Study Finds Moderately Long Eyelashes Seen as Healthiest and Most Attractive; Very Long Lashes Signal Greater Sexual Receptivity

Cartoon characters and beauty adverts often emphasise very long eyelashes, but a new UK study suggests the most attractive and healthy-looking lash length is more modest.

Researchers at the University of Plymouth found that ratings for perceived health and attractiveness peaked when eyelash length was roughly one‑third the width of the eye, while longer lashes produced higher ratings of sexual receptivity.

The study, led by Farid Pazhoohi and published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, involved 120 UK participants who viewed computer‑generated images of female faces representing multiple ethnic groups. For each face, the researchers produced 11 variations of eyelash length and asked participants to rate how healthy, attractive and sexually receptive each woman appeared.

"Results confirmed that both health and attractiveness perceptions followed an inverted‑U pattern, peaking at eyelash lengths about one‑third the width of the eye," Pazhoohi wrote in the paper. The study found that while moderately long lashes tended to enhance the eye's appearance without seeming exaggerated or artificial, very short lashes were associated with ageing or poor health and extremely long or artificial lashes were judged as less natural.

Despite lower attractiveness and health ratings for the longest lashes, the study reports a positive association between eyelash length and perceived sexual receptivity. "Longer eyelashes might signal openness to casual relationships, despite lower attractiveness and health ratings," the authors wrote, suggesting that perceptions of attractiveness and sexual availability can diverge.

The new findings add to a body of work on eyelash form and function. A 2015 study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology examined eyelashes across 22 mammal species and reported that eyelash lengths tended to be about one‑third of eye width. A wind‑tunnel follow‑up in that work suggested that that length is optimal for diverting airflow, preserving eye moisture and reducing direct particle impact on the eye surface.

Eyelashes have long been recognised as protective structures, shielding the eye from contamination, evaporation and shear stress from airflow. In his paper, Pazhoohi noted that eyelashes may also convey information about an individual's health, because various diseases can influence lash length and condition.

The study used digitally generated, ethnically diverse faces to control for other facial features while varying only lash length. Participants rated each image on separate scales for perceived health, attractiveness and sexual receptivity. The authors emphasised that the findings reflect observers' perceptions rather than objective measures of health or behaviour.

The research follows other recent studies examining facial grooming and perceived attractiveness. A separate paper published this year found preferences for naturally shaped eyebrows with a slight arch, while elevated "Spock"‑style brows received lower attractiveness ratings. Scholars say such preferences interact with shifting cultural standards; historical ideals of the female body and facial presentation have changed across decades, shaped by media, fashion and public figures.

The University of Plymouth study underscores how small variations in facial features can affect social perception, and it situates eyelash length within both evolutionary and cultural frameworks. The authors call for further work to explore cross‑cultural responses and to examine whether similar patterns hold when observers evaluate dynamic facial expressions rather than static images.

The paper appears in Archives of Sexual Behaviour. Details on methodology and statistical analysis are provided in the published article.