Women desire bearded men, study finds

WOMEN desire bearded men, according to international ­research on what makes the perfect lover.

Beards are desirable, according to international ­research.

WOMEN desire bearded men, according to international ­research on what makes the perfect lover.

The study said one in five women wanted to make love to a man with facial hair and overwhelmingly went for personality instead of looks.

Only 9 per cent of women wanted a clean-shaven man.

But men have confirmed an age-old assumption, rating ­appearance as the most ­important attribute in a mate.

The research — compiled by the Victoria Milan dating site — represents a survey of more than 9000 of its male and female members from 22 different countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

The results show that men and women have vastly different requirements for a passionate love affair.

While 62.4 per cent of women reported beach bodies were not an important quality in men, 67.4 per cent of blokes said a youthful physique was most important when looking for a lover. Women preferred men who could crack a great joke over hunks with no sense of ­humour.

The Victoria Milan dating site is for people with partners who are looking to have short-term love ­affairs.