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IMAGE: Changes in the effect of facemasks on perceptions of facial attractiveness as a result of COVID-19. Left: Assumptions of unhealthiness associated with face mask usage dropped by more than half,. view more
Credit: Miki Kamatani, et al. i-Perception. June 27, 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic has improved perceptions of facial attractiveness and healthiness of people wearing face masks in Japan.
Wearing sanitary facemasks was not uncommon in Japan prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Public health initiatives during the pandemic have led to a drastic increase in the use of facemasks as they reduce the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The sanitary-mask effect is a model that predicted how facemasks affected perceptions of facial attractiveness. However, as mindsets might have changed due to the pandemic, it is likely that the sanitary-mask effect has been altered.