OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to check if the numeric facial analysis can determine facial attractiveness. METHOD: The sample consisted of frontal and lateral standard facial photographs, in natural head position, of 85 Brazilian Caucasian women, without facial plastic surgery report. The sample mean age was 23 years and 9 months. A group of 5 orthodontists, 5 layman and 5 plastic artists classified the photographs according to their own attractiveness graduation in: pleasant, acceptable and not pleasant. The numeric facial analysis was then performed using a computerized method. Linear, proportional and angular measurements were compared among groups. RESULTS: According subjective analysis the sample was consisted of 18.8% of pleasant, 70.6% of acceptable and 10.6% of not pleasant. In most measurements there were no differences among groups. Just in three of them significant statistical difference was observed and in two of them the comparison value was within decision limit. All the differences found were related to the lower third of the face and to facial pattern. CONCLUSION: On the present research, the numeric facial analysis, by itself, was not capable of detecting facial attractiveness, considering that beauty judgment seems to be very personal.
OBJETIVO: esse estudo foi desenvolvido com o propósito de verificar se a análise facial numérica realizada em fotografias frontais é sensível em detectar a atratividade da face. MÉTODOS: a amostra foi composta por fotografias faciais padronizadas, frontais e laterais, em posição natural da cabeça, de 85 mulheres brasileiras, leucodermas, com idades entre 18 e 30 anos, sem histórico de cirurgia plástica facial. A idade média da amostra foi de 23 anos e 9 meses. As fotografias foram classificadas de acordo com o grau de atratividade da face por uma banca composta de cinco especialistas em Ortodontia, cinco leigos e cinco artistas plásticos. A partir dessa classificação, os indivíduos foram divididos em três grupos: esteticamente agradáveis, esteticamente aceitáveis e esteticamente desagradáveis. Em seguida, foram realizados os traçados fotométricos por meio computadorizado. As médias das variáveis lineares, proporcionais e angulares propostas foram comparadas estatisticamente entre os grupos. RESULTADOS: pela análise subjetiva, 18,8% da amostra foram classificados como esteticamente desagradáveis, 70,6% como esteticamente aceitáveis e 10,6% como esteticamente agradáveis. Na maioria das variáveis, não observou-se diferenças entre os grupos. Em apenas três delas houve diferenças estatisticamente significativas. Todas as diferenças encontradas relacionaram-se ao terço inferior da face e ao padrão facial. CONCLUSÃO: no presente estudo, a análise facial numérica utilizada isoladamente não foi sensível na detecção de padrões de atratividade, já que os critérios de beleza parecem ser altamente subjetivos

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate if there is correlation between perception of facial esthetic and divine proportion, verifying if most attractive faces are closer to and less attractive faces are more distant to this proportion. Methods:Standard facial photographs (frontal and lateral) in natural head position were taken of a sample of 85 Brazilian Caucasian women, with mean age of 23 years and 9 months. The photographs were evaluated by 5 orthodontists, 5 artists and 5 laymen and were classified, according to their subjective analysis of facial esthetic, in pleasant, acceptable and not pleasant. Frontal photographs were evaluated by divine proportion analysis using the computerized method. Results and Conclusions:According to subjective analysis the sample consisted 18.8% of pleasant, 70.6% of acceptable and 10.6% of not pleasant faces. After statistical analysis, a lack of agreement was verified in esthetic facial preferences among the three groups of observers. It was also possible to verify that in this research there was no correlation between perception of facial beauty and divine proportion.