Scientific Analysis of An Average Attractive Chinese Face: The ‘YVOIRE FACE’ (2024)

Dr. Hyoung Jin Moon, a facial plastic surgeon from South Korea, conducts a study to explore what makes a Chinese face attractive by measuring the angles and proportions of 19 Chinese women

Understanding common concepts of beauty is essential for aesthetic plastic surgery.

Many authors have used a variety of methods to assess facial attractiveness. For example, symmetricity ratings, the averageness hypothesis, and golden (phi) ratio have been viable methods for analyzing facial attractiveness^1,2,3.

However, these methods fail to describe the ideal face shape and show many limitations^1,4.

In general, we know that an attractive face varies according to time period, ethnicity, race, gender and personal preferences^5–8.

We need to understand the different perceptions of beauty that vary by race, ethnicity, and country.

So far, we do not have scientific data regarding facial angles and the proportions to characterize the average attractive Chinese face. So, we analyzed beautiful Chinese faces to understand the characteristics of an average attractive Chinese face better.

Photographs of 19 famous Chinese female celebrities were acquired. Using the largest Chinese search portal website Baidu, the Chinese female celebrities ranked and chosen based on feedback from the local population as of May 2019. Photographs were retrieved from Baidu and Google Images.

Using the photographs, soft tissue landmarks were marked, and defined proportions and angles for each celebrity were measured (Table 1).

The facial landmarks required for measurement and the ratios and angles measured for the study were based on the research results of Rhee et al^9,10,11.

Microsoft Excel (San Francisco, CA) was used to obtain statistical data including mean and standard deviation.

The results from measuring the ratios and angles of the faces of 19 Chinese female celebrities are as follows (Table 2): the facial length to width ratio was 1.407:1; the upper to middle to lower facial ratio was 0.322: 0.350: 0.328.

For the lower face, the ratio of the upper part (sn-sto) to the lower part (sto-gn) was 1:1.667. The ratio of lip width to length was 1:0.405 and the ratio of the width of the lower lip to the upper lip was 1:0.073. The ratio of the lip width to the width of the lower face was 1:0.411. The angle of the gonion (zy-go-gn) was 142.95 degrees, the facial angle (zy-gn-gy) was 71.558 degrees, and bigonial angle (go-gn-go) was 103.611 degrees.

Based on the above results, a composite of the average attractive Chinese face will result in Figure 2.

In general, the ideal facial length to width ratio was found to be 1:3. For the average attractive Chinese face, that ratio was 1.407:1; in other words, the face was more narrow and longer. Ideally, the upper to middle to lower facial ratio would be 1:1:1, but for the Chinese face it was 0.322: 0.350: 0.328, where the middle portion was relatively long. For the lower part of the face, the ratio of the upper part (sn-sto) to lower part (sto-go) is 1: 1.667, which is longer compared to other races¹². The ratio of the lip’s width to length was 1:0.405 and the ratio of the width of the lip to the width of the lower face was 1:0.411. The upper lip width was 73% of that of the lower lip, indicating that Chinese prefer narrow but thick lips comparing other research results¹³. Thick upper lips, in particular, are preferred. The angle of the gonion (zy-go-gn) was 142.95 degrees, and the facial angle (zy-gn-zy) was 71.558 degrees. The bigonial angle (go-gn-go) was 103.611 degrees. The average Chinese attractive face tended to be narrow and slender. In conclusion, the average attractive Chinese face is long in length, narrow in width and overall slim. The philtrum is long, lips are narrow and thick, and the upper lip is relatively thick.

• Find out more at: http://global.lgyvoire.com
• Declaration: This study was supported by LG Chem

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