SEOUL, South Korea - When it comes to faces, there may be no such thing as "universal beauty."
There are some notable differences among what could be considered the most attractive faces among the different races, according to a report by a local plastic surgeon.
Rhee Seung-chul, plastic surgeon at Ilsan Paik Hospital, created composite photos of famous female entertainers from different ethnic groups and published the results in a study titled "Attractive Composite Faces" in the latest issue of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
Photos of 13 black models and entertainers including Rihanna, Pearl Amoah and Yamin Warsame, 16 famous white stars such as Blake Lively, Angelina Jolie and Jessica Alba, 20 Chinese actresses including Gong Li, Fan Bingbing and Zhang Ziyi, as well as 14 Japanese entertainers including Huri Ueno, Namie Amuro and Yuu Aoi were used to estimate the most attractive black, Caucasian, Chinese and Japanese faces, respectively.
Rhee said that although some scholars had tried to sum up facial beauty using the golden ratio -- a proportion of about 1 to 1.62 that is commonly found in art and design -- he agrees with those who argue that the golden ratio does not appear to describe the "ideal" face shape.
According to the report, the composite Japanese face has a relatively long face with slightly slanted eyes, sharp chin, and chubby cheeks. The Chinese one, on the other hand, has narrow cheekbones, a slim and thin face with a protruding chin.
The Caucasian face that was generated has a somewhat masculine appearance, with an angulated and square jaw, protruding cheeks, and fuller lips than the average Caucasian face.
The face generated from black stars has a narrower nose, smaller eyes, a smaller upper lip and a more slender chin than most black people's faces.
"Although these composite faces are not the standard or most ideal attractive faces, and although many biases occurred during the process of photographic sampling, I regard these as good examples for understanding prior and current configurations, balance, harmony, or the secret of attractive faces of different races," said Rhee.
