Emory University has conducted a study to determine if tanned skin makes a person more attractive. The study was conducted using the Web site Hotornot.com, which allows users to rate the attractiveness of people who have posted their photos on the site.

Researchers used 45 women, aged 21 to 35. Each woman had a digital photo taken of them and placed on HotorNot. After at least 100 ratings, the photo was touched up using Photoshop to make the woman more tan and then placed back on the site to be rated again.

The study concluded with 30 of the 45 subjects improving their attractiveness score after their photo had been altered. Of those 30 women, 12 improved their attractiveness rating by a significant amount. Only 2 out of the 15 women, who scored lower with the tanned photo, had a significant rating decrease. This means that 27% of people experienced a significant ratings boost with tanned skin, while only 4% saw a significant ratings drop.

Why is tanned skin almost always more attractive? “Nature wasn’t wrong — people are supposed to live and exist outdoors, which means tanning is a side-effect of our intended outdoor existence,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “More and more research is lining up to the fact that humans are intended to get regular sunlight, and a tan is just one part of that.”

Read the full study here