In four separate experiments aiming to research the ideal structure of facial features, students were asked to observe the photograph of a female face with varying distance between the eyes and mouth and horizontal distance between the eyes.
When changing the proportions, the face was compared to its original.
All four experiments preferred faces with proportions which the scientists are now calling “the new golden ratio”.
The ideal ratio of the distance between eyes and mouth to the whole length of the face is 36%. The distance between the eyes proportioned to the width of the face is ideally 46%.
Fortunately, researchers conclude that the 36/46 ratio is that of the common face, which is bound to reduce the work of plastic surgeons. Besides, there are easier and simpler ways to change the contours of the face, by changing the hairstyle for example.
“Our research shows why sometimes after changing their hairstyle a person which was previously seen as attractive is not considered as attractive anymore. Because the ratio changes.” – explains Kang Lee of the University of Toronto, who is one of the leading researchers of the experiment. These results however are limited only to the proportions of caucasian women. More research is pending to determine whether this ratio is the same for men as well as women and children of different races.
