Are symmetrical faces the most beautiful?
They say symmetry is beautiful, it is pleasing to the eye, it is predictable therefore it makes us feel at ease however, I believe this pertains to inanimate objects. Humans are not inanimate objects, our faces move, express, show emotion and help us communicate. In my opinion facial asymmetry is interesting, even though it seems like very obvious to oneself, it often goes unnoticed by others. To be it is natural, calming, and captivating.
Still facial asymmetry is one of the most frequently voiced concerns by patients who come in for a consultation at Skin Worthy in Toronto. Many patients come in feeling so disheartened, distracted and down in self esteem about their facial asymmetries, and are often shocked to hear this is common. For the trained eye, facial asymmetries are quickly picked up and and actually discussed during every consultation. This is not to make a patient feel bad, but instead to discuss how it will impact treatment, and outcomes.
Is anyone's face perfectly symmetrical?
Perfect symmetry is hard to find in the human face. We say the two halves of the face are sisters, not twins. For example most people have what I call a sleek side and a wide side. The sleek side tends to be thinner, with less facial tissue fullness, the cheek bone will be higher and more angular, the eye and the eyebrow are typically higher, and the ear even sits higher. The wide side is just that, wider and more bulky. There is more facial tissue fullness, the cheekbone is wide and square in appearance, the eye and eyebrow can sit lower and appear heavier, and the ear and angle of the jaw can appear lower on this side. Lips and chins can slant to a certain direction, eyes can be different sizes, muscles can be weaker and less responsive on a certain side, and the list goes on.
This can be caused by a functional dominance, a genetic inheritance, physical trauma, or there can be no cause other than this is human nature. In youth our facial asymmetry is not so apparent, but it is revealed as we age. That is because facial ageing is affected by bone projection and placement, which determines the position of the facial tissues. So on the less dominant side (with the weaker bone structure) these tissues will sag more and the naso-labial fold (nose to mouth) will deepen more.
Correcting symmetry in some cases will be very quick and easy, this may typically be in a focused spot treatment. While correcting symmetry globally can be almost impossible as every treatment will have some impact on tissue in another area of the face that will then become asymmetric. Lips that are asymmetric can often correctly quickly and easily. With that said if there is a muscular component causing asymmetry due to a pull or contraction of a muscle, the correction is quite temporary and will require frequent maintenance and touch ups. Treatments to address facial structure, Skin Worthy would be using dermal fillers such as Juvéderm, Teosyal , and Belotero. If there is a muscular component, and muscles need to be relaxed, we would be using Botox or Xeomin.
Persistently chasing perfection and symmetry never has good treatment outcomes. Patients will start to look overfilled, overcorrected and will lose their natural beauty all while still never attaining a perfect aesthetic goal.
A series of celebrity photos have been altered and composed to show how asymmetric even those that we consider to be the most beautiful. we took a full-face photograph of celebrities, divided them into two, then made a new portrait using a composite of two left or two right side images, one the mirror of the other. It reveals how unsymmetrical faces really are and how different one would look, were they to be completely equal on both sides. We would expect with more symmetry these celebrities would only look more perfect, instead it shows the opposite. We see how much more pleasing a normal/asymmetric face is. The series also forces one to think about the definition of beauty.
If you are interested in having a complete facial assessment and want to learn more about options to enhance your beauty vs make your face completely symmetrical we would live to have you come in to meet with @skinworthycody or @skinworthybarb to discuss treatment options.
call 647-960-7546 to book or visit our book online option