What makes lips attractive? Are there gender-related factors that determine so-called “attractive” lips? Results of a German study suggest that there are certain parameters that define the ideal shape of the lip and lower facial area for men vs women.
V. Penna, M.D., Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery at University Medical Center in Freiburg, Germany, and colleagues conducted this study to clarify existing literature that indicates that parameters differ when it comes to defining the ideal shape of the lip and lower third of the face. To do so, they had photos taken of the lip and chin region of 176 patients. The photos were evaluated by 250 voluntary judges using an analogue Likert scaling system in an online presentation.
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Results showed:
- A significantly higher ratio of upper vermillion height/mouth-nose distance in frontal-view images of “attractive” compared with “unattractive” female and male perioral regions.
- The ratio of upper vermillion height/chin-nose distance was significantly higher in attractive vs unattractive female and male lip and chin regions.
- The nasolabial angle was significantly sharper in attractive compared with unattractive female perioral regions
- Attractive female lip and chin regions were found to have a wider mentolabial angle compared with unattractive female lip and chin regions.
Lip Parameters in Men vs Women
Lip Parameters in Men vs Women
When the researchers compared male and female parameters, they found that attractive female perioral regions showed a higher ratio of lower vermillion height/chin-mouth distance and lower vermillion height/chin-nose distance than attractive male perioral regions.
“We were able to define certain parameters of the lip and lower third of the face that seem to add to the attractiveness of female and male individuals and prove that there are gender-related differences in form and shape of an attractive lower third of the face,” the authors write.
The study appears in the July issue of the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS).
