+ Embarrassment is Attractive?
by Casey Rentz
[Sandra Tsing Loh Radio Program, Caltech aired August 2009]
Embarrassment is attractive? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ever turned beet red when faced with a hot guy or gal?
That’s GOOD!
So say researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They asked volunteers to adjust color-balanced photos of Caucasian faces to make them appear the most healthy.
Results?
Subjects bumped up the RED, nearly every time.
Redder skin, the scientists argue, has more capillaries. Picture, say, someone who exercises frequently. Those capillaries can dilate even more--say, after exposure to heat, and during blushing. This brings oxygenated blood to the skin.
In short: Healthier folks are redder folks--and vice versa. Meanwhile, people with heart and respiratory disease can have blueish skin. Women who produce more estrogen, a sign of reproductive health, also have more skin capillaries and blush more easily.
Because reddening announces both physical and reproductive health, it may be actually alluring to potential mates.
So gals, next time you blush when barhopping with a cute bachelor, don't fret, you might actually be attracting him!
If he too wants to have a baby RIGHT AWAY... good luck with that.