Resident physician Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, Maryland
Background: The distribution of lip shapes in young females and how morphologic variation relates to attractiveness are poorly defined.
Objectives: To describe the distributions of lip morphology and aesthetics in young females of multiple races.
Design type: Cross-sectional population-based study
Method: A statistical atlas of lip morphology was created using photographs of 700 women of multiple races aged 18 to 35. Average lip morphology was determined by co-registering and averaging images. Morphologic variation was analyzed using principal component analysis. An identical procedure was repeated using photographs of white and then black individuals to understand distributions in those racial groups. The relationship between attractiveness and observed lip morphologies was assessed using publicly distributed surveys.
Results: There were 287 survey responses. We developed a statistical model of variation of lip shape in the population and its relationship to attractiveness. On average, black individuals had larger lips than white individuals (1.1 and 1.6 times greater width and height, respectively). The most attractive black lips were similar to the average black lips. The most attractive white lips were 21% taller than the average white lips. For all, white, and black individuals respectively, the most attractive lips had upper to lower lip height ratios of 1:1.2, 1:1.2, and 1:1.3, upper cutaneous lip to vermilion lip height ratios of 1.4:1, 1.7:1, and 1.3:1, and vermilion lip width to height ratios of 2.5:1, 2.8:1, and 2.4:1.
Conclusion: Lip morphology and aesthetics vary by race. These findings may aid practitioners in achieving natural-appearing results that respect racial characteristics.