6 Unusual Steps to Become More Physically Attractive

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To be happy should never be our end goal. Striving to be happier, however, is healthier and more attainable. Attractiveness is much the same.

It is best viewed as a continuum, not an either/or. The desire to be more attractive, or at least fend off unattractiveness, is a normal and healthy component of high self-esteem.

“Nature to be commanded must be obeyed.” — Francis Bacon

Now before we begin I want to make a few disclaimers: I’m not going to give you fashion advice, tell you what face wash to use or how to apply invisible concealer. There’s plenty of advice on those topics already on the internet.

I’m also not going to tell you to act confident, speak clearly and hold eye contact. I’m not saying your behavior doesn’t massively affect your attractiveness, it does, but it’s already been covered elsewhere.

What I’m going to tell you are six simple, albeit unusual, scientific ways you can become significantly more physically attractive. They’re not unhealthy, and everyone can use them.

1. Get A Carotenoid Tan

If you water a flower with colored water, over time the leaves of the plant will change color.

Human beings aren’t so different from plants.

Carotenoids are compounds found in brightly colored foods like carrots and sweet potato. If you eat high-carotenoid foods on a regular basis, they will change the coloring of your skin and give you a natural tan-like glow.

I know it sounds a bit far-fetched but keep reading, you’ll soon be convinced.

A new and innovative study recently published in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology sheds new light on the importance of skin color as a determiner of facial attractiveness.

In the first part of the experiment, they made two groups, each consisting of 60 participants and had them rate the attractiveness of 27 tanned faced composites against a pale-faced version of the same person. In the second part of the experiment, one group had a melanin tan (sun exposure), the other group had a carotenoid tan (bright vegetables).

In the first group, 78.5% of the attendants rated the sun-tanned face more attractive than the pale face.

In the second group, 86% voted the carotenoid tan face more attractive than the pale face.

So a tan from the sun or high-carotenoid food is more attractive than being pale.

At this point, you probably think I’m going to recommend getting a tan through carotenoid food sources because vegetables tend to prevent cancer, and excessive sun exposure tends to cause cancer. That’s a good reason, but no…

In the final test, they made attendants rate the attractiveness of 24 sun tanned composites against the carotenoid versions. A whopping 75.9% preferred the carotenoid tan over the sun tan. This suggests that we may have evolved an unconscious ability to extrapolate the health of an individual by the amount of colorful vegetables in their diet.

The participants in the study were left to their own devices when it came to their carotenoid intake. This is good news — the fact that they didn’t have an experimenter over their shoulder at every meal probably means that they maintained a relativity normal diet.

I now think of high carotenoid foods now like supplements, not only do they have incredible health benefits, but they give you a better tan than the sun.

Here’s a list of high carotenoid foods, as a rule, look for a bright/strong pigment:

Sweet Potato

Carrots

Dark Leafy Greens

Dried Apricots

Sweet Red Peppers

Cantaloupe Melon

Butternut Squash

Try and get some in every day. Carrots with hummus is my favorite snack at the moment. Smoothies are also fast and simple.

2. Reach 12% Body Fat

For years, people believed the most important characteristic that makes a man attractive is his masculine features — a strong jaw, brow and pair of biceps. Recently, however, this has been flipped on its head. It turns out leanness is a far greater predictor of physical attractiveness in men than masculine features.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences, they asked 29 young fertile women to rate 69 young men, of all body sizes, on their attractiveness, masculinity and body fat. Then they injected the men with a Hepatitis B vaccine to see how their immune systems responded as well as measuring their circulating testosterone levels.

To the researchers surprise, masculine features didn’t correlate with attractiveness, a strong immune system or high testosterone — low body fat did. According to the study 12% body fat was perceived as the most attractive. As body fat levels increased, immune system and testosterone levels went down.

Although the test wasn’t done on women, the body fat in women that would correspond to 12% in men would be somewhere in the region of 20-25%. It’s the lower end of the healthy range.

If you’re not sure how to get lean, the best book on this topic — bar none — is The Muscle and Strength NUTRITION Pyramid by Eric Helms.

3. Get Your Beauty Sleep

In a study led by John Axelsson from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, they investigated the relationship between sleep and attractiveness. They took 23 non-smokers, had them groomed and neutrally pose for two different sets of photographs — one in which they were sleep deprived, one in which they were not.

65 observers who did not know the sleep status of the people photographed were then asked to rate their attractiveness, health, and tiredness. The observers rated the sleep deprived people as less attractive, less healthy and tireder.

Further studies corroborating these findings have been done on the link between red eyes, one of the symptoms of sleep deprivation, and unattractiveness.

Want to know how to be more attractive and happy? Get 8 hours a night.

4. Meditate

There is an overwhelming link between perceived attractiveness and health. Usually, if you look healthy (emotionally as well as physically) by default you will also look attractive.

I’ve already written extensively about the health benefits of meditation explaining how it improves your mood, lowers damaging stress hormones, clears the skin and prevents mental illness.

I couldn’t leave meditation off this list.

5. Wear Red

The color red is linked to status, sex and danger in numerous contexts. In Ancient Rome the powerful ones were those who “wore red“; in nature red snakes are often the most venomous; in baboon cultures red is associated with alpha male characteristics; in modern culture celebrities role out on red carpets.

In several experiments at the University of Rochester, women were asked to mark photographs by their willingness to date, kiss and engage in other sexual activity with the men pictured. The experimenters cleverly manipulated the color of the attire of those pictured to see if red, or any other color would yield different results.

It did. In the images where the men wore red, women were much more willing to engage in sexual activity with the men. In other studies, men are also shown to be more attracted to women in red too. Think Jessica Rabbit.

6. Smell Nice

Everyone knows hygiene is important. Bad smells are inherently repulsive. Hell, skunks use bad odor as a survival mechanism. What few people know, however, is that good smells have the power to change the attractiveness of your face.

Research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center showed that when participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of a photograph of a woman, the scent in the room altered the outcome.

When rose oil (pleasant) was released into the room at the same time as the photographs appeared the observers found those pictured significantly more attractive than without. Fish oil (unpleasant), likewise, negatively affected the attractiveness rating of those pictured.

How To Be More Attractive in 6 Steps Eat lots of brightly colored vegetables. Combine step 1 with exercise to get leaner. Never compromise on your sleep. Practice mindfulness meditation every day. Add red clothes to your wardrobe. Shower frequently and use perfume/cologne.