Facial Symmetry

Posted Thursday, September 13, 2007 to PROFILES > Plastic Surgery

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Tony Norton discusses a new Australian study on facial symmetry & its connection with attractiveness.

Marilyn Monroe always insisted on being photographed from her right side and Barbra Streisand has a similar preference. This is no revelation - over the ages most people have had a clear notion of which side of their face makes them seem more attractive. This preference is the direct result of facial asymmetry, be it imagined or genuine. The contemporary artist Mondrian sculpted his moustache to make his face appear symmetrical. This desire for symmetry has prompted many a study on its significance and relationship with beauty.

New evidence suggests that symmetry is in fact a major component in facial attractiveness. A recently conducted Australian study concluded that a balanced facial structure is aesthetically preferable and also perceived as an indication of vitality and health.

The study, published in the journal "Psychology, Evolution and Gender" applies earlier ideas about bodily symmetry to the face. Evolutionary biologists have theorized that symmetry in general is attractive because it "signals mate quality". people seem to (subconsciously or otherwise) believe that symmetry equates with good breeding. Apparently,there is an element of truth to this. Genetic diseases or pollutants and infections during bodily development can cause physical imbalances. However,the study concluded that these types of minimal imbalances were unlikely to indicate inferior "mate quality".

The most interesting and revealing information emerges from the different methods of defining and achieving facial symmetry. The study devised two types of facial symmetry with predictions on which would be more appealing. The first method morphed or blended a face with it's own mirror image, and the second reflected each half of the face along the vertical axis.

Nancy Etcoff, in her book Survival of the Prettiest, reiterates the notion that symmetry is immediately recognizable and comments further on the reasoning behind it:

"Babies and adults automatically recognize beautiful faces. People...tend to agree with each other about who is beautiful, and they tend to be guided in their judgments by mechanisms that detect symmetry and averageness as well as exaggerated markers of femininity in women's faces. This suggests that the general geometric features of a face that give rise to the perception of beauty may be universal, and the perception of these features may be governed by...natural selection in the human brain."

Symmetry does have its limitations. Just because someone has a symmetrical face does not automatically guarantee beauty. But it is clear enough that a high degree of symmetry is a contributing factor to perceptions of conventional beauty.

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