ArticleAesthetic surgery journal. Open forum2022
The Effect of Wearing a Mask on Facial Attractiveness.
Article in Aesthetic surgery journal. Open forum, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Attenuated inferred-sensory mismatch during masked face recognition in schizophrenia.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Impact of Mask-Wearing on Public Attitudes, Perceptions, and Interest in Rhinoplasty During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- The Crucial Role of the Eyes in Predicting Facial Attractiveness from Parts.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effects of Masks on the Preference of Laser Treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Japanese Population.Journal of plastic and reconstructive surgery · 2025Article
- How facemasks shape trust in social interactions.PloS one · 2025Article
- Unveiling why race does not affect the mask effect on attractiveness: but gender and expression do.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2024Article
- Commentary on: The Effect of Wearing a Mask on Facial Attractiveness.Aesthetic surgery journal. Open forum · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Comment on
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated masking in public spaces. Masks may impact the perceived attractiveness of individuals and hence, interpersonal relations. Objectives: To determine if facial coverings affect attractiveness. Methods: An online survey was conducted using 114 headshot images, 2 each-unmasked and masked-of 57 individuals. Two hundred and seven participants rated them on an ordinal scale from 1 (least attractive) to 10 (most attractive). Parametric and nonparametric tests were performed, as appropriate, for comparison. Results: For the first quartile, the average rating increased significantly when wearing a mask (5.89 ± 0.29 and 6.54 ± 0.67; Conclusions: While wearing a facial covering significantly increased attractiveness for images less attractive at baseline, and decreased attractiveness for those that are more attractive at baseline; it did not cause a significant overall change in attractiveness in the study population. Level of Evidence 5:
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.