A Note on Looks and Appearances 

Maybe you think you are either born good-looking or you aren’t. If you are, then you’ve won the genetic lottery, and if not, there is nothing you can do. Right? 

Thankfully, this is wrong. 

While genetic and environmental factors are undeniable, there is a lot you can do to look better. By taking care of your looks, you will be more appealing to the opposite sex. Yes, girls will react more positively towards you, and your partner will feel more attracted to you again. 

Further, people in general will view you more positively. If you don’t believe me, then just try the opposite. Go out and wear your oldest clothes, really mess up your hair, and simply ask for the time or directions! Obviously, if you literally look like a bum, people will treat you like one. On the other hand, if you look as if you take pride in your appearance, you will automatically get a lot of respect. 

Please note that I am not talking about dashing good looks. Maybe you think that your nose is too big — mine certainly is! — or that your jawline is not strong enough. But such factors alone aren’t the complete picture. Helena Rubinstein, founder of Helena Rubinstein Inc., once said: 

"There are no ugly women, only lazy ones." 

Of course, given that Helena Rubinstein ran a cosmetics company and a chain of beauty salons, this statement comes with some self-interest. Nonetheless, there’s a lot of truth to it. She implies that by making an effort you won’t look ugly anymore, but she doesn’t say that you will look beautiful just because you go to the gym and get a nice haircut, and if you are an overweight woman, then expensive eyeliner might not help much either. Beauty is indeed rare, but virtually everyone can look pretty with some effort. 

This does not just apply to women. Just as there are many lazy women who don’t seem to be bothered that they don’t look good, so are many men. They literally seem as if they couldn’t care less about their appearance. Yet, with a bit of effort, they could all look rather appealing. 

Some of you may now think that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but this isn’t quite true. In fact, certain traits are generally considered beautiful. A relevant book on this topic is Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty by Nancy Etcoff of Harvard Medical School. She convincingly demonstrates that beauty is part of our biology and that features to which we are most attracted are often signals of fertility and fecundity. 

Just think about how you view women. You probably are more drawn towards slimness than obesity, and you almost certainly prefer full lips over thin ones. I could easily go on. But even if you doubt it, then why do beauty surgeons specialize in certain procedures. Liposuction is common, but have you ever heard of someone who wanted to become fatter or get more wrinkles and thus sought out the services of a specialist? Of course you haven’t.