Face masks make you look more attractive, study finds

Save lives while helping your own love life.

Jan. 17, 2022

Face masks make you look more attractive, study finds

In case you still needed persuading to use a mask after nearly two years of this pandemic, here's your wake-up call.

In a study found in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, researchers Oliver Hies and Michael B. Lewis of Cardiff University found that people are seen as more attractive when they're wearing a face mask.

Previous studies conducted before the pandemic showed that face masks were associated with disease; therefore, those with it scored lower facial attractiveness than those without.

The tables have turned.

Lewis, from Cardiff University's school of psychology, said: "We wanted to test whether this had changed since face coverings became ubiquitous and understand whether the type of mask had any effect."

Since the pandemic, wearing face masks has enhanced one's perceived attractiveness. This was believed to be a result of occlusion, since negative facial features could be easily covered with a face mask.

The study by Hies and Lewis suggests another factor: "Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks. This may be because we're used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now we associated 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."

The female participants in the study were shown four pictures of the same man with different face coverings: A medical mask, a cloth mask, a book covering half his face, and finally, no covering at all.

The picture with the medical mask scored the highest for attractiveness. Even the picture with a cloth mask scored significantly higher than the one with no mask at all.

Noting the change of perception from pre-pandemic times, Lewis stated that the pandemic has changed our psychology, and that we no longer feel the need to stay away from someone with a mask.

"This relates to evolutionary psychology and why we select the partners we do," he said. "Disease and evidence of disease can play a big role in mate selection – previously any cues to disease would be a big turn-off. Now we can observe a shift in our psychology that face masks are no longer acting as a contamination cue."

My eyes are up here.

Lewis has also acknowledged the possibility that face masks make people more attractive because it directs the attention to the eyes. Additionally, some studies have found that covering either side of the face can also make people more attractive, partly because our brains fill in the missing gaps and this can exaggerate the overall impact.

While the second study, which uses pictures of a woman in masks on a male study group, has not been published yet, Lewis has said that the results were similar too; masking up helps both males and females look better.