--- title: 10 Ways Science Can Make Anyone Sexier description: Good looks help, there’s no denying. We make up our mind about people in 100 milliseconds and decide whether they’re hot in 13 milliseconds. Beautiful... canonical: https://time.com/3491373/10-ways-science-can-make-anyone-sexier/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-13T04:13:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:57:43.065Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 10 Ways Science Can Make Anyone Sexier og:description: Good looks help, there’s no denying. We make up our mind about people in 100 milliseconds and decide whether they’re hot in 13 milliseconds. Beautiful... og:url: https://time.com/3491373/10-ways-science-can-make-anyone-sexier/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1626a01cc26417ab/69876023cd684848d5097083/science-beauty.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: Science and woman og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Ways Science Can Make Anyone Sexier twitter:description: Good looks help, there’s no denying. We make up our mind about people in 100 milliseconds and decide whether they’re hot in 13 milliseconds. Beautiful... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1626a01cc26417ab/69876023cd684848d5097083/science-beauty.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Ways Science Can Make Anyone Sexier > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=70d4dfe2-cc86-4a7e-aa9c-75c93a0f7980&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 13, 2014 4:13 AM UTC  Working on finding the perfect molecular structure Working on finding the perfect molecular structure Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 13, 2014 4:13 AM UTC Good looks help, there’s no denying. We make up our mind about people in [100 milliseconds](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-long-does-it-take-us-to-make-up-our-mind-57590) and decide whether they’re hot in [13 milliseconds](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-decide-if-a-person-i). Beautiful people are [more successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-beautiful-people-more-successful-why). We’re more likely to [forgive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-we-more-inclined-to-forgive-mates-that-ar) attractive people. Cute folks are [less likely to be convicted of a crime](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-attractive-people-less-likely-to-be-convi) and more likely to get a shorter sentence. Have people’s opinions toward appearance changed over the years? Yes, _we_ [_value attractiveness more than ever_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-has-what-we-look-for-in-a-mate-changed-ov)_._ So what can you do to make sure you’re looking good during that [critical first impression](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-first-impressions-really-that-big-a-deal)? 1. Beauty sleep? Yeah, [it’s real](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-really-such-thing-as-beauty-sleep). Get some. 2. Red [clothes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-things-your-clothes-are-saying-about-you). [Men](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-color-should-men-wear-to-be-more-attract), [women](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-color-should-a-woman-wear-on-a-date), whatever. [Wear red](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-red-clothes-mean-sex). 3. Glasses make you look [smarter but less attractive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-glasses-really-make-you-look-smarter-but-l). 4. Your [left side](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/which-side-of-your-face-is-your-best-side) is your best side. Here are tips for making yourself [more attractive in photos](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-simple-tricks-can-make-you-look-more-att). 5. [Happiness is attractive in women but not in men. Pride is attractive in men but not in women.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-happiness-a-turn-off) The fundamentals of [what we find attractive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-our-tastes-in-the-opposite-sex-mature-as-w) do not change [as we age](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-the-elderly-pick-mates-differently-than-yo). 6. A strong sense of [meaning in life](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-a-strong-sense-of-meaning-in-life-make-y) makes people more attractive. [Here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-do-we-find-meaning-in-life)‘s how to work on that. 7. Eat right. More servings of fruits and vegetables [made people more attractive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/will-eating-healthier-make-you-sexier). 8. Tattoos are interesting. One tattoo isn’t very telling. Multiple tattoos and highly visible tattoos are highly correlated with [deviant behavior](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-connection-between-highly-visible). Students [like college professors with tattoos more](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-students-think-of-college-professors) than those without ink. People with tattoos and body piercings [have sex at younger ages, have sex more often, have more oral sex, and are far less likely to be religious](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-tattoos-mean-sex). 9. Eye contact can [make people fall in love with you](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-staring-into-someones-eyes-make-them-fall). You can tell which couples are in love by [how long they stare into each others eyes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-tell-if-two-people-are-in-love). 10. Is none of this helping? Here’s a trick that doesn’t ask you to change anything about yourself: _bring along a friend who has your basic physical characteristics (similar coloring, body type, facial features), but is slightly less attractive than you._ It [works](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-way-to-make-yourself-more-attracti). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/09/10-ways-science-can-make-anyone-sexier/)**_._** **Join over 125,000 readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [10 ways science can make \*men\* sexier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-ways-science-can-make-men-sexier) [10 ways science can make \*women\* sexier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-ways-science-can-make-women-sexier) [10 ways science explains why James Bond is so irresistible to women](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-ways-science-explains-why-james-bond-is-so) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3491373/10-ways-science-can-make-anyone-sexier/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3491373/10-ways-science-can-make-anyone-sexier/"},"headline":"10 Ways Science Can Make Anyone Sexier","datePublished":"2014-10-13T04:13:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:57:43.065Z","description":"Good looks help, there’s no denying. We make up our mind about people in 100 milliseconds and decide whether they’re hot in 13 milliseconds. 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