Men who keep beards on their face may have to reconsider the decision to do so because the beards are storing up bacteria on their faces, Ms Sylvia Darko, a Paramedical Aesthetician, has said.

Keeping of beards is becoming a growing practice among Ghanaian men. Some claim that the beards are a sign of maturity.

A producer at Class 91.3FM Nii Marmah who has a beard on his face said the beard attracts respect.

“I receive a lot of respect from people I interview because of the beard,” he said on the Ghana Yensom show on Accra 100.5FM on Friday, 24 May 2019.

But Ms Darko said the bacterium that are being stored on the face due to the beard spreads to other parts of the body through the nose and the mouth, causing serious medical conditions in the body.

She told show host Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) that in Ghana and other parts of the African continent where sweats is pervasive, it is not be advisable to keep the beard especially if one cannot keep it clean.

“Men who keep beards are storing up bacterial on their faces,” she said.

“Common infection called fungal infection brought by sweat can affect them. The beard traps sweat, traps dusts and these bring about sicknesses on the face that can be transported to other parts of the body," she added.

She, however, noted that some medical conditions require that men keep their beards.

“I must also add, however, that there are some medical conditions that Doctors recommend keeping of beards.”