What do Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o and Halle Berry have in common, besides being exceptionally beautiful?
They all have a heart-shaped face (wide at the cheekbones and tapering to a point at the chin) which, according to a new study, is the most attractive to men.
The soft, curved features this produces are perceived as more feminine, experts say, while high cheekbones can help the face look younger for longer.
The study, conducted by researchers in Turkey, found that the second most desired face was oval-shaped, among many beautiful celebrities such as Cameron Diaz and Rihanna.
Scarlett Johansson is considered to have a heart-shaped face, which men are said to find more attractive. She is pictured above attending the premiere of Sing 2 in 2021.
Lupita Nyong’o and Halle Berry are also considered to have heart-shaped faces, considered the most attractive to men. Lupita appears at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this month and Halle Berry appears in Saudi Arabia in December last year.
Dr Nicholas Jones, a plastic surgeon from Atlanta, Georgia, who was not involved in the study, told DailyMail.com: ‘This study supports the idea that men find the heart-shaped face the most attractive.
‘I think having prominent cheekbones helps suspend the skin on your face, keeping you looking younger for longer.
“Also, being heart-shaped with very soft angles, it makes the face look much more feminine.”
Men may consider women with softer face angles to be more fertile because it suggests they have low levels of testosterone, he added.
High levels of testosterone in women are known to disrupt the menstrual cycle and impair egg quality.
For the latest study, researchers showed 172 heterosexual men a digitized photograph of the same woman, but with five different face shapes.
The men were asked to rate each face on a scale of one to ten, with one being “very unattractive” and ten being “very attractive.”
The researchers then calculated the average score for each face to reveal which was the most attractive.
Men had an average score of 5.3 out of 10 for heart-shaped face, the highest score of the group.
The oval face got a score of 4.5, putting it in second place, while the round face got a score of 4.26 out of 10, putting it in third place.
At the other end of the scale, the square-shaped face scored 4.06 out of 10, putting it at the bottom of the pile.
And the penultimate was the rectangular face, which obtained a score of 4.14 out of 10.
Cameron Diaz and Rihanna are considered to have more oval faces.
Angelina Jolie has a more square face, although she is still famous for being a great beauty
The study was published in June of last year in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics.
The men were sent the images to take the survey via WhatsApp or email and were asked to look at each one for at least five seconds before giving them a score out of ten.
The images were created using 3D software by the Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences in central Turkey.
Limitations of the study include that participants were only shown the altered face of one woman.
Dr. Jones noted that the woman used in the study did not appear very feminine because she had a large forehead with more angular features.
The researchers found that the heart-shaped face was the most popular, followed by the oval-shaped face (right).
Previous studies, such as a paper from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which had the same findings, have been linked to making women look younger.
The researchers said: “A heart-shaped midface is the quintessential symbol of youth and remains the overall goal of midfacial rejuvenation.”