Why One Side of Your Face Is More Attractive Than the Other, According to a Study

Instagrammers spend over 5 hours a week (48 min per day) taking selfies. Usually, 7 selfies are being taken for each “perfect shot” they upload to social media sites. Annukka Lindell, a professor of neuropsychology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, has found out that most selfie-takers prefer showing their left side in pictures. She analyzed 2,000 Instagram selfies to understand why we perceive this side of the face as more pleasant.

We at Bright Side also love taking selfies and we are curious to know why our left side might be our best side.

We prefer our left side in regular and mirror selfies.

The researcher has found out that people also prefer to show their left side when taking mirror selfies. When a selfie-taker poses in front of a mirror and takes a photo of their reflection, they usually show their right cheek. As the mirror reverses left and right, a right cheek preference for mirror selfies means that the person posed with their left cheek in front of the mirror.

Artists usually paint portraits that show peoples’ left profile.

Painted portraits of others show the same asymmetric bias: people favor their left cheek. This researcher believes that it may reflect a person’s unconscious will to show their more attractive left cheek.

Our left cheek shows more emotions.

Research suggests that the left side of the face is more emotionally expressive. This could be explained by the way feelings are processed in the brain. The right side of the brain that controls the muscles on the left side of the body is emotion-dominant. This is why people intuitively show the left cheek when asked to pose for an emotional photo, and the right cheek when posing for a photo that hides their feelings.

How often do you take selfies? Have you noticed that your left side looks better in photos?