Dr Zac Turner explains how to be more attractive to potential partners

Different colours signal certain things and there’s one colour that people can wear to make them more “successful” at picking up a partner.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week Dr Zac delves into the world of dating.

Question: Hi Dr Zac, I was alone for all 100 days in lockdown. I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say I got lonely and bored very quickly. Now pubs are back open, I’m excited to speak with some boys and have sex. The only problem is that everyone has lost their social skills – myself included!

I’m coming to you, asking for a doctor’s opinion, if there are ways to attract the opposite sex without being too obvious. I’d like to turn the switches inside men’s heads and set off their urges. – Veronica, Sydney

Answer: The laws of attraction are a fascinating topic, one that I love to speak about with my patients and friends. I commend you on your openness with sex, it’s healthy to be comfortable with your sexuality and to be in touch with what your body wants.

Before we step any further into this topic, I need to preface that these are all ways to gain attention. All things after that must be consensual and respectful. Being back at the pub is fantastic, but it’s also a return to being responsible when flirting under the influence of alcohol. Remember that if the other person is too inebriated, it’s best to leave them alone.

Sensuality and attraction is made out to be complicated. We’ve all heard that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. I believe it is quite the opposite, and will always tell my lonely patients and friends that grabbing the attention of someone comes down to the basic senses. In particular you should focus on sight and smell.

Both men and women find the same colour irresistible. Red! Studies have shown that the colour red triggers both a biological and cultural response in people. Biologically, red is an ancient colour that throughout the animal kingdom is a primary signal during mating rituals. Makes sense when you think about red lipstick doesn’t it?

Culturally, the colour red has been linked to power, good health, wealth, social status, and passion for centuries in places such as China, Japan, Africa and Europe.

Studies have shown that the colour red triggers both a biological and cultural response in people. Picture: Getty

If red isn’t your colour, studies have shown that black is also a colour perceived with attractive traits such as success and confidence. And men have been shown to have more successful attempts at asking a person out when wearing the colour purple.

Smell is the other sense that will give you the upper hand in attraction. I feel that smell has negative connotations attached to it, that people deem it weird to smell others. I agree in many contexts it is inappropriate to smell each other purposefully, but when attracting the opposite sex it’s completely normal.

Certain women even have a variant in a single odour receptor gene that causes male sweat to take on a sweet smell like vanilla. Now for those non-mutants out there, I recommend soothing smells that are relaxing.

Consistent exposure has been found by decades of research to be one of the powerful indicators of attraction. Picture: Getty

Scents such as vanilla, sandalwood, lavender or peppermint. Yes, there’s a reason behind minty-fresh breath! The key here is to go easy on the smell, don’t overload yourself. Subtlety is best.

Now that you have the two senses sorted, there are few other factors to note. Consistent exposure has been found by decades of research to be one of the powerful indicators of attraction. Simply put, the more you see someone, the higher the chance you’ll fall for them. It’s explains why colleagues have sex during/after an intensive project, or actors fall in love on set. So if there’s someone at the pub you’re keen on but it doesn’t work out the first time, hopefully they’ll return again and again!

Working on your own body language, mannerisms, and dress sense will boost your sex appeal. Picture: Getty

Before you go making love with anyone else, I highly recommend you perform some self-love and improve your own behaviours. This means working on your own body language, mannerisms and dress sense to boost your sex appeal. Feeling good about yourself and your own identity will attract men with similar attributes.

Look them in the eyes when you speak to them, communicate in ways other than speech such as light touch or winking and remember to have fun (safely).

And it goes without saying, use a condom if you do get lucky.

Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He has worked as a Registered Nurse, both in Australia and internationally and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist. | @drzacturner