While beauty is often subjective, scientists, mathematicians, and doctors argue that, hidden inside everyone of us, and in nature itself, there lies a mathematical formula which holds the answer to beauty. This number, according to them, is the Golden ratio.

What is the Golden Ratio?

The golden ratio is a number derived when a line is divided such that the ratio between the larger (a) to the smaller length (b) is the same as the ratio between the sum of the whole length (a+b) to the larger of the lengths (a). i.e: a/b = (a+b)/a . This value is found to be 1.618, and it is often symbolized by the Greek alphabet “phi”. The Golden Ratio is has fascinated many for thousands of years, due to its frequent appearance in geometry, and in nature. The Fibonacci sequence – numbers in a integer sequence, follows , and is seen in flower petals, nautilus shells, and even spiral galaxies.

Phi also appears in architecture, such as the Pyramids and the Parthenon or Athens. Many Renaissance artists, the most famous of them Leonardo Da Vinci, used the Golden Ratio in many of his paintings, such as The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, and the Vitruvian Man.

Golden Ratio as a Measure of Beauty

It didn’t take long for artists to realize that human faces which followed the Golden Ratio were also the ones which we found to be more aesthetically pleasing and beautiful. The Golden Ratio, they say, can be found in all areas of the face – at least 24 golden ratios can be found, and possessing these ratios will give us the perfect face. Some examples of the Golden Ratio in the face is illustrated here in actress Natalie Portman: Based on this, American plastic surgeon Stephen R Marquardt came up with the Golden Ratio Facial Masks. According to him, anyone – man or woman, regardless of race, who fits the masks possesses the Golden Ratios in the face, and is aesthetically beautiful.

The Vast Variation of Beauty

The declaration that a face has to conform to the Divine Proportion to be beautiful sent the world in a f seeking frenzy – an obsession with perfection. But is the Golden Ratio the be-all and end-all measuring beauty? The answer is, of course, no. There are, indeed, many beautiful people who have Golden Ratio proportions, including actresses such as Fan Bing Bing and Angelina Jolie, who fit the Golden Ratio mask quite perfectly. However, not having all of the ratios does not mean that you look any less beautiful. Take Brazilian model Adrianna Lima, for example – widely regarded as one of the most beautiful models in the world. While her upper face fits the Golden Ratio quite perfectly, her lower face doesn’t:

A Guide to Aesthetic Treatments

Beauty is something which we innately feel. Often, it should not be obsessively measured mathematically, as this can backfire. Because our faces are all unique, we want to retain as much of our character as we can. The Golden Ratio, however, serves as a useful tool for us to decide if enhancing a certain area of the face will make our patients look better, or worse – and more importantly, I use it as a way to convince whether to undergo, or against undergoing a certain procedure. (“you look perfect already! No need to do anymore.. “) Here’s an illustration to how the Golden Ratio can be used beneficially. I applied it to myself:

After photoshopping myself to fit the Golden Proportions better (but not perfectly), you can see that I look more sculpted, more proportionate, and more youthful – but I still look like me, just a better version. If I had gone all the way to conform to the ratios, I would end up looking entirely like someone else – and that is what we always want to avoid in Aesthetic medicine. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – but fortunately, how, we have some tools to guide us, when we create a dash beauty at the workplace.