The common perception is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but the truth is that beauty is a whole lot more fact-based than some would like to believe. There are objective reasons one person finds another attractive, and they apply to absolutely everyone on the planet. You might be thinking, I can’t wait to see this list so I can make fun of it because I don’t agree with it, but keep reading, and I bet you end up agreeing with all five of the factors explained below.

The Top 5 Things That Make A Man Attractive

Symmetry

For starters let’s look at the most basic genetic advantage anyone can have when it comes to his or her physical appearance. Humans are preconditioned to believe symmetrical visuals are beautiful, and that becomes especially important when we look at facial symmetry. That hot guy you notice on television is being cast in that show, at least in part, because his face is much more symmetrical than most. How can you see if your own face is symmetrical? Fortunately there’s an app for that!

“Using symmetry apps is something plastic surgeons do before working on a model’s nose or making other cosmetic changes,” said Kevin Sparks of AllMale.com “Speaking of cosmetics, anyone who has ever held a make-up kit in their hand knows the importance of shadowing and contouring to accentuate the natural symmetry of your own face. Often, something as simple as an asymmetrical haircut, can help your face appear much more symmetrical than your body would have been if left to its own devices.”

Confidence

So many men make the mistake of confusing confidence with arrogance. We aren’t talking about ‘fronting’ or acting like you are the best thing that has ever happened. What actually matters is how you approach adversity. One of the main reasons why sports figures, military men, and firemen always get higher marks for attractiveness than they would if they were employed elsewhere is the fact that people perceive them as being exemplarily confident individuals. Yes, it helps if they throw a winning pass in the Super Bowl, or rescue a person from a burning building – but even before the game begins, we gravitate toward the kind of people who believe in themselves enough to take a risk we might shy away from.

“Our surveys definitely show this to be true” Mr. Sparks explained, “Online dating enthusiasts definitely look for people who are confident. That doesn’t mean everyone wants to meet a wild daredevil, but if you are willing to go skydiving or to do something adventurous on a date, it definitely brings in more interest than if you are just asking to meet people at a local coffee shop to sip tea and stare at each other.”

Effort

It has become a cliché that women take forever to get ready for a first date. Hair, makeup, clothing, fashion, perfume, you name it… and there is a growing expectation among men and women that a man should make the effort to put his best foot forward in a first date as well. You only get one chance at a first impression, and showing up with mud on your shoes and needing a shave isn’t a ‘cute’ idea.

“Manscaping, metrosexual behavior and all the rest definitely started in the gay community, but since then, thanks to shows like Queer Eye for The Straight Guy, women have learned that they can meet a man who takes good care of himself and they don’t need to settle for slobs either” said Stan Freely of AllMale.com “As a man, you do need to make an effort, and your date will show you how much they appreciate it. Nothing is better than meeting a man who looks his best, smells like success, and knowing he took the time to show you cares enough to maximize his own personal appearance, just for you.”

Stability

Appearance goes beyond the visuals immediately, because your date is smart enough to connect the dots in their mind when they meet you. It’s not only about money, but there are important factors someone can figure out within moments of looking at you, and the fact is, they want to know you look good now and are likely to continue looking good in the future with a reasonable sense of stability.

“Health is a huge factor, and a lot of people overlook it” Freely explained. “Don’t take medication during a first date dinner, even if you need to take it with a meal. Just excuse yourself and do it out of sight. Your date doesn’t want to be thinking that if things work out they may end up becoming your nurse sooner than later. You don’t need to dress to impress, but your favorite ratty jeans don’t say a lot of positive things about you either. Show your date you look great, and this is a fair sample they can rely on – not just one night where you happen to look your best before your attractiveness falls off a figurative cliff.”

Competition

At the end of the day, we are all descended from many generations of hunters and it is downright sexy to know that the person you are with is someone that others would want. If you have no friends, no ex-lovers, no social network… and nobody else is interested in you, why would your date want to be the very first person to find you attractive? There are artful ways to show your date that you are in fact a hot commodity, and that sense of competition goes a long way toward attracting their affection.

“This is a little more complex than the other items on the list, but it’s also perhaps the most important of all of them,” said Sparks. “It can be as simple as meeting at a nice place where the hot bartender welcomes you by name with a smile, a smooth transition toward showing your date a few carefully selected photos from your phone when you were having fun with a bunch of friends, or the use of your dating profile on a site like AllMale.com to simply show that others in the community like and respect you. When your date sees others want you, their instinct is to want you more, and it’s impossible for anyone to fight thousands of years of instinct that go back to the cave dating days of our species.”

This article is brought to you by Kevin Sparks and Stan Freely, Community Liaisons and Online Dating Experts for the AllMale.com. Find them online, follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook.