Comparison of the aesthetic facial proportions of southern Chinese and white women.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the aesthetic facial proportions of southern Chinese women with published average and ideal values for white women.

DESIGN: One hundred Chinese women between the ages of 18 and 40 years who had not undergone previous facial surgery were chosen at random, and their aesthetic facial proportions were measured from 5 x 7-in photographs. Comparisons were made with similar reported measurements for the white face, and the surgical relevance of the differences observed is discussed.

RESULTS: The major facial differences observed in the Chinese face were the wider intercanthal distance, the wider nasal base, a different profile of the lower face, and differences in the eyelids. The Chinese nose was less prominent, the alae were more flared, the nostrils were more horizontally oriented, the alar-columellar relationships were different, and the nasal tip was less defined.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the general principles of facial plastic surgery apply to both white and Chinese faces, the aesthetic goals are different. The aim is to retain the ethnicity and natural appearance of the face.