Beauty in a Multicultural World

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Key points

  • Many ideals of beauty are stable, but surgical trends and techniques seem less enduring.

  • Patients can rarely be characterized as fitting in a narrow mold with predictable surgical desires.

  • Increased demand for cosmetic surgery has come from a more diverse, informed, and selective patient population from all walks of life.

Phi

The ancient Greeks believed true beauty was represented by a golden ratio, phi, of (a+b)/a = 1:1.61803399….6, 7 This has also been called the Divine Ratio because it is found throughout nature and is thought to represent perfect harmony. It is the ratio obtained when a line ABC is cut such that AB/AC = BC/AB. It has been used much in such well-known entities as Egyptian art and architecture and the Fibonacci sequence, and it is also found in basic geometric shapes, such as the pentagon and

Symmetry

The role of symmetry has been investigated as to its involvement in facial beauty. Most studies indicate that symmetric female and male faces are seen as more attractive than asymmetric ones. Some studies go so far as to say that there is a direct correlation with facial symmetry and attractiveness. This could be a result of symmetry alone, or it could be because symmetric faces are closer to the average than asymmetric ones.13 Additionally, having a symmetric face seems to confer an advantage

Averageness

Averageness and beauty initially seem to be mutually exclusive concepts. However, multiple people have studied this idea and a recurrent theme is that beauty and symmetry increase with increased averageness of facial features. Some people believe that facial averageness is the characteristic that contributes the most to facial attractiveness in women.13 In 1979 Symons19 performed a study where multiple single faces were artistically melded into a composite face. The composite face became

Youthfulness and neoteny

It seems obvious that youthful faces are deemed to be more attractive than older faces. Large eyes and small noses are considered attractive features, in part because it is believed that they represent youthful characteristics. Female faces digitally manipulated to have larger eyes were found more attractive than the original pictures with normal eyes and the ones manipulated to have smaller eyes.24 This preference for neotenous features was found across a range of ethnic populations.24, 25, 26

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is defined as a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. For women in particular, a high estrogen-to-testosterone ratio in puberty results in fat deposits in the lips, upper cheek, breast, and hip; lengthening and narrowing of the facial bones; paler skin; and hairlessness. Multiple studies show these facial characteristics enhance the femininity and facial attractiveness of women thus increasing males’ desire for females who possess these traits.13

Attractiveness

Facial attractiveness has been associated with many positive qualities. Attractive people are consistently judged to be nicer, smarter, and healthier. Researchers have found that there is a consensus on rating attractiveness across sexual orientations, ethnic groups, and ages.20, 24, 25, 26, 27 Additionally, studies have consistently shown that persons with mixed-ethnicity heritage are deemed to be more attractive than single-ethnicity persons.30, 31, 32 It is hypothesized that this is related

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is one of the most common cosmetic procedures performed in the world today. Cosmetic rhinoplasty now transcends all age, gender, socioeconomic, and ethnic classifications. Its growing popularity is attributed to more surgeons, better surgical technique, more predictable outcomes, safer anesthesia, and the advent of digital photography and computer imaging software to explore various cosmetic changes.

There has been an evolution of the desired rhinoplasty outcome over the past

Cultural considerations

In addition to the aforementioned nasal anatomic differences, other parts of the face are equally unique from culture to culture. The Asian face is notable for a widened mandibular arch, prominent mandibular angle, convex mandibular body, parotid gland hyperplasia, excessive subcutaneous fat, hypertrophic masseter muscle, and foreshortened chin. These anatomic traits result in a broad lower facial skeleton and overall oval facial structure, especially in females.38 East Asian eyelids are

Summary

Reality television, surgical documentaries, and plastic surgery–based television dramas have all ignited a flurry of cosmetic surgical activity, and the acceptance of cosmetic surgery is at an all-time high.35 With this increased demand for cosmetic surgery has come a more diverse, informed, and selective patient population from all walks of life. Virtually no two patients have the same background or cosmetic objectives. However, the classic tenets of beauty including phi, symmetry,

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