you a bit cooler. It also traps sweat, and so contributes to evaporative coolling (and gives an opportunity for spit-balls).
 
This is one for Astronuc...
 
Danger has got some good points, but the ambient temperature over here has only ever exceeded body temperature (37 Celsius) a couple of times in my life. I've also had a fair beard a few times, and will say that they're much hotter, stickier and sweatier than being clean shaved. However, when it's drenched in sweat then the evaporative cooling effect (as Danger said) does seem to cool you down a lot better than wiping it off.

I'll second Galileo's call for Astronuc, PF's resident beardman!
 
"Over here"? Here, it is 105 degrees outside right this minute!

In any case, a beard also "shades" the skin and can keep you cooler if you are in the sun.
 
Galileo said:
This is one for Astronuc...
:smile:
brewnog said:
I'll second Galileo's call for Astronuc . . .
:smile: :smile:
HallsofIvy said:
In any case, a beard also "shades" the skin and can keep you cooler if you are in the sun.
This is also my thought. The beard collects the sunlight, and heat is radiated/convected out, so the underlying skin does not get as hot as it would with direct contact to the sun. In my case, my beard covers a part of my chest.

The insulation effect works the other way too. It keeps the heat from the beard getting to the underlying skin. If one is out in the sun with an uncovered head, the exposed hair can get quite hot. The beard is not as dense and I imagine convection carries away much of the heat.

I have never put a thermocouple on my chin (at the base of the beard) so I haven't experimentally verified whether my chin is hotter or cooler than exposed skin. I guess I need to find an infrared pyrometer. I wonder if I can get an NSF grant. :biggrin:

My personal experience is that my beard does not bother me even when the temperature is 100-105°F (37.8-40.6°C). :smile:

The beard does keep my face and neck warm in winter, even in subzero temperatures. :biggrin:
 
Astronuc said:
The insulation effect works the other way too. It keeps the heat from the beard getting to the underlying skin. If one is out in the sun with an uncovered head, the exposed hair can get quite hot. The beard is not as dense and I imagine convection carries away much of the heat.
:smile: True, nice explanation. here is my attempt.

Your beard heats up because it absorbs the incoming light. Your beard gets 'hotter' then your body surface temperature. Now this yields a gradient in temperature between your body-surface and the beard (let us look at the part of your beard that covers your immense muscular chest) which is directly responsible for a flow of air that has a cooling effect. The nomades in the desert always dress in dark clothes for the very same reason.

regards
marlon
 
We're missing the basic fact that having a beard makes you cool!
 
<<thinks all the guys are cool here, with or without beards.

Do chins sweat? I know necks do, but I can't say I've ever had a sweaty chin. Maybe a guy thing?
 
  • #10
hypatia said:
<<thinks all the guys are cool here, with or without beards.

Aww, thanks love!

hyp said:
Do chins sweat?

You'd be amazed. Chins sweat, noses sweat, fingers sweat, knees sweat. Ears sweat, shoulders sweat, bellies sweat, and so do my elbows. It's very attractive, honestly!
 
  • #11
chefralphson said:
I wondered why you would have a beard in the summer time because of how hot it would be.

Because it looks so cool!
 
  • #12
Janus said:
Because it looks so cool!
A light colored beard is cooler than a dark colored one.

In the tropics people wear white or light colored clothes because they reflect light instead of absorbing it like would be the case of dark colored clothes…
 

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