Attraction to Beards

Hello, Reddit! I’ve recently met this guy on a dating app and we’ve seem to hit it off. We’ve been texting each other for a few weeks now and I’m starting to crush on him and it seems like the sentiment’s not one-sided. Last night he sent a good night text and I replied saying that we should plan a date sometime soon.

Now, another thing about me is that I have a good sized beard, always have since I was a teen. My body produces testosterone like crazy. Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning seeing a text from him saying that he’d love to go out, BUT, he’s not a fan of facial hair. He also said “How do you go about changing that? (Referring to preferences)”

I understand people have different tastes and all. I’ve been rejected for the beard and body hair before too. This guy is just so good damn smart and cool, it’d hurt more to let him go. I don’t want to make him change his preferences just for me, that feels too much. What do I do? Shaving it off would feel like losing a major part of my look (+ it’d come back quick). Also, spending that much money on shaving products? IN THIS ECONOMY? Anyway, thank you if you’re reading this, have a good rest of your day/night!