I love a good beard, I must say.

There's something so sexy about them, the way the command attention and can transform a guy from looking cute to looking HOT.

But we have some bad news, guys.

According to a study, your fellas facial hair contains a lot of dirt.

The study analysed bacteria levels in the beards of 18 men aged between 18- and 76-years-old and what the found was gross.

Basically, they were chock FULL of bacteria.

In contrast, only 23 out of 30 dogs had high counts, while the rest had moderate levels. 

Professor Andreas Gutzei said, ''On the basis of these findings, dogs can be considered as clean compared with bearded men.” 

Oh, lovely. 

A previous study by Fragrance Direct and Manchester Metropolitan University found that, after testing a range of beards from long and short to stubbly, almost half of male beards contained faecal matter. 

Dear Lord – we're kissing faces with traces of sh*t on them?

Most of the participants involved in the study claimed they had washed their beards the same day of the test.

Also, interesting to note – shorter beards had more bacteria.

Hmmm, maybe clean-shaven is the way to go…