What do Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o and Halle Berry all have in common — other than being exceptionally beautiful?
They all have a heart-shaped face — wide at the cheekbones and tapering down to a point at the chin— which a new study has ruled is the most attractive to men.
The smooth and curve features this produces is perceived as more feminine, experts say, while high cheekbones can help the face to appear youthful for longer.
The study, by researchers in Turkey, found the second most desired face was an oval-shaped face — of 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 most attractive. She is pictured above attending the premiere of Sing 2 in 2021
Lupita Nyong’o and Halle Berry are also both considered to have heart-shaped faces, considered most attractive to men. Lupita is pictured at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this month and Halle Berry is pictured in Saudi Arabia in December last year
Dr Nicholas Jones, a plastic surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia, who was not involved in the study, told DailyMail.com: ‘This study backs up the idea that men find the heart-shaped face the most attractive.
‘I think having cheekbones that are prominent helps to suspend the skin on the face, keeping you looking youthful for a longer time.
‘Also, by having the heart-shape with the angles that are very soft, it makes the face appear much more feminine.’
Men may view women with softer angles on their face as 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 the quality of eggs.
For the latest study, researchers showed 172 straight men a digitalized photo 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, where one is ‘very unattractive’ and ten is ‘very attractive’.
Researchers then calculated the average score for each face to reveal which was the most attractive.
Men scored the heart-shaped face 5.3 out of 10 on average, the highest score in the group.
The oval face was scored at 4.5, putting it in second place, while the round-shaped face was scored at 4.26 out of 10, putting it in third.
At the other end of the scale, the square-shaped face which was scored 4.06 out of 10 — putting it at the bottom of the pile.
And second from last was the rectangular-shaped face, which had a score of 4.14 out of 10.
Cameron Diaz and Rihanna are both considerd to have more oval-shaped faces
Angelina Jolie has more of a square-shaped face, although she is still famed as a great beauty
The study was published in June last year in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics.
Men were sent the images to survey via WhatsApp or email and asked to look at each for at least five seconds before giving them a score out of ten.
The images were created using 3D software by Afyonkarahisar Health Science University in central Turkey.
Limitations of the study include that participants were only shown the altered face of one woman.
Dr Jones pointed out 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, this has been linked to the fact it makes women appear younger.
The researchers said: ‘A heart-shaped midface is the quintessential symbol of youth and remains the over-arching goal of midfacial rejuvenation.’
