By Stephen Beech via SWNS
People are less attractive when they are covered in tattoos, according to a new study.
Researchers found that younger people, tattoo artists and those with body art themselves are not turned off by ink.
But even they draw the line at facial tattoos – saying they make people less attractive, according to the study.
German researchers asked people to rate images of the same models with and without body ink.
Most respondents rated images of the models with tattoos as “less beautiful” than images of the same models without body art.
But younger people, tattoo artists and those with body art tolerated more ink.
Study lead author Selina Weiler, of Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg, said: “Tattoos are a millennia-old practice estimated to adorn up to one in four people in the world today.
“The 1950s saw a resurgence of this once-marginalised medium in Western culture, with widespread acceptance blossoming into the 1990s.
“Though scientists have inquired after body art’s impact on perceived personality traits, the relationship between tattoos and perceived beauty is unclear.”
PhD student Weiler and her colleagues recruited 487 German adults to rate images of two models with various degrees of temporary tattoo coverage ranging from no body art through, light, moderate, heavy, extreme and up to extreme plus facial tattoos.
The tattoos followed natural, geometric and animal-inspired designs and did not include writing, religious or political text.
Participants rated the perceived beauty of each image.
Weiler said: “The images with no tattoos were the highest rated overall, while images with facial art were the lowest rated.”
The research team examined three characteristics among the participants: age, existing tattoos and tattooing “expertise” – considered to be at least seven years of experience as a professional tattoo artist.
The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, showed that participants younger than 50 rated the extreme images as more beautiful than did older respondents.
Tattooed participants chose higher beauty ratings for more tattooed models while “experts” rated images with heavy, extreme, and extreme plus facial tattoos higher than did non-experts.
Weiler said: “Facial tattoos received the least positive reception overall – even among the experts, who ranked the extreme coverage option highest as a group.”
The researchers say their findings may suggest that tattoos’ modern cultural acceptance has propelled the art form beyond “the height of fascination.”
They say future research may delineate more than two age categories, capture a more complete spectrum of tattoo designs and explore the possible influence of factors such as sexual orientation.
Weiler added: “The extent of tattoo coverage alter aesthetic appreciation of human stimuli, with responses varying by social norms, tattoos status, and expertise.”
