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Research on facial attractiveness has been conducted for over 20 years. A youthful appearance is something that both men and women desire in common. Research shows that evolution has wired us to seek out healthy-looking partners to ensure good genes and longevity. An overview is provided below.
Facial charm and skin uniformity
Facial attractiveness forms an important aspect of social life. With the perception that “what is beautiful is good,” attractive people are seen as having positive personality traits, and others become more tolerant of their behavior. Essentially, their beauty benefits their marriage, education, career, and increases their overall happiness.
It is believed that a person can feel the connection between attractiveness and health through the skin of the face.1 In fact, it has been proven time and time again that there is a positive correlation between facial skin health and facial attractiveness.2-4 A face with glowing, smooth skin can increase perceptions of health and attractiveness and create a positive impression. The opposite is also true.5-7
We yearn for smooth, even, baby-like skin. In fact, skin evenness attracts attention and consistently positively impacts facial attractiveness across age, gender, and ethnicity. Perfectly uniform texture and color are understood to be some of skin’s most attractive features.8 Additionally, small areas of skin can provide information about the attractiveness of your entire face.9 — Even small improvements in skin homogeneity can significantly improve perceived attractiveness.
For the complete version, check out the April issue of C&T Magazine.
References
- Little, A.C., Jones, B.C., and DeBruyn, L.M. (2011). Facial attractiveness: An evolutionary study. Philos. Trance. R. Soc. Ron. B Biol. Science. 366, 1638-1659; doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0404.
- Jones, B. C., Little, A. C., Burt, D. M., & Perrett, D. I. (2004). When the attractiveness of the face is only on the surface. Sensing. 33, 569-576; doi: 10.1068/p3463.
- Whitehead, R. D., Re, D., Xiao, D., Ozakinci, G., and Perrett, D. I. (2012). You are what you eat: Increased fruit and vegetable intake within subjects leads to beneficial changes in skin color. PLoS One. 7:e32988; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032988.
- Luo, Q., Yu, M., Li, Y., and Mo, L. (2019). Neural correlates of integrated aesthetics between moral beauty and facial beauty. Science.representative. September 1980. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-38553-3.
- Jaeger, B., Wagemans, F.M.A., Evans, A.M., and Van Biest, I. (2018). The effects of facial skin smoothness and age spots on the impression of features. Sensing. 47, 608-625; doi: 10.1177/0301006618767258.
- Hiroshi Ikeda, Yutaka Sabeki, Yutaka Sakano, Akira Wada, Hidetoshi Ando, Kazuya Tagai (2021) Facial radiance influences facial attractiveness and facial emotional impression. internal. J.Cosmet. Science. 43 144-157; doi: 10.1111/ics.12673.
- Yuya Sakano, Akira Wada, Hiroshi Ikeda, Yutaka Saeki, Kazuya Tagai, Hiroshi Ando (2021) Human brain activity reflecting facial attractiveness from skin reflections. Science.Member of Parliament 11 3412; doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-82601-w.
- Fink, B., Grammer, K., & Thornhill, R. (2001). Attractiveness of the human (Homo sapiens) face in relation to skin texture and color. J. Comp. Psychol. 115 92-99; doi: 10.1037//0735-7036.115.1.92.
- Liu, C.H., Young, A.W., Li, J., Tian, X., and Chen, W. (2022). Predicting attractiveness from facial parts reveals multiple covarying cues. Br.J. Psychol. 113 264-286; doi: 10.1111/bjop.12532.
