Cumulative frequency distribution in East Asian facial widths using the facial golden mask.

摘要

INTRODUCTION: Many studies have been published on the clinical importance and attractiveness of a face. On the other hand, Asian faces give an impression that is not polished owing to their pronounced cheekbone and mandible. There have already been many studies in progress pertaining to measurements and analyses of Asian facial structure; however, the authors would like to contribute to such research by providing practical analytical data and distributional patterns of the widths of their faces showing how wide their faces are. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The facial golden mask was applied to 1000 facial photographs of Korean college students, of whom 500 were males and 500 were females.The horizontal ratios (HR) of the mid- and lower faces of each student were calculated against the facial golden mask. The results were divided into 3 groups according the degrees of the HR for further analyses: group 1 (HR = 1.0), group 2 (HR > 1.0), and group 3 (HR < 1.0). RESULTS: We obtained an S-shaped cumulative frequency distribution graph for young Koreans per sex, per midface, and per lower face. The graph is dense at the center and is shifted to the right, signifying that the Koreans' midfaces and lower faces are wider than that of the facial golden mask. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusion reached in this study is that the faces of Koreans are wider than those of the facial golden mask as commonly perceived; thus, it is expected that graphs for the cumulative frequency of the distribution will be used extensively in the future.