Data from: Facial attractiveness is related to women’s cortisol and body fat, but not with immune responsiveness

Recent studies suggest that facial attractiveness indicates immune
responsiveness in men and that this relationship is moderated by stress
hormones which interact with testosterone levels. However, studies testing
whether facial attractiveness in women signals their immune responsiveness
are lacking. Here, we photographed young Latvian women, vaccinated them
against hepatitis B and measured the amount of specific antibodies
produced, cortisol levels and percentage body fat. Latvian men rated the
attractiveness of the women's faces. Interestingly, in women, immune
responsiveness (amount of antibodies produced) did not predict facial
attractiveness. Instead, plasma cortisol level was negatively associated
with attractiveness, indicating that stressed women look less attractive.
Fat percentage was curvilinearly associated with facial attractiveness,
indicating that being too thin or too fat reduces attractiveness. Our
study suggests that in contrast to men, facial attractiveness in women
does not indicate immune responsiveness against hepatitis B, but is
associated with two other aspects of long-term health and fertility:
circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol and percentage body fat.