The pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives including how we dress but could it also have also changed what we find attractive in others? Well according to a new study, people appear more attractive when wearing a face mask.
Researchers at Cardiff University have found that men and women are perceived to look better with a mask covering the lower half of their faces. And it’s not just designer face masks that improve your look but medical masks too. In fact, those surveyed were asked to rate the attractiveness of others while they were without a mask, wearing a plain cloth mask; and while wearing a blue medical face mask— and according to the results, it was the disposable-type medical mask that was deemed the most appealing.
“Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks,” said Dr. Michael Lewis, from Cardiff University. “This may be because we’re used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now, we associate these with people in caring or medical professions. At a time when we feel vulnerable, we may find the wearing of medical masks reassuring and so feel more positive towards the wearer.”
Lewis also said it was also possible that masks made people more attractive because they directed attention to the eyes. He added that other studies had found that covering the left or right half of a face also made people look more attractive, partly because the brain fills in the missing gaps and exaggerates the overall impact.
