The average woman will wait four weeks and a day before she lets a new boyfriend see her without make-up, a new study has revealed. The research has shown that most women wait until they have been seeing someone for around a month before taking the plunge, going make-up free and bare faced.

In a worrying finding, women that took part in the study said they feel less attractive, less confident and more vulnerable without a full face of make-up.

And six in 10 ladies want to be sure a prospective partner likes them enough before revealing their true looks.

In the lead up to baring all, women will think nothing of nipping to the bathroom in the middle of the night to touch up their make-up, or get up early to ensure their new beau doesn't witness their bedraggled morning appearance.

Sarah Sharp a spokeswoman for Superdrug who conducted the survey of 2,000 single women said:

''It does take a while for women to feel comfortable with a new partner and make-up can act as a shield for many females.

''Many women consider going au naturale in front of a new partner quite a serious step, they are exposing themselves completely.''

The study shows that nine out of 10 women want a new partner to think they are beautiful and well turned out at all times, and as such always try to make sure their make-up is perfectly applied for the first few dates.

Girls admit they would spend at least 40 minutes getting ready to meet a new boyfriend, picking out the most complementary outfit and ensuring their hair is as perfect as their face.

Six in 10 women claim they are extremely careful that a new boyfriend never sees them without make up, and reapply it frequently during the course of a date.

A third of girls polled admit to running to the bathroom immediately after staying over at a partner's house for the first time, just to re-apply their make-up.

And a third of women are convinced that if they had let someone see them without make-up too early into a relationship, it wouldn't have gone anywhere.

Just under half of ladies would worry that a new partner would find them less pretty without make-up, while a fifth think they would be shocked at how different they look.

Looking older and exposing unwanted wrinkles are other reasons why women prefer to reach for the cosmetics bag before meeting a new man.

In quite a depressing finding, a third of women are convinced they wouldn't be as successful with the opposite sex if they went out looking natural.

And a third of people who are currently in relationships remain sure they wouldn't have bagged their current boyfriend if they had initially dated him make-up free. (The mind boggles). 

In addition to the boyfriend, 32% would hate for work colleagues to see them without make-up, while 20% couldn't face the boss and 31% would hate to bump into an ex-partner.