Many of us take pride in our facial hair, carefully washing and grooming regularly to ensure a healthy face of fuzz.
But we're not trying hard enough, it seems. A study carried out by KOAT 7 swabbed the beards of participants and examined the bacteria lurking inside.
Some were simply full of household bacteria and the kind of stuff you'd find on a kitchen table, but some of the nasty stuff found in facial hair was comparable with a toilet.
Well, time to shave. Or kill it with fire.
"I'm usually not surprised and I was surprised by this," microbiologist John Golobic said. "Those are the types of things you'd find in poop."
The scientist offered a bit of advice to our fuzzy-faced friends: "Try to keep your hands away from your face as much as possible."
The study is obviously not quite as scientific as we'd like it to be, but the truth is beards are a bit gross.
It's no secret that beard hair is coarse and, as a result, it traps more dirt and germs than other hair on your body. But despite the pride and joy of your face being a little grubby, there are already lots of different microbes living on your skin (whether you have a beard or not) including bacteria, fungi, viruses and mites. Most of which are either harmless or good for you.
Moustaches, on the other hand, are a breeding ground for bacteria because of the warm, moist air leaving your nose.
A more recent study found that we need to find a way to "decontaminate" human hair in order to rid it of bacteria completely. But, let's face it, it's probably not going to happen.
The moral of the story: beards are filled with bacteria. But so is your skin. Don't worry too much.