17 Most Attractive Physical Traits (According to Science)

physical beauty traits men and women

What makes a person beautiful?

Contrary to popular belief, a beautiful face isn’t the only requirement needed for you to be considered beautiful.

Other factors also help contribute immensely to your overall score of physical attractiveness.

Let me explain…

Everyone is beautiful in their own way, no doubt about that; but most beautiful people have certain specific things in common.

Knowing these common things will greatly help you to make yourself more attractive.

How?

Physical attractiveness is basically the degree to which your physical features are perceived as aesthetically pleasing and beautiful.

This means that despite the cultural differences of beauty, there are some specific physical traits that are universally found to be beautiful, and that can alter your perceived physical attractiveness.

In this post, you’ll learn about the 25 attributes that can make a person physically attractive…

1. good health.

good health physical beauty

You may be wondering:

”What’s that got to do with physical attractiveness?”

At first glance, it appears that being in good health has nothing to do with your degree of physical attractiveness.

However, being in a state of good physical, mental and social well-being is critical to your overall physical attractiveness.

Health is not strictly related to the absence of a physical disease or disorder. It also includes your mental and social state of well-being.

… Also when you are in a good state of physical, mental and social well-being – it’s hard not to look good.

Here’s why…

Physical beauty is a reflection of good health.

To make a long story short, good health equals an attractive appearance.

People who have acne, are overweight, have excessive body hair, et cetera; from a medical perspective, they’re actually considered physically ill.

There are many diseases and medical conditions that can negatively affect our physical appearance.

Therefore, if you want to become more physically attractive – your health should be your #1 priority.

2. facial symmetry.

beautiful facial symmetry

One of the most important traits of beauty is facial symmetry.

I mentioned in my last post that symmetrical faces are visually processed faster by the human brain than less -symmetrical faces. so therefore, our brains find symmetrical faces to be more physically attractive.

People prefer symmetrical faces.

Having a face that is balanced and equal on both sides of your face plays a vital role in judgments of your physical attractiveness, and can also play a role in mating selection.

Researchers say we like symmetrical faces because they are an indication of good health/genes. However, recent research shows that facial symmetry may not be related to the quality of your genes.

Furthermore, most people don’t have perfect symmetry. As far as I know, (unless you’re a robot) it’s impossible to have 100 percent ideal mathematical symmetry.

We’re all born with minor asymmetries. In many instances, we may not even be aware of our imperfect asymmetries, and we generally tend to assume that our face is perfectly symmetrical.

For example, it is common for one eye to be positioned slightly different from the other.

Just look closer to the mirror, and you may manage to see some asymmetries, or try taking a frontal picture of your face and analyze it for further verifications.

Finally, you should keep in mind that according to research – beautiful faces tend to have greater symmetry.

(I explain in more detail how to make your face more symmetrical in my free book)

3. averageness.

averageness facial attractiveness

It turns out, you don’t have to look like those drop-dead gorgeous models to be considered attractive.

You just have to look… average.

Researchers in the field of physical attractiveness use computer images of certain individuals, and then they make their facial features look average using some computer program (maybe it’s photoshop, I’m not sure) in order to study the effect it has on physical attractiveness ratings.

This is commonly referred to as the ”Averageness Hypothesis.”

According to a study of facial attractiveness, researchers changed/manipulated the symmetry of electronic images of individual faces to see if facial attractiveness is solely related to only perfect symmetry.

They discovered that facial averageness also helps contribute to facial attractiveness and not just symmetry.

In short, many scientific studies support the claim that averageness (average face) is physically attractive.

4. youthfulness.

youthfulness physical attractivenes

Let’s be honest…

Don’t you wish you could be young forever?

Being old is a nightmare for many people, especially women.

Which is why a large percentage of people seek out cosmetic surgery.

A youthful appearance – especially in women – is critical to your overall physical attractiveness.

Youthfulness is more important for women because it is closely related to physical beauty, men perceive women who have youthful facial features to be more attractive.

However, youthfulness doesn’t last forever; plus it’s not easy to maintain a youthful appearance.

So what can you do?

You’ll have to get rid of the deadly enemy of youthful appearance – aging.

You’ll need to prevent/slow visible signs of aging – such as wrinkles, turkey neck, gray hair, etc… using cosmetic surgery operations or by using natural methods.

Generally, you do not want to look older than you really are.

5. sexual dimorphism.

sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism in humans is the presence of physical and sexual differences between the sexes, apart from the differences in sexual organs.

Differences such as in size, color, behavior, et cetera – is found to play a role in physical attractiveness.

This hypothesis suggests that men find women with highly feminine physical features to be attractive, and vice-versa.

To put it another way…

Men are more attracted to faces of women with high estrogen (female sex hormone), and women are more attracted to faces of men with high testosterone (male sex hormone) levels, but not always.

6. waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and the shoulder-to-hip ratio  (SHR).

physical attractiveness ideal body

What’s the ‘perfect‘ body for men and women?

According to studies of physical attractiveness, men prefer women who have a lower waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and women prefer men who have a higher shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR).

To put it differently, men find women with slim waists and an hourglass figure to be attractive, and women find men with broad shoulders and narrow waists to be attractive.

Researchers say we prefer these ‘ideal’ bodyfeatures because they may represent signs of good genes and fertility

7. color attractiveness.

color attractiveness

Is your favorite color making you more attractive?

In color psychology, each color has a meaning; and each color can influence your psychological state, behavior, and emotions.

When it comes to physical attractiveness, the color of your clothing is found to affect people’s perception of your attractiveness.

What colors are most attractive?

According to a study, the color red is associated with greater sexual attractiveness in both sexes. Men perceive women who wear red clothing to be more attractive and appealing, and vice-versa.

In another color study, 1000 participants of the study rated the color black as the most attractive on both men and women. In addition to attractiveness, participants rated those wearing black to be more intelligent and socially confident.

8. ethnicity/skin color.

ethnicity and physical attractiveness

This may seem sad or racist.

But, some ethnicities/races are more attractive than others.

European women are considered the most beautiful on the planet.

What about men?

Things are different for men, beauty for men is more about masculinity and toughness than beautiful skin or hair. V-torso (shoulder-to-hip ratio) is probably the most physically attractive feature in men, and as you can see it’s something that has to do with strength and toughness. In fact, physical features that are associated with strength, masculinity, and toughness in men is considered attractive by women.

According to a dating study, white women prefer white men when replying to online messages; as well as Hispanic and Asian women. Women from all ethnicities typically respond favorably to white males. These findings prove that women from different ethnicities find white men to be more attractive.

Another study of online dating found that more than 90 percent of white women prefer not to date East Indians, Middle Easterners, Asians, and black people. Moreover, white men prefer not to date black women.

These findings show that it may be better to date from your own race; these findings may seem disturbing, but unfortunately; this is the nature of human beings. Life is of course not fair.

9. eye color.

physical attractiveness blue eyes

If the color of your eyes is black, you’re out of luck.

Why?

Because black-colored eyes are more common, they’re not very interesting. (In fact, very few people have black-colored eyes, it just seems black, it’s actually dark brown).

According to a survey, more than half of participants found the color blue to be the most desirable and attractive eye color. (people who have naturally blue eyes make just 17% of the world’s population.) The second preferable eye color was green, followed by brown. Interestingly, women preferred men who have brown eyes more than those with green eyes.

10. large eyes.

big eyes attractiveness

Big eyes are considered to be an attractive facial feature. (sorry, asian people!)

Why?

The reason is unclear, but probably because large eyes resemble the eyes of Infants and children; and everyone finds children to be cute and attractive.

It should be noted that large and more defined eyes are generally considered more attractive in women.

According to studies, men find women with large eyes to be more attractive.

Large eyes in women could be a sign of good genes and fertility.

You may be wondering, ”is it possible to make your eyes appear larger?”

The short answer is yes, here’s how…

When you look at someone or something that you love or find attractive – the pupils of your eyes will unconsciously dilate and become larger, which will make your eyes appear larger.

This is why people with large eyes are considered attractive, it seems like they’re in love most of the time.

This is also one of the reasons women use make-up techniques to make their eyes look bigger.

11. small nose.

small nose physical attractiveness

A slim nose is one of the most desirable facial features.

Most people think their nose is too big, especially women.

For men, a medium-sized nose is preferable; because it could be a sign of masculinity.

But generally, the attractiveness of your nose depends on your other facial features.

Let’s take an example:

If you have a small chin – and your nose is big, then it will negatively affect your facial appearance and attractiveness.

On the other hand, if you have a large square jawline – and your nose is big, then no one will think that your nose is too big.

How can I make my nose smaller?

Other than cosmetic surgery, a lot of people have found great success with facial yoga exercises.

12. eyebrow shape.

eyebrows and attractiveness

Can I be totally honest with you?

I love looking at Cara Delevingne‘s eyes, they just look amazing… you feel lost in her eyes.

Don’t you agree?

One of the reasons her eyes look gorgeous is because of her famous facial feature, her well-shaped brows.

In an Interview, she mentioned that she does nothing to maintain her great-looking eyebrows.

The most important facial feature may be your eyebrows, according to a recent study.

According to the study, eyebrows are the most important facial feature for expressing feelings and emotions. It was also found that people are good at recognizing eyebrows more than eyes.

13. kissable lips.

attractive lips

Everyone wants to have kissable lips.

But how can we define ‘kissable lips’ according to science?

What is the preferred lip size?

Research in this area is very limited due to the difficulty to determine the attractiveness of lips with disregard to other facial features.

It is commonly known that full and red-colored lips are more attractive in women.

However, recent research has suggested that for both male and female individuals, thin to medium-sized lips are considered the most attractive.

But generally, other factors such as ethnicity, sex, and other facial features influence the attractiveness of your lips.

14. hair color.

blondes physical attractiveness

Can your hair color influence your perceived attractiveness?

According to a french study, blond women are considered the most attractive, and male redheads were found to be the least attractive.

This is probably the reason behind why a lot of women dye their hair blonde.

I guess the famous saying, ”blondes are dumb”. Is not very accurate after all.

15. teeth.

teeth attractiveness

According to a survey by a dating website, most participants (men and women) claimed that teeth were the most important physical feature for them when seeking a partner.

It should be noted that what people say, isn’t really what they respond to. I find well-researched scientific studies to be more credible than surveys.

Anyways, your teeth don’t have to be perfect.

In fact, a little imperfection can add some personality.

What you should avoid are things like:

  • Bad breath
  • Yellowish teeth
  • Smoking
  • Coffee

Contrary to popular beliefs, you don’t need to have perfectly-aligned white teeth to have a great smile. It’s not a standard of universal beauty.

16. high cheekbones.

high cheekbones

High cheekbones are one of the most attractive facial features.

They can make your face look stunningly beautiful.

But first off, I want to clarify something:

People who have cheekbones similar to the guy in the above picture make up less than 1% of the world’s population. When you watch lots of movies, and you see these gorgeous-looking people everywhere, you start to feel like MOST people are good-looking and that you’re the only one who’s not that attractive.

Anyways, back to our topic.

Why do we find high cheekbones attractive?

Because they make your face look young and mature. Prominent cheek-bones are an indicator of good genes, health, and fertility.

17. strong jawline.

strong jawline

A sharp and well-defined jawline is a sign of elevated testosterone levels.

It’s considered attractive by both sexes, but It’s especially attractive in men because it may be an indication of masculinity and aggressiveness.

Most of the times it looks good on women, but if it’s too sharp. Then it may be considered a turn-off.

Conclusion

Some of the above physical traits are considered universally attractive.

But let’s face it… most people are average or below-average.

People who have all of the above physical traits make up less than 1% of the global population.

So, what about you? how many of the above physical traits do you have? please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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