Brunettes May Have an Unfair Advantage in Perceived Attractiveness, Study Suggests

For decades, blondes have been told they have more fun, but a new study suggests that brunettes may hold an advantage when it comes to perceived attractiveness and health.

Researchers from Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania have found that a person's hair color can influence how smooth and even their skin appears to others. The study, published in the journal Perception, indicates that darker hair and high-contrast backgrounds, particularly black ones, made facial skin look more uniform. This uniformity is strongly linked to judgments of attractiveness, health, youthfulness, and even trustworthiness.

In one experiment, 61 participants viewed images of 45 women aged 19 to 79. The faces were presented without visible hair and displayed on either a black or a skin-colored background. Analysis revealed that faces appeared significantly more even when shown against a black background.

To further investigate the role of hair color, the researchers conducted a second experiment. Participants were shown images of women whose hair had been digitally lightened and darkened. This manipulation revealed that while it did not significantly affect perceptions of younger faces, older women with darker hair were rated higher on skin evenness.

The findings suggest that the contrast between the skin and its surrounding surfaces plays a role in how skin appearance is perceived. The researchers concluded that simple styling choices, such as hair color, might subtly influence how attractive and healthy an individual appears to others.