Thanks to Kylie Jenner, Angeline Jolie, and Vogue cover models, lip fillers continue to be one of the world’s most popular beauty treatments. Full lips are sexy, seductive. But how big do they have to be?
It’s a personal preference, of course. However, JAMA Network tried to pin down what people think is the “most attractive” lip ratio. As they said in their clinical abstract, “These findings indicate a quantifiable approach to determining the most attractive lip proportions used in augmentation procedures.”
Their ultimate goal was to provide plastic surgeons a general guideline for lip augmentation. “We advocate preservation of the natural ratio or achieving a one-to-two ratio in lip augmentation procedures while avoiding the overfilled upper lip look frequently seen among celebrities.”
What happened during the study?
The researchers provided 570 participants with 100 pictures of women with different lip proportions, who ranked them according to their preference. These scores were then analyzed to determine the Favorite Lip Ratio using:
- overall surface area
- ratio of upper lip to lower lip
- linear dimension of the lips relative to the lower third of the face
What’s the winning ratio for lip augmentation?
At the end of the survey, researchers nailed it to this golden ratio:
- an increase of lip surface area by 53.5 percent
- a ratio of 1:2 upper to lower lip
- lower lip making up 9.6 percent of the lower third of the face
Aesthetic doctors comment on the survey
Plastic surgeon David Hartman says most of his patients don’t want a perfect lip — they just want younger looking face. “As we age, the upper lip disproportionately loses volume [and] the curves of youth.” He usually recommends very subtle enhancements in the upper lip.
In general, it’s the patients in their late 20s or 30s who want a bigger pout. They usually ask for fillers on both lips. But even then, most doctors discourage an overdone and exaggerated celebrity pout. They usually recommend a flattering ratio.
Not surprisingly, most doctors aren’t too impressed with a single formula. The ratio of top and bottom lips are unique, and so are other considerations like facial features and patient preferences. New York dermatologist Neil Sadick, MD said: “It’s important to treat each patient’s lips differently.”