Soft-tissue facial characteristics of attractive Italian women as compared to normal women.

OBJECTIVE To compare the facial characteristics of two different groups of attractive women with those of reference women. MATERIALS AND METHODS The three-dimensional coordinates of 50 facial landmarks were collected in 71 healthy reference women (18-30 years old) and in 24 coetaneous "attractive" women selected during two different beauty competitions; soft tissue facial angles, distances, areas, and volumes were computed and compared using analysis of variance. RESULTS When compared with reference women, both groups of attractive women shared several similar facial characteristics: relatively large forehead (P < .001), reduced mandible (P = .008), and rounded face (reduced surface-to-volume ratio, P = .002). They had a more acute soft tissue profile, an increased upper facial width (P < .001) and middle facial depth, larger mouth, and more voluminous lips (P = .005) than reference women. CONCLUSIONS Both groups of attractive women had several facial characteristics suggesting babyness. Nonetheless, each group of women was characterized by a different development of these features. Esthetic reference values can be a useful tool for clinicians, but should always consider the characteristics of individual faces.