What Makes a Face Attractive?
Science of Beauty
by Allison Bond
Beauty may seem to be in the eye of the beholder, but there's actually a science behind it. In fact, scientists from Israel's Tel Aviv University created an algorithm that morphs a face into its most scientifically beautiful version, as reported in The New York Times. Researchers have investigated what constitutes the "ideal" face for years, and they found that certain traits are universally deemed attractive. Read about what makes a scientifically "beautiful" face and how some people go to surgical extremes to achieve it, while some are born lucky, like James Franco -- whose face needed no adjustment when tested against the "beauty" algorithm.
Facial Symmetry
The symmetry of the face is one of the best indicators of attractiveness, according to Dr. Andrew A. Jacono, a board-certified facial and reconstructive plastic surgeon in New York City. When one side is the mirror image of the other, it signals health, strength and fertility. Denzel Washington's mug, for example, is unusually symmetrical. "Symmetry is the first principle of facial harmony," Dr. Jacono says. The principle is also corroborated by studies by New Mexico State University psychologist and researcher Victor Johnston.
Rob Loud, Getty Images
How to Achieve It
The quest for symmetry may account for the popularity of facial implants, injections and sculpting, since they can help achieve balance. This may also explain the rise of asymmetrical haircuts, which can disguise an uneven face.
Full Lips
If you find yourself attracted to Scarlett Johansson's luscious lips and don't know why, it may be because full lips can be a measure of a woman's youth and fertility. High estrogen levels in a post-pubescent woman make lips fuller, but as hormone levels decrease with age, your kisser tends to lose its color and plumpness. It's clear that people other than Johansson's husband Ryan Reynolds find this look attractive. A study published in 2003 in the journal "The Angle Orthodontist" found that the fullness of the lips is associated with a person being considered "aesthetically beautiful."
Jesse Grant/WireImage.com
How to Achieve It
For an as-needed lip boost, stick with glossy lipstick, which gives the illusion of fullness. Matte color, on the other hand, can make them look smaller. Common cosmetic procedures include transferring fat or filler into lips to boost their size, according to Dr. Jacono. Learn more about lip care.
jupiterimages
Small Nose
Women with "baby faces" or features like a small nose and big eyes are seen as more attractive because they appear more youthful, according to the research at Universities of Regensburg and Rostock in Germany. When describing their ideal nose, patients often cite Nicole Kidman's.
Peter Kramer, Getty Images
How to Achieve It
Complicated makeup techniques can help create shading on the nose, and parting hair on the side, rather than in the center, can draw less attention to your sniffer. Still, short of a rhinoplasty, or nose job, "there's really not much you can do non-surgically with the nose," says Dr. Jacono.
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Curvy Eyebrows
Evenly balanced eyebrows can lend your face additional symmetry, and shapely, arched eyebrows like Eva Mendes's can also help define the eye and provide an instant eye-lift, Dr. Jacono says.
Jamie McCarthy, WireImage.com
How to Achieve It
The easiest way people can change their brow shape is by plucking or waxing. For a more permanent solution, Dr. Jacono says, an endoscopic brow lift, which requires only a tiny cut at the hairline, "can send the brows to a position where they will always be."
GettyImages
Small Chin
A delicate, V-shaped chin like Eva Longoria's is another feature of a "baby face," according to the German studies. Researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland also found that a pointed, narrow chin appears more feminine than a squarer jaw, which is perceived as masculine.
Kevin Winter, Getty Images
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Recent Comments
DanaHume 04:49:04 PM Jun 03 2009
Hello, Men, listen up: If you are dating a 'beauty' that has had a lot of plastic surgery, you may want to check out her 'before' picture to see what genetic traits your kids will really have!
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Voyageur97 04:23:05 AM Oct 31 2008
Angelina Jolie is the perfect face... she is Aphrodite incarnate. Nicole Kidman is mean looking and not that attractive.
tjcookshack 03:12:45 AM Oct 31 2008
I think many of you are missing the point of the article. It is to oultline how the individual features indicate an instinctual attaction to youth and beauty. In our primal stages, these features would indicate ones ability to produce healthy, strong, beautiful children. Remember the movie "300"? They really did kill babies that were born weak or with defects. By having a baby with someone who had good, strong features, they thought that this would improve their chances of having a healthy family. Lighten up. These people are beautiful in their own way. If you can't see that, then maybe you are just jealous.
Toneathome72 01:25:59 AM Oct 31 2008
natural inner beauy is what is what keeps a person. sure outside beauty is what attracts us to a person. but without inner beauty im gone!!!
Jsara106 01:12:35 AM Oct 31 2008
Y'all who are having a hissyfit about how the article is yet another symptom of our society's desire for perfection are missing a big part of the point. If you look at almost all those traits that they mentioned as being scientifically attractive, you'll notice that they all mentioned that they signalled youth and health- Exactly what our ancestors were looking for when they planned to pass on their genes. Younger, healthier women tended to have most of the scientifically "Pretty" traits, and younger healthier women have healthier babies. It's not totally about being a sexist society. I do take issue with them pushing plastic surgery so hard, though.
liltatortottt 12:44:00 AM Oct 31 2008
I personally think that this is all bull! It looks like this is an advertisement for women to get facial plastic surgery, lip injections, ect............I do not have a perfect face, nor do I want one. If a man only sees whats on the outside than he is not worthy of me! I have shunned so many men because they want me on the outside. No man has ever truly known me on the inside. They only want the "outwardly goods"! So shallow and meaningless! I will keep living my life as a "real" person, no falsities to me, and I will just be myself. Love me or hate me, I really don't care. Fakeness lies in the eyes of the ga* man who tries to live his life within another female and make her out to look like MAE WEST! I don't know why other men fall into this web of deceit, but they do!
Heightzdrchula 12:13:39 AM Oct 31 2008
This article shows the obsession people have towards being perfect. Being beautiful does not mean that you are perfect. I believe that the distinct features of a person is what makes them beautiful. I perfect face is attractive, but boring. Lets face it, only a small percentage of people have a perfect face and unfortunately there is a larger audience. That is what makes everyone insecure about their imperfections. I do not think it is right to encourage others to go under the knife, they should be encouraged to embrace and work with their uniqueness. If all of us went under the knife and tried to be perfect, we'd all look the same. There is no fun in that!
saylove08 12:13:33 AM Oct 31 2008
THE ONLY STATEMENT I AGREE WITH IN THE ARTICLE IS THE AGE OLD SAYING THAT" BEAUTY LIES IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER" TO THE POINT THAT EVERY PART OF OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET HAS ITS OWN STANDARDS OF WHAT IS BEAUTIFUL. THAT IS WHAT MAKES OUR PLANET BEAUTIFUL, VARIETY AND IF ALL OF US LOOKED LIKE EACH OTHER, IT WOULD BE LIKE A HUGE FLOWER GARDEN WITH ONLY ONE COLOR, ONE FLOWER VARIETY - HOW BORING! FOR THAT REASON, I DON'T EVEN BELIEVE THERE'S A MISS UNIVERSE, HECK EVEN A MISS WHATEVER BECAUSE IF YOU ASK JUST FIVE MEN ABOUT WHAT THEY CONSIDER BEAUTIFUL IN A WOMAN, YOU'D BE SURPRISED AT HOW DIFFERENT THEIR ANSWERS WOULD BE AND DON'T FORGET INNER BEAUTY, WHICH MEANS A LOT TO SOME PEOPLE.
