Lifestyle - Facial scars boost sex appeal

LONDON: The secret of women swooning over Hollywood actor Harrison Ford and original 007 Sean Connery may be more than their star status, for a
study has now suggested that facial scars increases men's attractiveness to a woman.

Based on an extensive study of 220 people, researchers in Britain found that facial scars can help win a woman's heart. Many women find Fords scar on his chin and Connery's on his face as unique beauty marks that boosts the sex appeal of the two Hollywood celebrities.

The British study has suggested that scarring associated with violence may signal to a woman that the man has a risk-taking personality or above average masculinity, both of which might appeal to women for short term relationships. In effect, scars may indirectly be a sign of good genes or a strong immune system that also appeal to women for short-term relationships.

The study, published in the journal 'Personality and Individual Differences', suggested that a facial scar, preferably one that looks like it was inflicted in anger rather than the aftermath of chickenpox or acne, increases men's attractiveness to a woman for a short-term relationship.

Researchers from the universities of Liverpool and Stirling found that faced with picture of men with and without different scars, women rated the scarred faces as better looking. However, scars did not enhance women's attractiveness to men.

"This is the first study to demonstrate that under certain circumstances post-traumatic scarring may increase a person's perceived social worth," the researchers were quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "Our results suggest that under certain circumstances scars may advertise valued information about their bearers, and that the idea that scarring universally devalues social perceptions can no longer be assumed to be true," they said.