How Big Is Your Limbal Ring?


 Of all the qualities that give an attractive person an edge, here's one you've likely overlooked: the limbal ring, the dark circle around iris. The limbal ring is the line that separates the colored part of the eye from the white (the sclera).   

It's completely unconscious, the way we all judge others' limbal rings. In the 20 milliseconds or so it takes to assess a person's attractiveness, you're factoring in the size and shade of the limbal rings. The bigger and blacker they are, the more attractive the eyes. People with the prettiest eyes have the most prominent limbal rings.  

This, anyhow, is the upshot of a recent study by Darren Peshek and his colleagues at the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of California at Irvine. The researchers showed volunteers eighty pairs of male and female faces. Each pair of faces was identical except the eyes: one had dark limbal rings and the other had no limbal rings. The volunteers were asked to pick which face was more attractive and to indicate their degree of preference.

Men thought women with the dark limbal rings were more attractive than those without, and women thought the same of men with dark limbal rings. Men and women also judged faces of the same sex as more attractive when the limbal rings were large.

Looking into my baby daughter's eyes, I see the blue of her iris is framed by a thick black limbal ring.  The contrast makes the white of her eyes so white they look blue. The very young have the thickest, darkest limbal rings.

Which is exactly the point. The limbal ring serves as an honest signal of youth and health—desirable qualities, reproductively speaking. The ring fades with age and with medical problems. It's thickest from infancy through the early 20s. A thick, dark limbal ring may make us appear younger. It makes the whites of the eyes whiter.  This might be why so many people think light eyes are so sexy: the limbal ring, when present, is more prominent.

There are so many ways to fake the appearance of youth. You can wear makeup and wigs and get tummy tucks, plastic surgery, Botox, and boob jobs.

But a fake limbal ring?

Yes, this too.

Long ago, Japanese schoolgirls discovered the edge a large limbal ring can give you by wearing "limbal ring" contact lenses. They make the eye look bigger and more defined. And while you're eyeing these contacts, you might as well buy a set that expands your pupils too. Big, dark, dilated pupils signal emotional arousal. They, too, act on the unconscious favorably.

The limbal ring is well-named. Limbis means border or edge, and it's related to limbic, meaning emotion or drives. The limbal ring, seen from inches away, is an intimacy zone. Don't flirt until you see the whites of their eyes.

Commentaires

Enregistrer un commentaire

Posts les plus consultés de ce blog

People Whose Eyes Have A Dark Ring Around The Iris Appear More Attractive, Study Says

Image
  Introduction Hazelnut, sea green, sparkling or amber? Whenever someone asks us about our favorite eye color, the answer comes in different shades. There seem to be thousands of shades, and people find one color more attractive than others. At least that's what we thought. But, recent studies are showing us a completely different answer. It's revealed that the color is not that important; rather, a dark circle called limbal rings  on the eye can make all the difference! Understanding Limbal Rings   Limbal rings , a quite uncommon term for the people, in general, are causing us all the trouble. It is a dark ring that separates the iris from the sclera. If you are looking for a more straightforward term, it is the ring that separates the colored part from the white part of the eyes. You might be thinking, why didn't you hear about this limbal ring then? Well, because, when people are talking about the attractiveness of humans, they seem to talk about face, color, hair, hei...
Lire la suite

Why Do Some People Have Dark Rings Around the Iris of Their Eye?

Image
  I enjoy writing about fashion as well as the natural beauty of nature. Prominent limbal rings enhance the beauty of the eye. wiki commons Limbal Rings Dark circles or rings around the iris are known as limbal rings. They appear as a dark border separating the iris from the whites of the eye. Considered to be a desirable fashion, they highlight the iris colour and make the whites look whiter, adding drama to the eye's appearance. A 2011 article in  Evolutionary Psychology  noted the results of a study that revealed that people are generally more attracted to those with defined limbal rings than those without. This finding proved to be true for both men and women. So, what causes these magical rings, and how do you get them if you haven't naturally been blessed with them? Are they just another aesthetic feature to be insecure about? The corneal limbus is a border separating the cornea from the sclera. Interesting Facts About Limbal Rings Genetically, eye colour is quite c...
Lire la suite

Limbal ring

Image
A  limbal ring  is a dark ring around the  iris  of the eye, where the  sclera  meets the  cornea . [1]  It is a dark-colored manifestation of the  corneal limbus  resulting from optical properties of the region. [2]  The appearance and visibility of the limbal ring can be negatively affected by a variety of medical conditions concerning the peripheral cornea. [3]  It has been suggested that limbal ring thickness may correlate with health or youthfulness and may contribute to facial attractiveness. [3] [4]  Some  contact lenses  are colored to simulate limbal rings. [1] Both health and age are positively correlated with a prominent limbal ring. [5]  For instance, a darker limbal ring tends to be found more attractive than the absence of a limbal ring, suggesting that both sexes "use the limbal ring as a probabilistic indicator of reproductive fitness". [5]  Furthermore, limbal rings appear to be most no...
Lire la suite