The Beauty Wand: What is Phi?

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder! But why do some faces attract everyone or why do we universally accept certain beauty
The Beauty Wand: What is Phi?

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder! But why do some faces attract everyone or why do we universally accept certain beauty. Some of the popular faces like Maharani Gayatri Devi, Madhubala, Aishwarya Rai Bachhan from India are such figure, whose beauty cannot be denied by anyone. Being anAesthetic Physician, where my primary job is to make people look better, I was fascinated to learn that such beautiful faces also follow the Greek ratio of Phi, the Golden Ratio.

What is the Golden Ratio?

The Golden Ratio is based on the Fibonacci sequence.In the 1202 AD, Leonardo Fibonacci wrote in his book "Liber Abaci" of a simple numerical sequence that is the foundation for an incredible mathematical relationship behind Phi. This sequence was known as early as the 6th century AD by Indian mathematicians, but it was Fibonacci who introduced it to the west .

Fibonacci sequence: Starting with 0 and 1, each new number in the sequence is simply the sum of the two before it.

0,1,2,3,5,8,13,21……………………..

The relationship of the Fibonacci sequence to the golden ratio is this: The ratio of each successive pair of numbers in the sequence approximates Phi (1.618. . .) , as 5 divided by 3 is 1.666…, and 8 divided by 5 is 1.60.

This ratio is known as the golden ratio, the divine proportion or phi (named after Phidias, a Greek sculptor and mathematician who used this ratio when designing sculptures).Since the Renaissance period, artists like Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci have used the golden ration in the sketching of their paintings, such as Monalisa or Birth of Venus. Infact, we can find the golden ratio and the related Fibonacci series in a variety of diverse places in nature. It appears in the basic spirals of pine cones and seed pods. It is found in the spatial structure of molecules. It is even being found in quantum physics.The golden section was used by ancient and classical artists and designers to create geometrical compositions toward an emanation of godlike natural perfection.

Golden ratio in nature some of the best photographs in Architects

Application of golden ratio in Aesthetics:

We may be unaware of it but we subconsciously judge beauty by facial symmetry and proportion, irrespective of race and ethnicity. For instance, the ideal ratio of the top of the head to the chin versus the width of the head should be 1.618. During modern times, the golden ratio has been applied to facial beauty and adopted as a guideline for aesthetic treatments. The application of golden ratio in the field of Aesthetics has helped people in reaching a near perfect number to phi ratio and thus, making a face more proportionate and attractive. The proportion lies in many areas of the face and can be achieved very easily by injectables like Botox and Dermal fillers to give the face a desired shape. For example,

• the distance from the top of the nose to the centre of the lips should be 1.618 times the distance from the centre of the lips to the chin

• the hairline to the upper eyelid should be 1.618 times the length of the top of the upper eyebrow to the lower eyelid.

• the ideal ratio of upper to lower lip volume is 1:1.6 (the lower lip should have slightly more volume than the upper lip)

The mathematical formula to find out the most beautiful face lead to applying the proportions on face of various celebrities. In an article published in a famous British magazine in 2016, Amber Heard was declared to have been the most beautiful face (91.85% accurate)in the world, followed by Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss.

Amber Heard Kim Kardashian

Few studies have been made on Indian celebrities though some articles on internet shows golden ratio calculation on Aishwarya , but the authenticity of it remains questionable.

Nature does not always follow the rules of beauty and the need for an artistic eye is mandatory to give patients a naturally beautiful look rather that completely changing their appearance. People say, nature has taken time to create such face to appreciate someone's beauty. But in today's world, by following the golden rule, we , aesthetic physicians can give you ample time and make you look more attractive !Skeptics will say that beautiful faces do not necessarily follow the golden ratio always , or that all the faces with accurate ratio are not beautiful; aestheticians find the ratio as a tool to guide them to reach up to the normal facial ratio as nature!

Dr. Reema Das Mallik, MD, PGDCC

Consultant Aesthetic Physician

Proprietor, ILLUMIS Aesthetic Clinic

Dr.reema12@gmail.com

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