MERZ AE STHETICS RE COGNIZE S THE BEST-PROPORTIONED FACES IN ASIA
BANGKOK, Thailand — Back in my room at Shangri-La Bangkok, I took to the magnifying mirror to examine my face. Prior to this event, I only thought my nose has this huge bump right on the bridge and that it was a little bit wide (thank you, Grandpa). Never did I think to look at my face in terms of its overall harmony, and not its individual parts. This is the objective of Merz Aesthetics in creating the MAAT Golden Ratio Search: to shift the focus from us blindly wanting a pointed nose or plump cheekbones to asking a more important question: Will a pointed nose actually fit my existing facial proportions?
Somewhere in the hotel, there were 10 women who were the new benchmarks for facial proportions, flew in by Merz Aesthetics, a leading innovator in aesthetics and neutrotoxin, for the 38th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Dermatological Surgery. After an extensive three-month search across 10 countries in Asia — Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam — and hundreds of submissions, Merz found the most well-proportioned faces in Asia.
How did they do it? The women were assessed according to facial proportions in relation to the Golden Ratio (facial height to width ratio, horizontal facial proportion and facial symmetry) but a local panel consisting of a plastic surgeon, dermatologist, aesthetic doctor, a beauty influencer and a representative from Merz Aesthetics. After which, each country put up 12 of their finalists for public voting on Facebook. Merz Philippines received 240 entries, which all had to be makeup-free and of candidates that have not undergone any kind of cosmetic surgery.
The Philippines was represented by 21-year-old student and model Trisha May Duncan, whose facial proportion scored a 1.619 (compared to the Golden Ratio’s 1.618). The judges used a phi caliper — first used by the Greeks and Romans in 6 B.C. — a rather crude ruler that is calibrated to measure for the Golden Ratio.
“The MAAT Golden Ratio Search was the first in Asia Pacific and sought to provide information to empower women to better understand facial proportions relative to attractiveness. It was also an integral part of the launch of the first medial guidelines that provide a holistic approach to aesthetic treatments to achieve well-proportioned faces in Asians,” said Dr. Lawrence T. Siow, Merz CEO for APAC. “Everyone has an opinion on what beauty is, and these views can vary considerably. In the context of the MAAT Golden Ratio Search, which uses the science of measurements to create awareness on symmetrical face ratios relative to beauty, beauty is fitting as closely as possible to the Golden Ratio, Horizontal facial proportion and facial symmetry.”
During the media conference, dermatologists from all over the world shared what they thought of the application of the Golden Ratio in their practice, and this could radically change as well as improve how we approach cosmetic surgery and facial rejuvenation. “In every face, there are numbers that are considered ideal and beautiful,” said Dr. Tatjana Pavicic, dermatologist from Germany. “Facial symmetry is essential to beauty and what is pleasant or not to our eyes. But it’s also to prevent people from doing bad things to their faces.” According to Dr. Pavicic, patients often ask for Angelina Jolie and David Beckham features — but this doesn’t always fit their facial features, and sometimes it just can’t be done. Thai dermatologist Dr. Atchima added, “Asians should have Asian beauty. We shouldn’t Westernize our face.”
According to their studies, oval is the ideal face shape among Asians and 67 percent of Asians actually have an oval face, which means a good chunk of us don’t really have to go to extremes for the sake of attractiveness — it’s just a matter of minor tweaks here and there. For Asians, the most common congenital deficiency is the short chin, which can be easily remedied with non- and minimally-invasive aesthetic procedures, which Dr. Siow said are a growing subject of interest. “Merz is a company distinguised by its non- and minimally-invaside products. This includes energy-based devices for skin tightening and lifting, dermal fillers and botulinum toxin injections,” he said.
“Growth will be driven by non-invasive feminine rejuvenation, body shaping/skin tightening, neurotoxins and dermal fillers. The energy-based devices and physiciandispensed topical markets will also experience reasonable annual gains of 5.8 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.
Dr. Owen Sunga, Merz executive director for regional medical affairs, adds, “Minimal invasive procedures are becoming a trend — procedures that do not require going on the OR table. Obviously, cost is a very important factor especially for Filipinos, that’s why it’s not yet fully maximized. There’s also the fact that we are very conservative, in terms of being identified as someone who has ‘had something done.’ Merz is committed to empower people and make them aware that these treatments are available after all, and if you really need them, there’s nothing to be shy about.”
Merz is known for the only U.S. FDA-cleared, non-invasive skin lifting and tightening ultrasound device, Ultherapy. It is the only technology that offers visualization to ensure the procedure is precise and targeted. Merz has always been at the forefront of acquiring the latest technology in aesthetics as in the case with Cellfina, the first anti-cellulite device. In addition to innovative products and cutting-edge technologies, Merz offers a comprehensive range of training to doctors, enabling them to perform their art at the highest level to ensure the best patient outcome. The MAAT Golden Ratio Search is just one of their means to deliver more effective solutions to the needs of both doctors and patients.
Since I was already with all those doctors, I asked (out of curiosity) Dr. Jennie Diaz, who performed Ultherapy on me in September, what my face needs to achieve Golden Ratio proportions. “You need more chin,” she told me. “Your cheekbones are good, you just need to elongate the face a bit. More chin would make it more oval.” And here I thought I needed a nose job. I haven’t gotten around to getting more chin, but having learned a lot about proportions at the summit, I discovered that putting my hair in a high ponytail creates the illusion of an oval face (and more chin). That’s good enough, for now. Having said that, this knowledge will also add more logic to your makeup routine. Don’t judge your face — examine it and experiment on how to achieve a well-proportioned face.
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‘Facial symmetry is essential to beauty and what is pleasant or not to our eyes. But it’s also to prevent people from doing bad things to their faces.’ — Dr. Tatjana Pavicic