We all have that one really good-looking friend. You know the one. That Don Draper-looking son of a bitch who women find irresistible.
He’s one of those naturally attractive dudes who is always smiling and exudes confidence – rightly so, too.
That’s because anytime he walks into a room you hear two sounds: the creak of every woman’s neck as she turns to gawp at him, and an audible “sploosh” as their panties instantly become sopping wet.
Can we get a wet clean-up on aisle 5 please?
He doesn’t even have to be that good-looking, necessarily. That’s the frustrating part for the rest of us. Some guys just have that indescribable attractiveness that effortlessly draws the attention of women.
These guys are never plagued by asking how to be more attractive.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to look like Ryan Gosling. Looks are indeed a factor in the equation when it comes to attractiveness.
But while we can’t do much about our actual facial features apart from washing from time to time or dropping some serious cash on a nose job or hair plugs, there are other factors we can take charge of when we’re thinking about how to be more attractive to the opposite sex.
Here are some ideas to consider when you’re asking how to be more attractive to women…
1. Be a joker
Not the Joaquin Phoenix kind of joker, the funny-haha kind. If you’ve ever spent any time around comedy clubs, you’ve probably noticed one endlessly fascinating aspect of stand-up comedians’ personal lives: they tend to pull waaaaay above their fighting weight.
Why do gross little trollish schlub comedians date such hot women? Because when it comes to judging what makes a man sexually attractive, women take the ability to make them laugh very seriously.
In a University of Kansas study titled “Sexual Selection and Humor in Courtship: A Case for Warmth and Extroversion,” researchers found that when two strangers meet, the more times a man tries to be funny and the more times the woman laughs at his attempts, the more likely it is that she will be interested in dating him.
When the two were seen laughing together, the odds were even higher that she was interested.
2. Don’t be a dick
Have you ever heard the one about how you can judge what a person is really like not by the way they treat you on a first date, but by the way they treat the waiter? Yeah, turns out there’s something to that, in terms of what makes for attractive men. Nice guys, it seems, don’t finish last after all.
In fact, if you’re holding out hope to finish on her, inside her, or even just near her, you might consider dropping the negging behavior and simply being a nicer guy.
A 2016 study from the University of Guelph found that people who regularly engage in selfless behaviors like donating blood or volunteering for charity work get sexed up more often than those who don’t.
Researchers hypothesize that a selfless attitude in life subconsciously or consciously indicates in the mind of a potential mate that this person will likely be a selfless lover as well.
3. Be a man of mystery
This is something we all know on some deeper level, but which most of us don’t have the discipline to utilize: women are drawn to mystery. In fact, studies show that one secret to how to be more attractive to women is simply wearing sunglasses.
Yep. The eyes are such a massive source of information about a person that if you obscure them behind sunglasses it makes people more curious about you, and thus it makes you more attractive.
We make snap judgments about a person based on their eyes so quickly that often we don’t give them a chance. Take away that avenue of assessing a person and you instantly becoming more intriguing, because you become a challenge for her to figure out.
4. Wear cologne (but for Christ’s sake don’t overdo it)
We’ve all experienced a moment at the clubs when we’ve gagged in the wake of some bro who clearly took a full-on bath in Axe body spray, thinking the overwhelming smell might somehow mask his shitty personality.
While drowning your hideousness in scent doesn’t really work, there is in fact something to be said for wearing cologne in terms of how to be more attractive to women.
But it’s not about pheromones, or any subconscious “scent-signaling” from the animal kingdom or anything like that.
Like so many things when it comes to what makes a man sexually attractive, cologne is actually about confidence: studies have found that when men wear cologne they reported feeling more more attractive and confident.
But it gets even better, because that translates to how women perceive us too. A study published in The International Journal of Cosmetic Science (which is a whole lot more sciencey than it might sound) found that when women were presented video of some men who were wearing cologne and some who weren’t, they found that the more attractive men were the ones who were scented – even when the women couldn’t smell them.
The researchers concluded that the attractiveness factor here isn’t in the smell itself, it’s in the increased confidence you exude when you wear cologne.
Gentlemen, this proves conclusively that for fuck’s sake you do NOT need to bathe in the stuff, okay? Take a shower in WATER and use the cologne sparingly.
5. Fly with some wingmen
There are a few reasons why it makes sense to hit the town with some buddies rather than flying solo. One is that being in a group instantly conveys to people around you that you’re fun and amiable. You also tend to be more confident, outgoing and relaxed when you’re among your buddies.
But another reason that being in a group of mates makes a man more sexually attractive has been termed the “cheerleader effect” by researchers. A University of California at San Diego study found that an individual face appears to be more attractive when seen in a group rather than on its own.
Think about it like this: if you’re watching the Los Angeles Lakers cheerleaders perform, as a group they appear to be super hot. But when the camera zooms in on one particular girl, her looks can often, shall we say, fall short of expectations.
Researchers suggest that when we’re presented with a group of objects, whether it be dots of various sizes or a team of cheerleaders, our visual system tends to judge them as a group rather than individually.
This means that your ugly mug placed strategically among a group of friends will compute as better looking to women who are seeking attractive men than if you’re on your own.
6. Stop shaving so often
As we’ve seen previously, when women are asked what makes a man sexually attractive, facial hair consistently plays a big role.
Studies show that when rating what can guys do to be more attractive, women found that a light to medium stubble was the most appealing facial hair configuration when rating among five categories: clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, short beard or long beard.
Furthermore, women found men with full beards to be more mature, masculine and aggressive, while those with light beards were perceived to be the most dominant.
The case for a light beard has been replicated across numerous studies, most famously this one from 2008 which also found that when judging how attractive men were as potential long-term or short-term partners, light stubble won out again.
7. Walk your dog (or borrow a baby)
It’s not just a useful trope of bad television comedies and 1990s rom-com movies: having a dog makes a man more sexually attractive to women.
First of all, having a cute pupper with you instantly gives you a natural topic of conversation, especially if the girl you’re trying to chat up has a pooch of her own. A man with a dog is viewed as someone who is responsible and caring, but also it shows a vulnerable side as well.
The same goes for men who are seen with a baby.
Now, we’re not recommending you go right out and make one of those yourself. Those things are complicated to operate, they smell funny, and they tend to cut in to your Xbox time.
However, when you’re thinking about how to be more attractive to women, consider a French study that had a man sit near a young woman who was alone at an outdoor cafe.
The man would then be met by his “sister” and her baby. If the man interacted with the baby, talking, smiling, playing with the kid and so forth, when he later asked the single woman for her phone number, he got it 40 percent of the time.
However, if the man ignored the baby, his later effort to get those digits resulted in only a 12 percent success rate. Anyone have a baby they can loan me for a bit?
Blitz yourself better!
—Now read these:
—Older women who like younger men
—Why young men like older women
—Precisely why don’t girls like me?
—What to do when she pulls away
—Rules for dating hedonistic women
—Why does my girlfriend hate me?
—The rules for flirting in the workplace
—Should you date a sugar momma?