Fetch the razor folks ‘cos a dermatologist on TikTok has revealed the damage your grotty little beard can inflict on another person while smooching.
It is, as a Scottish mother once famously said, “disgoostang“.
Muneeb Shah, who you may know as the Derm Doctor on TikTok (@dermdoctor), said beards contain “a tonne of bacteria”. This is something I’ve never thought about before but actually makes a load of sense, considering I know many a man who washes his face with whatever 3-in-1 body wash is on sale at Woolies and only changes his towels once every few months.
“When you rub up against them they create tiny little cuts in the skin, which can lead to infections like impetigo,” the Derm Doctor said.
@dermdoctor PSA: clean your beards @Rylee Kriete #dermdoctor #impetigo
In case you don’t know what impetigo is, it’s a gnarly bacterial infection which causes sores and blisters on the skin. Eventually, they’ll ooze gunk, burst and form a yellowish crust.
The blisters are also fucking painful — I know this because I recently had a cold sore in my nostril (if the man who gave me the herpes simplex virus is reading this, please know I hate you) which developed into impetigo. I was on antibiotics for 10 days and can’t remember the last time I was in so much pain. Don’t recommend it, mates!
But alas, enough about me and my sad little sob story. The Derm Doctor’s PSA was in response to a TikTok uploaded by a poor lass by the name of Rylee Kriete (@aquawh0re2345), who kissed a bloke with facial hair, copped impetigo and lived to tell the tale. We love to see a brave soldier come out on the other side stronger than ever.
The Derm Doctor said the best way to avoid infecting whoever you choose to mack on with is by washing your beard. I don’t know why one wouldn’t wash their beard in the first place but, alas, ’nuff said.
