I’ve heard a lot of brilliant speakers at conferences over the past ten years, but to me, one person stands out from the rest, and that is a Canadian cosmetic surgeon called Dr Arthur Swift. He talks a lot of sense about the key markers that make a beautiful face. He points out that every culture prefers woman to have an oval or heart-shaped face, and that their cheeks show the ‘ogee curve’.
Dr Swift lists seven key features which, as aesthetic practitioners, we should all take note of. He refers to it as ‘the magnificent seven.’
1. The triangle of youth
2. The height of the forehead (not too high and not too low)
3. The shape of the eyebrows (lightly arched)
4. The size and spacing of the eyes (pleasingly large, not too close together)
5. The shape of the nose (appropriate to the height of the face)
6. The width and height of the lips (generous, but again, appropriate to the face they are in)
7. How clear and smooth the skin is (the clearer the skin, the younger we judge the face to be). I would like to expand on Dr Swifts ‘magnificent seven,’ as his views have help me understand the aesthetic ‘ideals’ and what treatments would benefit my patients.
1. The triangle of youth.
This is the widest part of a beautiful face, where the cheeks are measured and tapered down towards the narrowest part the chin. However, with the ageing process, this triangle turns upside down. The cheeks loose volume, the lower face/jowls start to sag with the two points now becoming wider at the corners of the jaw and the third point is now the nose.
Therefore, when I am assessing a patients face, I am looking for the triangle of youth and aim to restore loss of volume and reverse the triangle from being bottom heavy and restore the ‘ogee curve’. The ogee curve has an ‘S’ shaped curvature along the cheeks, that gives the face contour and dimension. Young women have a wide extensive ogee curve, which gives the upper third of the mid-face fullness. Unfortunately, we lose that lovely curve with age and on side view, you can see the face is flatter. Fillers are brilliant at correcting this, and in my opinion, one of the key areas to inject first.
2. The Height of the forehead.
Dr Swift talks about the ‘golden ratio’ which is a mathematical equation called Phi. You can find this equation in nature, for example, in a sea shell, leaf or flower. In practice, I use this method to demonstrate to clients, why it is they may need a filler to their chin or plump back up their deflated cheeks. The ratio is 1.681.
3. The shape of the eyebrows.
In my opinion, eyebrows are a key feature that frames the face. If you over pluck your brows or they have become grey or thin over the years, there is plenty help out there with excellent beauticians that do eye brow threading, fine brush strokes of microblading and even tattooed brows. However, caution is again needed here. Go to a reputable beautician, such as Sarah Holmes, B’s clinic telephone :-07817112313 for excellent microblading, Massie at HD brows telephone:- 07541704228 for brow threading and Emma Hendrick for tattooing, Rodney Street Liverpool.
4. The size and spacing of the eyes.
Whenever we first look at a person’s face, we always look at the eyes first. The eyes are very important. Many women have very beautiful eyes but with age, the brow drops, the upper eye lid skin droops towards the eye lashes and we get swelling of fat in the corner of the lid. In my opinion, there is only one treatment that will remove this skin and that’s a blepharoplasty. There are other treatments, but nothing works as good as this. What does help with hollowness below the eyes and dark circles are fillers. You start firstly by filling the cheeks and then tear trough if needed. Furthermore, wrinkle treatments such as Botox are excellent for crows’ feet and a brow lift.
5. The shape of the nose.
You no longer need extensive surgery to correct a defect. You can have fillers to mask the defect and patients are delighted with the result. This is, however, a high- risk area for injections and as such, should be conducted by a suitably trained professional. At Lambs Aesthetics, I am fully trained in nose fillers.
6. The width and the height of the lips.
The key to nicely proportioned lips, is that they must suit the face they are on. For example, the aesthetic industry has gained an incredibly bad reputation for ‘overdoing lips,’ and I totally agree with this assumption. It has put many of my clients off having treatments. If you can see someone walking down the street and the first thing you see is their lips, then the practitioner who has done this procedure to the person, in my opinion, is a bad practitioner. I spend a lot of my time reassuring women that I will not make them look like a ‘duck’ and that all I will do is re-inflate their lips, that have curled under. In other words, give them back their own lip that has deflated due to the ageing process.
7. How clear and smooth the skin is.
So many patients damage their skin by not using a face cream that contains UVA and UVB protection. Research and evidence shows that by using creams that contain protection from the harmful rays of the sun, will not only prevent skin cancer but it will prevent wrinkly skin. Gone are the days when we all wanted a deep tan. Tanned skin is damaged skin. I know what you’re going to say, a light tan makes you feel and look better. I agree. But, please use a fake tan in your moisturiser that contains UVA and UVB protection at least factor 20. That way you can get a light tan look without damaging your skin. I have my own signature range of creams and serums. What I love about ‘Protect’ daily UVA and UVB protection cream, is that it does not sting your eyes and your skin feels lovely. I use Protect 20 on dull days and Protect 50 in full sun.
The other researched based cream that everyone should be applying to their skin at night, is a product that contains Vitamin A. There are many derivatives of Vitamin A, which adds to the confusion of many of my patients, for example, Tretinoin, Isotretinoin, Retinol, Adapalene and Tazarotene. Without being too scientific, Vitamin A will increase cell turnover which is often sluggish from the age of 35 years. It will also reduce pore size, pigmentation and uneven skin tone. Some strengths of Vitamin A need to be prescribed. At my clinic I have my own signature range and sell a lot of 1% Liposomal Retinol serum R+ or if needed I will prescribe Tretinoin depending on your skins tolerability, as these products can cause peeling, redness and irritation if not used with suitable instructions. Furthermore, having a skin peel to help remove the flaky dead skin cells will help your skin to glow, following Vitamin A use.