The way to gain followers on Instagram is to hide your face

Not to spoil these bloggers run or anything — it’s impressive they figured it out first — but now it’s time for the rest of you all to indulge in a slice of the follower cake.

If you’re wondering how there girls have so many followers on Instagram, just take a look at their faces.

Or lack thereof.

Yeah, they’re always hidden.

At first I considered, perhaps, they all had faces that were less attractive than the rest of them. And then I kept scrolling. The further you go back in their Instagrams, the more of their actual faces you can see, and you quickly realize it’s not about attractiveness at all.

But, the posts showing their faces have far less likes, and as you scroll back up into recent photos, you can see them obscuring their faces, as they quickly add to their follower count.

Here are a few of their tricks.

Sunglasses are a must

Even if you’re inside

The reason obscuring your face works so well, is because it leave room for imagination. Someone following you can imagine themselves in your place, because it’s not your immediate face they’re seeing. They like what you’re wearing and they can imagine themselves in it. They like the view you’re looking at, and they can imaging themselves there.

Hats work too

Hair is a good disguise if you don’t have either of those

Some girls use their hands

And others turn around

But the one thing they all have in common, is you can’t see their eyes

Obscuring your face also leaves an air of mystery about you, and this is where the male followers come in. It’s like teasing someone

Here’s they aren’t your best feature.

@carolinephinney