The body beautiful: what makes a 'real man'

Your guide to make-up and more. This week: how to be a bear

I never really believed those stories about eye-catching billboard advertisements causing traffic accidents. What kind of fool would risk his life and no-claims bonus to ogle a 30ft image of a Wonderbra model?

	Distracting: a 'real man' - bear style courtesy of H&M

Well, maybe I am having an early midlife crisis because now I understand. I was so distracted by an H&M ad the other day that I almost kneecapped myself.

Going up an escalator at Oxford Circus, I became so captivated by the image that I risked a little step backwards to prolong the observation. In true Mr Bean style, I lost my footing - and a small amount of pride.

Male models aren't usually my cup of tea. Those hard-bodied Calvin Klein himbos in their underpants are too obvious - they all sort of blend in to one square-jawed, six-packed mass.

What caught my attention was not the model's waxy pecs or abs of steel, but his beard. It wasn't wussy designer stubble, either - but a full-on forest of densely packed follicles.

He looked like an unaccountably hot philosophy lecturer.

I didn't realise I was a beard girl but it's a logical reaction to the received view of 21st-century male attractiveness. Men have become such girls, haven't they? They've copied our moisturisers, our manicures and even our skinny jeans.

What could be less metrosexual, more bear-like, than a beard?

They are cropping up everywhere. Gavin Henson tried to work the look recently, but he is notoriously pernickety about his appearance so he made an unconvincing caveman.

Robbie Williams is sporting a Grizzly Adams look and, though he might be using it to smuggle chins, it may help us to take his song-writing more seriously. There's no denying that a beard makes a man look more intelligent - as though he is too busy having lofty thoughts to worry about shaving.

However, getting the new-age, effortless-looking beard right will take an awful lot of effort. It's the boy's equivalent of "natural" make-up, which we all know can be a far more taxing enterprise than more obvious maquillage.

This is not about looking like the 1970s television character Catweasel. You need to keep the length, the margins and the condition of your beard in check or you'll just look grubby.

"It can be just as high maintenance as being clean shaven," says Mike Mason of renowned Mayfair barber G F Trumper. He suggests keeping the edges manicured - especially around the mouth - with a moustache razor (Trumpers has its own version for £19.50; 020 7499 1850); remember always to shave in the direction of the hair growth.

Committed bears, according to Mr Mason, even have the edges of their beards zapped with lasers to remove straggly hair permanently.

Keep your beard at a fashionable length - half an inch to an inch long - with some regular strimming. The BaByliss I-trim (£40, at Boots and Argos) is an excellent beard mower with 30 different length settings.

For longer ones - though you'll be on the wrong side of a style statement if it's more than two inches - Mr Mason says: "Once a fortnight, comb your beard into shape and trim off any excess to keep the hair healthy and tidy." Wash your beard as you wash your face; shampoo may be too harsh - but conditioner is a good idea.

Be aware that women can be funny about beards. I remember when I told friends I was going to marry my husband, whom I had only been dating for a couple of months.

One took me aside to tell me something about his history. "You do know that he used to have a beard?" she said gravely. "A proper one."

To her, this criminal past could have changed my view of the man. A colleague doesn't like beards because they seem intrinsically unhygienic: "They're full of germs, aren't they?"

So boys, before you consider cultivating the look of a "real man", it might be worth checking it's OK with Her Indoors first.