It is usual for Vikings to be depicted with enormous unruly beards and moustaches and long straggly hair – indeed, this is what history classes still teach children about Viking hordes – yet Scandinavian archaeologists are quick to point out that these depictions are at odds with what they have discovered. One of the first myths to be dispelled is that of dirty unkempt hair and beards, for among the the most prevalent possessions found in Viking burial sites are grooming tools such as combs and tweezers, plus toothpicks and tools for cleaning beneath the fingernails. Vikings, it is now claimed, were possibly far more hygienic and much better groomed than their British opponents.
Source: Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards, Lucinda Hawksley