Page 3

Estrogen and Attractiveness

Scientists nowadays claim that the more fertile a woman is, the more attractive she is to men. For years, scientists believed that when lovers stare at each other, they are only using facial cue, such as: large eyes, small nose, large lips, and so on. A lover would use this to check whether their future partner has high "fitness." With such a person, one can efficiently pass on their genes to the next generation.
The female sex hormone estrogen was considered the mediator of beauty, promoting health and fertility in women. Estrogens stimulate the development of typical round shapes in a female body, as well as beautiful skin.

Now, researchers have shown that women with higher estrogen levels do indeed have more attractive faces. Biological research has shown that a woman's face is linked to her well-being, as estrogen positively influences women's reproductive health and fertility.

Hormones exert the greatest effect on the shape of the face during puberty. The main male sex hormone, testosterone, causes the jaw and brow ridges to become more prominent and facial hair to grow, causing boys' faces to grow more than girls' faces.

The female sex hormone, estrogen, prevents the growth of the facial bone, reduces the size of the nose and chin, and leads to large eyes, enlarged lips, and fat deposition in the cheek (FAP); furthermore, estrogen causes fat deposition at the hips and buttocks (BAP), characteristics that signal that a woman is fertile.

Women with higher estrogen levels were rated as more attractive, healthier, and more feminine in this study.
Interestingly, researchers found no link between appearance and estrogen in women who wore makeup. The researchers believe that although makeup improves the appearance of the face, it may mask cues normally seen on the face.

Thus, women effectively advertise their state of general fertility with their faces. These findings could explain why men generally prefer feminine female faces.

In evolutionary terms, it makes sense that men prefer feminine, fertile women; men with this (genetically ingrained) preference might have had more babies over successive generations.

Estrogens also have a positive growth effect on breast size and shape. These hormones determine the rounded shapes of the female body: breasts and hips (BAP). Consequently, estrogens have a positive effect on the attractiveness of the female face (FAP), as well as the female body (BAP). FAP and BAP reinforce each other's physical shaping during evolution and sexual selection.

Two ladies with BAP (Breast Face)
Image A: Two young ladies with underdeveloped BAPs (Breast Face).