Hunter eyes: what they are, how to check yours, and what actually changes them
Hunter eyes are deep-set eyes with a positive canthal tilt, which means the outer corner sits higher than the inner one. They show little or no upper eyelid and sit under low, straight brows. The term comes from looksmaxxing forums. It describes a look, not a medical category. Bone structure sets most of it, but sleep, puffiness and brow grooming change how strong the look is.
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Download Lookist for iPhoneWhat are hunter eyes?
Hunter eyes is a forum term for an eye area that looks narrow, focused and hooded from above. Wikipedia's looksmaxxing entry sums it up as a positive canthal tilt, little to no upper eyelid exposure, and low-set eyebrows. The name compares the look to the eyes of a predator. Prey animals have wide, open eyes.
No medical textbook uses the phrase. Surgeons use other words for the same parts: brow position, upper eyelid show, the lateral canthus and orbital depth. So hunter eyes are a mix of several measurable traits. They are not one thing you either have or lack.
Most people sit somewhere in the middle. You might have a strong tilt but a lot of upper lid showing, or deep-set eyes with a neutral tilt. The checklist below lets you score each part on its own.
Source: Wikipedia: Looksmaxxing (hunter eyes and the PSL forums)
The four traits that make hunter eyes
Forums argue about the details, but four traits come up every time. Each one shows in a straight-on photo or a mirror, so you can check them without any tool.
1. Deep-set eyes
The eyeball sits further back under the brow bone. From the front, this puts a soft shadow over the upper lid. From the side, the brow bone sticks out past the eye. Orbit shape and brow bone projection set this, and both are bone.
2. A positive canthal tilt
Draw a line from the inner corner of the eye to the outer corner. If the outer end sits higher, the tilt is positive. Most adults already have a small positive tilt. A study of 42 attractive celebrities measured an average of 6.5 degrees in men and 8.5 degrees in women. A typical white face averages about 4 degrees. Our canthal tilt guide explains the measurement in full.
3. Little upper eyelid showing
Look straight ahead with a relaxed face. With hunter eyes, the fold hides most of the upper lid skin (the tarsal platform). Wide, round eyes show a band of lid and sometimes white above the iris. Hunter eyes show almost none.
4. Low, straight brows
The brows sit close to the eye and run fairly flat, without a high arch. Men's brows usually sit lower and flatter than women's. A 1999 Dutch study of 320 people found women's brows sit about 2.5 mm higher than men's on average.
Do I have hunter eyes? A 5-minute mirror check
You need a mirror at eye height, even light from the front, and your phone. Overhead light makes everyone look more deep-set than they are, so face a window if you can.
- Stand square to the mirror with your head level. Keep your chin neither up nor tucked.
- Relax your forehead. Do not squint and do not raise your brows. Look straight at your own pupils.
- Check the upper lid. Is there a visible band of eyelid skin between your lashes and the fold? Little or none counts toward hunter eyes.
- Check the white of the eye. If you see white above the iris, your eyes read as more open, not hooded.
- Check the brows. Measure with a finger how far the brow sits above the lash line. Close and flat counts toward hunter eyes.
- Take a straight front photo at arm's length or further, with the phone at eye height.
- Mark the inner and outer corner of each eye on the photo and compare the heights. Outer higher means a positive tilt. Or run the photo through the canthal tilt tool to get the angle in degrees.
- Turn 90 degrees and take a side photo. If the brow bone sticks out past the front of the eye, your eyes are deep-set.
Hunter eyes vs prey eyes
Prey eyes is the forum opposite. It means round, wide-open eyes with a neutral or negative tilt and a lot of lid and white showing. The table puts the two side by side. These are forum labels. Plenty of people with prey eyes get rated as very attractive. Many female beauty standards favor a more open eye.
| Trait | Hunter eyes | Prey eyes |
|---|---|---|
| Canthal tilt | Positive, outer corner clearly higher | Neutral or negative, outer corner level or lower |
| Upper eyelid show | Little or none | A clear band of lid visible |
| White above or below the iris | None | Often some (called scleral show) |
| Eye depth | Deep-set under the brow bone | Sits forward, more prominent |
| Brows | Low, close to the eye, fairly straight | Higher, often arched |
| Eye shape | Narrow, almond | Round, wide open |
| How it reads | Focused, intense, sometimes tired | Open, friendly, youthful |
Are hunter eyes attractive?
Some parts of the look line up with research. A 2012 study used composite faces from seven ethnic groups. In every group, attractive faces had lower brows than average faces. The same study found attractive white and Black faces had a steeper eye slant than average faces. Attractive Asian faces had a less steep slant than average Asian faces, which shows there is no single ideal.
Other parts are forum taste. A deep-set eye with a low brow can also read as tired or stern. And most attraction research measures many features at once. One eye trait rarely decides how people rate a whole face. Treat hunter eyes as one style of eye area, not the target everyone should chase.
Forum posts often name actors like Henry Cavill and Matt Bomer as examples. Look at photos of them with a neutral face and you will see the four traits. Then look at photos where they smile or raise their brows, and the look mostly goes away. Expression changes the eye area more than people expect.
How to get hunter eyes: what changes the look
You cannot move your eye sockets. You can change the soft parts around them, and those parts affect how deep-set and hooded your eyes look. These are the changes with a real basis.
Sleep
A Karolinska Institutet study photographed people after a short night and 31 hours awake. Raters saw more hanging eyelids, more swollen eyes and darker circles. Sleep loss makes the eye area look puffy and droopy, which is the opposite of a sharp hunter look. Regular sleep is the cheapest fix on this list.
Morning puffiness
Fluid collects around the eyes overnight, and salty food or alcohol the night before can make it worse. Puffy upper lids hide the shadow that makes eyes look deep-set. A cold compress and sleeping with your head a little higher help many people. Puffiness that will not go away, or swelling with redness or pain, is a reason to see a doctor.
Brow grooming
Brows frame the eye. Cleaning up stray hairs under the brow and between them makes the brow line look lower and straighter. Over-plucking the bottom edge does the opposite, because it raises the brow line. For men, trimming long hairs and leaving the shape mostly natural works best.
Body fat
When overall body fat drops, the face often looks leaner, including the cheeks and the area under the brow. That can make the eyes look more deep-set. You cannot pick where fat leaves first. This is a side effect of general fat loss, not an eye exercise.
Posture, expression and glasses
A chin tipped down a little in photos hides more of the upper lid. It also lowers the brow line in the image. A relaxed forehead does the same. Raised brows open the eye. Glasses matter too: strong lenses for shortsight make eyes look smaller, and lenses for longsight make them look bigger.
Source: Sundelin and colleagues, 2013: effects of sleep deprivation on facial appearance (Sleep)
What does not give you hunter eyes
Eye exercises, squint drills and tape on the outer eye corner do not change bone. They do not change the tendon that holds the corner either. Taping can irritate the thin skin of the eyelid. Mewing videos sometimes promise a change in eye tilt, and there is no clinical evidence for that in adults.
Bonesmashing, which means hitting the brow bone or cheekbones to make them grow, is a real trend on looksmaxxing forums. It does not build bone in a controlled way and it risks fractures and eye injury. Skip it.
- Does not work: eye exercises, squint training, taping the eye corner, mewing for eye tilt, bonesmashing.
- Changes the look: sleep, less puffiness, brow grooming, lower body fat, a relaxed forehead, camera angle.
- Changes the structure: surgery only, done by a specialist.
Can surgery give you hunter eyes?
Yes, surgeons can change the eye area. Upper eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) removes loose skin or fat. Canthoplasty and canthopexy reposition or tighten the outer corner of the eye. Brow lifts and brow bone work change the frame. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons lists the risks of eyelid surgery. They include swelling, scarring, dry eyes and trouble closing the eyes.
This is a medical decision, not a looksmaxxing step. Talk to a board-certified oculoplastic or plastic surgeon, ideally more than one. A good surgeon will tell you if your eyes are already in a normal range.
Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons: eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty)
Do hunter eyes change with age?
Partly. The 1999 Rotterdam study looked at 320 people aged 10 to 89. The eye opening grew about 3 mm between ages 12 and 25, then shortened again in later life. It found that the outer eye corner stays in place with age. The lower lid sags, especially in men, and brows and the lid fold sit higher in older people.
So a teen's eye area is still changing. If you are 15 and unhappy with your eyes, give it a few years before you judge what you have.
How Lookist reads your eye area
Lookist scans one front photo and gives an overall score out of 10. It adds 15 feature scores, each with a written note. Two of them cover this area: eyes and eye brightness. The note tells you what the scan saw, so you know why the score is what it is. Lookist does not output a hunter eyes label or a canthal tilt angle. For the angle, use the canthal tilt tool on this site.
The useful part is tracking. Scan history lets you compare scans over time. You can see if better sleep or less puffiness shows up in your eye scores. Use the same light and camera height each time, or you will measure the photo instead of your face.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to have hunter eyes?
It means your eyes are deep-set, have a positive canthal tilt, show little upper eyelid, and sit under low, straight brows. The term comes from looksmaxxing forums and describes a look, not a medical condition.
Is hunter eyes a compliment?
In looksmaxxing and TikTok circles it is meant as one, usually for men. Outside those circles most people do not know the term. A deep-set, hooded eye can also read as tired, so context matters.
Is getting hunter eyes naturally possible?
You cannot change the bone or the eye corner without surgery. You can make the look stronger with enough sleep, less puffiness and brow grooming. Lower body fat and a relaxed forehead in photos help too.
What is the cause of hunter eyes?
Mostly bone structure and genetics. That means the shape of the eye socket, the brow bone, and where the outer eye corner attaches. Soft tissue such as lid skin, brow position and fat around the eye changes how strong the look is.
Can you get hunter eyes with exercises?
No. Eye exercises and squint drills do not change the tendon or bone that sets eye shape. Taping the eye corner can irritate the eyelid skin and wears off as soon as you remove it.
What canthal tilt counts as hunter eyes?
Forums usually want a clearly positive tilt, often quoted as more than about 4 degrees. Published averages sit around 4 to 8 degrees, depending on the group. Many people already have a positive tilt without the rest of the hunter eyes look.
Do women have hunter eyes?
Some do, but the term is mostly used for men. Research on attractive faces found women had a slightly steeper canthal tilt than men. Female beauty standards also often favor a more open eye and a higher, arched brow.
Hunter eyes vs prey eyes: which is better?
Neither. Forums rank hunter eyes higher for men, but research shows ideals differ by sex and by ethnic group. Many faces rated as very attractive have round, open eyes.
Sources and product details
- Wikipedia: Looksmaxxing (hunter eyes and the PSL forums)
- Liu and colleagues, 2023: sexual dimorphism in 42 attractive faces, including canthal tilt (Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum)
- Rhee and colleagues, 2012: eyelid shape of different races, with reference to beauty (Aesthetic Plastic Surgery)
- van den Bosch and colleagues, 1999: eyelid anatomy and the effects of sex and age (British Journal of Ophthalmology)
- Sundelin and colleagues, 2013: effects of sleep deprivation on facial appearance (Sleep)
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons: eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty)
- Lookist on the App Store
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