It Pays to Look Good

As cosmetic procedures become more affordable, more and more people, both men and women, are taking advantage of the opportunity to improve their appearance. Since all these procedures have a cost, it's reasonable to ask why this increase is taking place. One obvious answer is that people feel better about themselves when they look in the mirror and are pleased by what they see. Another contributing factor is that attractive people are treated better by strangers. This is one of the points made by Nancy Etcoff in her book "The Survival of the Prettiest". She says that "Good looking adults are more likely to get away with anything from shoplifting to cheating on exams."  There is also good evidence that  attractive people do better financially.

In his New York Times column, Freakonomics, Daniel Dubner discusses the "beauty premium" of having good teeth. It turns out that women who grew up drinking fluoridated water, and thus presumably had better teeth, earned 4% more than women who did not drink fluoridated water. This effect did not carry over to men.
In the December 19, 2007 issue of the Economist an article discusses how "beauty and success go hand in hand". They point out that in the past people often equated beauty with virtue and ugliness with sin. We know that beauty, particularly skin and hair condition, is an indicator of health. It has been found that people can, with statistically significant results, estimate the intelligence of an individual by looking at photographs. The clues that are used are also associated with beauty.
Dr. Daniel Hamermesch, an economist at the University of Texas, has found that  in the U.S. and  Canada,  ugly  people earn  less than average  incomes (-9% in men and -6% in women) and beautiful people earn more than average (+5% in men and +4% in women). In other countries the differences are even more pronounced.
In another study Dr. Hamermesch looked at graduation photographs of an American law school class. He found that those who were attractive went on to earn more than those who were not. Whether we approve of this or not, it is clear that this is how our, and many other societies operate. There is no doubt that it pays to be attractive.

Gerald N. Bock MD
California Skin & Laser Center
Stockton & Lodi, CA