Can the asymmetrical aspects of a face be considered “beauty” when counter balanced against the beauty of facial attraction?

The asymmetry of a face is one of the factors that cause your push/ pull reaction toward a facial image?

Throughout history it has been a common practice of the portrait artist to correct the imbalances in a face to create a pleasing image… *Correcting nature and pleasing a client*

YET: it is the ill-proportions of a face that creates individuality. There by fostering visual questioning and raising interest of the being that lies behind the facial mask?

Does an unaltered face offer more visual depth, color and excitement than the more pleasing corrected image? Can the word visual neutrality replace visual symmetry?

Are facial beauty and facial interest two very different topics?

The Science of Attraction: What makes a beautiful face?

Posted by Stuart Farrimond ⋅ March 16, 2011 ⋅

What makes a Face Attractive?

Be honest now, there’s at least one celebrity that you have a secret crush on. It might be George Clooney or Judi Dench… But why exactly do you find them attractive? Is it well defined features? Clear skin? Nice Eyes? Or is there some mysterious ‘X’ factor…

Test yourself: Look at these faces, which are the most attractive?

You might think that unique and striking facial features make a someone drop-dead gorgeous – but this image shows that on the most-part they do not! An attractive face is an ‘average’ face: I’d bet that you think the faces on the right are the most attractive – and those faces aren’t even real – the faces on the right are computer generated ‘averages’ of several faces:

The most attractive faces are also the most ‘normal’ for our culture.

But that isn’t quite the whole story. It has been known for many years that the ideal face must also be symmetrical. Take a look at the image below and see if you agree…

Which face has been altered to be more beautiful and symmetrical? Right or Left?

Facial Symmetry and ‘Averageness’ – Why do we find them attractive?

The science behind attraction is a fascinating and well-researched field and some of the most up to date research on facial attraction has come out of Japan in recent years. In 2009, a team from Osaka University tried to work out what the most important factor was for facial beauty. Their conclusion – a perfectly beautiful face needed both symmetry and ‘averageness’!

But why do we get the hots for ‘average’ faces? The theory goes something like this: When choosing a partner to have children with, our natural instincts are to choose a healthy person – A fit and healthy partner is more likely to have ‘good genes’ and so will probably parent a healthy, beautiful and virtuous child.

On some primitive and subconscious level, when we see an unusual face we are programmed to see the person as ‘unhealthy’. This inbuilt prejudice seems to be common to all of us – regardless of culture or creed. We will always tend to prefer a ‘healthier’, more symmetrical and ‘average’ face.