Men - it is time to bin the razors.

A new study has found that men with beards are more attractive than those without.

Conducted by the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 8,500 women were asked to rate men with and without beards for their boyfriend potential.

They were shown photographs of the men clean-shaven, five days after shaving, 10 days after shaving, and then four weeks after shaving.

Every single woman preferred their men with facial hair, with heavy stubble rating the highest, followed by full bears and then light stubble.

Typically male features such as a strong jawline, did not score very highly.

The study suggests that his could be because "beards may be more attractive to women when considering long-term than short-term relationships as they indicate a male's ability to successfully compete socially with other males for resources".