Women prefer gold hued skin rather than masculine face

London, Feb 12 (IANS) Women prefer men with a healthier skin colour, particularly if the hue is more golden, rather than a masculine face.

The study used photographs of Caucasian and black African men's faces in controlled conditions to measure the skin colour of their faces.

Ian Stephen, from the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus), who led the study, used a new computer technique to measure mathematically how masculine faces are, the Daily Mail reports.

Stephen said: "The attractive colour in our face is affected by our health - especially by the amount of colourful antioxidant carotenoid pigments we get from fruit and vegetables in our diet. They are thought to be good for our immune and reproductive systems, making us healthy and increasing fertility.

"The masculinity of the face had no effect on the attractiveness of the face." According to Stephen, when humans find a member of the opposite sex attractive, their brains are telling them they are an appropriate mate.

In evolutionary terms, people who are recognised as healthy fertile mates will be more successful at having offspring.

Stephen said: "Most people think the best way to improve skin colour is to get a suntan, but our research shows that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is actually more effective. Our study shows that being healthy may be the best way for men to look attractive."