Everyone knows that beards are dope as hell, despite what's currently happening with Kit Harington's face. Some proper scruff provides a touch of organized chaos, and can dramatically elevate your look with only minimal input. (All you have to do is stop shaving, really.) But with Memorial Day in the rearview and summer hot on the horizon, chances are that soon you might find yourself reaching instinctively for a razor. And we understand why: heat, humidity, and an increased likelihood of exposed skin help reinforce the idea that having a beard between June and September would be rather uncomfortable. But that’s simply not the case—in reality, sporting one not only may make no difference, it can actually enhance your summer. Let us explain.

Read MoreThe Crucial Step to Cleaning Up Your Beard

A master class in trimming your face mane, courtesy of one Mr. Justin Timberlake.

By Stephen J. Praetorius

First off, we’re here to debunk that whole warmth issue. Now, you might think that the added bulk of a beard would increase the average temperature on your face, but that’s simply not true. On the contrary, while beards do protect from elements such as wind and rain, they don’t actually provide much insulation. So you can scratch that off your list of summer beard concerns. Furthermore, as it turns out, many bearded men say that beards can actually cool down the jawline, keeping sweat and moisture close to the face and subsequently chilling the skin when the beard catches a breeze.

Next, let’s talk about appearances. A lot of guys shave off their face manes come June, simply because a clean-shaven face has this socially constructed air of freshness about it—as if there’s something inherently dirty about sporting a chinful of follicles. Perhaps it’s a visual thing; a clean swath of skin simply appears far more tidy. But as any hairy man who’s worth his salt knows, it doesn’t take much to give even the wildest beards a similar impression of order. All you need is to shear away some bushiness, plus take care along the jawline, and your mane will be summer-ready in no time.

Finally, on to the true benefit of having a beard during beach season: sun protection. You see, according to a study in Radiation Protection Dosimetry, beards can protect skin from 50 to 95 percent of UV radiation—UVB rays in particular—depending on the thickness and angle of the hair compared to the sun. Now, does this mean you can go ahead and forget applying sunscreen to your mug? Of course not. But it does mean that your jaw’s got a lesser chance of getting burned should you happen to forget.

As for your nose and forehead, though, they’re on their own.

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