Single girls spend 30 percent longer getting ready than married ones do, a report has revealed.

Researchers found that in the hope of meeting the man of her dreams, unmarried women spend 11 minutes longer primping and preening herself before heading to the office compared to a wedded woman. A "you never know" attitude sees them spending longer planning what to wear, stare at themselves in the mirror perfecting their look and will also don high heels to get noticed in the office.

They are less likely to be seen without makeup on, or sporting greasy hair or with unpainted toe nails.

Yesterday Anna Kovaleva, a spokeswoman for Scholl, which commissioned the report, said: "The research shows that single women act on the desire to look great from top to toe and prioritise their time accordingly.

"However the majority of people have a selective approach to personal grooming and as a result certain parts of the body such as your elbows, back and feet are regularly overlooked and as a result nine out of 10 Brits would say their feet are not in good condition. With skin baring season upon us it is simple to adopt an all round approach to keeping your entire body looking good."

It seems single women are personal grooming pioneers – new research reveals that in the hope of meeting the man of their dreams single ladies spend much longer maintaining their appearance than married women.

They are more likely to be committed to a daily face care routine and take regular care of their feet and toenails. Single women also spend longer and place more emphasis on exfoliating, shaving and plucking with single women less likely to leave the house with unruly eyebrows, hairy legs or stray hairs above their top lip than married women.

It also emerged that single women are less likely to leave the house with mismatched underwear, overgrown toenails, bad roots or tan lines – because of the fear they would be spotted looking less than perfect by a prospective boyfriend or husband.

Twice as many married women said they wouldn't care if they were spotted with chipped nail polish than single women who were more likely to be embarrassed if they weren't properly groomed before leaving the house. While single ladies were most likely to take care and time over their appearance, married women were more likely to say that their looks weren’t as important and that they didn't pay much attention to their appearance.

Unattached ladies also spend more time getting ready before a night out with the average single lady taking 24 minutes to decide what to wear and 42 minutes to do her hair and make-up. Married women spend just 16 minutes planning their outfit and 24 minutes on their hair and make-up.

Single ladies spend longer brushing, straightening or curling their hair before a night out and are less likely to leave the house before they have perfected their hair with 85 percent of single women considering it a priority before a night out.

Two thirds of single ladies would be embarrassed to be seen at work with unpainted toenails.

Scholl psychologist Jo Hemmings said: “It is not surprising that single women take more time over their appearance. If a woman is trying to attract a partner, they will be more self conscious about how they look.

“It may also be that they have more time to invest in a grooming routine as they have fewer demands on their time. It is interesting that they appear to adopt a top to toe approach, recognising that foot care is as much a priority as other parts of the body.