Study finds deceptively simple solution to attractiveness beats botox

Independent

05-06-2025

Botox promises smoother, wrinkle free skin and a fresher face, but researchers have found there is a much cheaper option if looking more attractive is the aim - simply smiling.
Researchers found injectable treatments such as dermal fillers and Botox boosted the participants perceived attractiveness by 0.07 points on a seven points scale.
That means if someone was rated a four out of seven on attractiveness before the treatment might have been rated a 4.07 out of seven afterwards.
However, there were far simpler methods that did not involve a needle that reaped even greater rewards.
Simply smiling rather than sitting with a blank expression improved perceived attractiveness by about 0.4 points out of seven – that's six times greater than the effects of Botox.
Make-up also offered an even greater attractiveness boost of about 0.6 points.
Botox is the brand name for botulinum toxin an injectable prescription medication that's used to temporarily block nerve signals to muscles causing them to relax, and as a result, smooth out wrinkles.
But prices for the treatment start at around £300- making make-up a far cheaper option if you are looking to make yourself appear more attractive.
The study, conducted by researchers in the Netherlands and published in the journal Perception, followed 114 people who underwent Botox and dermal filler treatments.
More than 3,000 judges marked their changes in appearance from before and after photographs.
They judged attractiveness and other character traits including how intelligent they were, charismatic, healthy, friendly or trustworthy just from looks.
Although Botox did not boost a person's perceived intelligence or health, it did boost how youthful people were perceived to be by 0.13 points.
There was also a small but statistically significant boost of 0.09 points for how desirable people were seen to be for a short romantic fling.
Similarly, Botox gave a 0.09-point increase for platonic likability.
But when it came to how desirable people were perceived to be as a potential long-term partner there was no statistically significant improvement.
'Our results suggest that a single session of minimally invasive facial aesthetic treatment leads to more positive perceptions on dimensions related to attractiveness, but these effects are relatively small,' study authors said.
But researchers also suggested that people seek out treatments such as Botox to 'improve feelings of self-worth, confidence, and happiness' rather than their attractiveness.
Bastian Jaeger of Tilburg University, who led the research told the Times: 'It is plausible that people have more success socially, not because they look different and people treat them differently, but because they think they do and act more confidently around others — a sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.'