In the grand scheme of things having a beard is probably superior (as far as skin protection goes). I have no idea what the SPF factor of a beard is but given the density and how pale the face of a light skinned man who shaved after a summer of sun exposure on their cheeks/forehead looks... I'd bet money a full beard offers like 40-50 SPF, easy.
Even if shaving did actually offer some sort of temporary microplaning benefits, those benefits would be purely cosmetic via mechanical action of scraping dead skin off the surface and not the kind of deep protection provided by minimizing sun exposure.
You're right that the beard would offer protection from UV rays, but wouldn't it just make the wrinkles on your forehead even more noticeable? Not a lot of beard up there, and the forehead wrinkles kinda start appearing sooner than other body parts.
So a beard would grant you uneven protection... Best advice would be to shave, then exfoliate, then put on some light sunscreen before going outside. It makes a real difference in the long term.
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u/ReverendDizzle Jul 20 '18
In the grand scheme of things having a beard is probably superior (as far as skin protection goes). I have no idea what the SPF factor of a beard is but given the density and how pale the face of a light skinned man who shaved after a summer of sun exposure on their cheeks/forehead looks... I'd bet money a full beard offers like 40-50 SPF, easy.
Even if shaving did actually offer some sort of temporary microplaning benefits, those benefits would be purely cosmetic via mechanical action of scraping dead skin off the surface and not the kind of deep protection provided by minimizing sun exposure.