The Influence of Brow Shape on thePerception of Facial Form and Brow Aesthetics
Stephen B. Baker, D.D.S.,M.D.
Joseph H. Dayan, M.D.Amy Crane, M.D.
Sugene Kim, M.D.
Washington, D.C.
Background: Previous studies have described the ideal shape of the aestheticbrow. These studies were based on fashion models, who typically have ideal ovalfaces. In people with different facial shapes, makeup artists modify brow shapeto give the illusion of an oval shape. The purpose of this investigation was tocompare the classically described ideal brow to the modified brow for each facialshape.Methods: The faces of five models were morphed into round, square, oval, andlong facial shapes. The eyebrows were digitally removed. A makeup artist drewthe brows specifically for each facial shape. In a second set of prints, the browshape was based on the previously published criteria. Seventy-eight people wereasked which face they believed was more aesthetic.Results: There was no significant difference between the classic and the mod-ified eyebrow in the oval or round facial shapes. In the square and long facialshapes, the modified brow was found to be more attractive in 62.7 percent and58.7 percent of the subjects, which is statistically significant (p � 0.05).Conclusions: The ideal brow may differ from the classic description whenapplied to the long or square face. In long faces, a flatter brow may give theillusion of fullness. In the square face, an accentuated lateral curvature may helpsoften the angles of the face. It may be difficult to achieve these modificationssurgically, but it is important to be aware of the effect that brow shape has onfacial shape. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 119: 2240, 2007.)
From an aesthetic standpoint, the eyebrowis one of the most important structures ofthe face. The brow has both static and
dynamic qualities that combine to give it a vitalrole in determining facial aesthetics and ex-pression. Unfortunately, as people age, browptosis occurs to varying degrees, changing theshape and position of the brows. These age-related changes frequently compromise the vi-tality, youth, and expression that are associ-ated with an aesthetically ideal face. Plasticsurgeons attempt to restore the youth and aes-thetics of the face by elevating and reposition-ing the brow through either endoscopic oropen brow-lift procedures. Nevertheless, de-
spite elevation of the brow, consistent aestheticresults are not always achieved.1,2 Even whenideal brows, as defined by Westmore3 (Fig. 1),are digitally placed into the ideal position ondifferent patients, the aesthetic results can beinconsistent. These inconsistencies suggest thatother variables may play a role in facial and browaesthetics.
Facial shape is an important factor in deter-mining facial aesthetics. The oval facial shapeis considered the ideal and is typical of mostfashion models. However, other facial shapesexist, such as round, square, and long. Physi-cally changing the shape of one’s face can bedifficult; however, makeup artists commonlyuse techniques in makeup application tochange the perception of facial shape. Profes-sional makeup artists have long recognized thecontribution of the brow to facial beauty. Theyconsider the brow to be the master line of theface because it is the reference to which allother angles and contours of the face are set.4
By changing the shape and position of thebrow, makeup artists can give the illusion of anoval facial shape in women who exhibit one of
the other shapes mentioned. These compen-satory changes in brow shape are commonlyused by makeup artists. Certain facial shapesmay look more attractive with these compen-satory changes in brow position rather thanthe Westmore brow. If this is the case, it wouldbe important for the surgeon to take facialshape into consideration before the brow lift,as it may alter his or her desired result.
To the best of our knowledge, no previousstudy has accounted for facial shape when eval-uating brow aesthetics. The purpose of this studywas to evaluate different facial shapes and deter-mine whether the most aesthetic brow is the onedefined by Westmore or by the makeup artist fora given facial shape.
PATIENTS AND METHODSTo evaluate the effect of brow form and po-
sition on facial shape, five models with varying
facial shapes were digitally imaged. Each modelhad her face morphed into four basic facialshapes (oval, square, long, and round) usingAdobe Photoshop (Adobe Systems, Inc., SanJose, Calif.) (Fig. 2). Care was taken not to alterthe nose, malar prominence, mouth, or eyesduring manipulation of the facial shape. Thistechnique was used to control for all other facialvariables. Brows were then digitally removedfrom these images (Fig. 3).
The 20 browless prints were given to a profes-sional makeup artist, who then drew the browshape and position with the compensatory mod-ifications for each facial shape. A second set of 20browless images (four facial shapes for five sub-jects) had the patients’ brows positioned to rep-resent the standard ideal brow position as definedby Westmore.3 Adobe Photoshop was used tomorph the subject’s actual brows to conform tothe dimensions defined by Westmore and themakeup artist.
The makeup artist’s images were placed adja-cent to images using the ideal Westmore brow.The patients and the facial shapes were random-ized in the sequence viewed by the evaluator. Sev-enty-eight people evaluated the images and statedwhich face was considered the most aesthetic. Atwo-tailed t test was used to evaluate the signifi-cance of the results.
RESULTSIn the oval face, 51 percent of evaluators found
the Westmore brow to be more aesthetic. In theround facial shape, 52 percent of evaluators foundthe makeup artist’s version to be more aesthetic.Neither of these results was statistically significant.However, there was a significant difference in thelong and square facial shapes. Fifty-eight percentof the evaluators favored the makeup artist’s browin the long facial shape group (p � 0.05). In thesquare facial shape group, 62 percent of the eval-uators favored the makeup artist’s brow (p �0.05).
DISCUSSIONWestmore established aesthetic criteria for
the “ideal” brow, which was later modified byEllenbogen.3,5 The brow is set at or slightly abovethe orbital rim. The medial extent of the browlies at the same level of the medial canthus andalar rim. The lateral extent of the brow lies in aline that runs tangent to the alar base and lateralcanthus. The brow peak lies at the level of thelateral limbus. These dimensions are the criteria
Fig. 1. Ideal brow (reprinted with permission from Westmore, M.G. Facial cosmetics in conjunction with surgery. Course pre-sented at the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Society Meeting, Vancou-ver, British Columbia, May of 1975. Cited by: Gunter, J. P., andAntrobus, S. D. Aesthetic analysis of the eyebrows. Plast. Reconstr.Surg. 99: 1808, 1997). The medial brow should be-gin on the samevertical plane as the lateral extent of the ala and the inner canthus(A to B). It ends laterally (C) at an oblique line drawn from the mostlateral point of the ala (A) through the lateral canthus. The medialand lateral ends of the brow (B and C) lie at approximately thesame horizontal level. The apex lies on a vertical line (D to E) di-rectly above the lateral limbus.
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by which postoperative brow-lift results are oftenjudged. However, there is not a consensus on theideal brow shape and position.1–5
Angres was the first surgeon to appreciate theinfluence of intercanthal distance on browaesthetics.6 He stated that if the intercanthal dis-tance is normal, the brow should start at a ver-tical line that bisects the medial canthus. How-ever, if the intercanthal distance is increased,the brow should begin medial to the medial
canthus. In contrast, a narrow intercanthal dis-tance requires the brows to start lateral to theideal position.
Before digital imaging, preoperative andpostoperative photographs were used to evalu-ate changes in brow shape and position. Theproblem with this technique is that the otherfacial changes that occurred from the brow liftand associated procedures could confound theobserver’s assessment of the brow. Digital im-
Fig. 2. Each model’s face was morphed into four basic facial shapes: oval, square, long, andround. This technique was used to control for all other facial variables.
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aging allows surgeons to change the brow shapeand position without altering other facial struc-tures. By isolating changes strictly to the brow,potentially confounding variables in adjacentstructures are eliminated. Freund and Nolanused this technology to evaluate brow shape andposition and to compare criteria of beauty be-tween makeup artists and plastic surgeons.2
They found that despite variability in the criteriafor the aesthetic brow in the plastic surgery lit-
erature, some common denominators of browaesthetics do exist. They found that the makeupartists and the plastic surgeons agreed on browheight and shape. Thus, beauty is not entirelysubjective, and common criteria for facial aes-thetics exist. When the authors evaluated thepostoperative results in previously publishedstudies, they found that the surgical results wereoften suboptimal when judged by their criteriafor brow shape and position.
Fig. 3. Brows were digitally removed from all images. The Westmore and makeup artist’sbrows were then digitally applied to this template.
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In an excellent, in-depth review of brow aes-thetics, Gunter and Antrobus used digital imag-ing to change both the position and the shapeof the brow.1 Their population consisted of bothmodels and patients. Eyebrows were evaluatedwith regard to size, shape, position, and rela-tionship to surrounding periorbital structures.They used digital photography to create imagesthat maintained original shape and position,changed the position independent of shape,changed shape independent of position, andelevated the arch to a higher position. Interest-ingly, they found that there was variability inbrow aesthetics and that no brow looked goodon every face. They concluded that the goal ofthe brow lift should be to reposition or reshapethe brow to enhance a particular individual’sappearance. Simply lifting the brows most likelywill not achieve an optimal result. The variabilityof the aesthetic appearance of a given brow ondifferent subjects led us to study other variablesthat affect brow aesthetics.
The subspecialty of craniofacial surgery em-phasizes the importance of complete facial anal-ysis. Facial shape is one aspect of this assessment,and professional makeup artists have long recog-nized its importance. The four basic facial shapesare oval, round, square, and long. Facial shape caneasily be determined by tracing the patient’s faceon acetate paper overlying a photograph of thepatient. By viewing only the facial outline, theshape is obvious to the surgeon.
The oval face is considered the ideal and is theshape of most models’ faces. Although it is difficultto change the physical shape of the face, makeupartists often alter facial features to change theperception of facial shape.7 By creating subtlechanges in eyebrows, they can alter how the ob-server perceives the face. This may be one reasonthat no single eyebrow position and shape is con-sidered beautiful on every face. Many of our pre-vious studies have been on models and attractivepatients. As stated previously, these people oftenhave oval faces, and their brows would not neces-sarily be considered attractive on a person with around, square, or long face.
Makeup artists use several principles whenshaping the brow. The oval face is considered tobe the ideal shape. Nonoval facial shapes havebrows that are modified to create the illusion of amore oval face. It is interesting to note that boththe makeup artist’s and Westmore’s ideal brow forthe oval face is almost the same (Fig. 4). Squarefaces favor soft curves with an arch lateral to thelateral limbus. Makeup artists shape the brow onsquare faces so that the lateral aspect is directed atthe center of the ear. This makes angles less harshand appears to decrease the distance between theupper and lower halves of the face (Fig. 5). Longfaces may favor a straighter brow, avoiding a higharch that may add length to the face. The brow iskept almost straight across, with the lateral aspectpointing closer to the top of the ear (Fig. 6).Round faces favor a brow with a high arch that
Fig. 4. Oval facial shape. Both the Westmore (left) and makeup artist (right) versions sharesimilar proportions.
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points toward the top of the ear to enhance an-gularity of the face (Fig. 7).7
From a surgical standpoint, these changesmay be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve;
however, the effects of a brow lift on the per-ception of facial shape are important to con-sider. One would certainly not want to create anybrow changes that would accentuate the non-
Fig. 5. Square face brow modifications juxtaposed with the Westmore (left) brow. Themakeup artist version (right) differs from the Westmore version by softening the curve of thebrow, with the lateral aspect pointing slightly more inferior toward the center of the ear.
Fig. 6. Long face brow modifications juxtaposed with the Westmore (left) brow. The makeupartist (right) keeps the brow low and straight. High arches are avoided, as they may augmentthe appearance of an already long face.
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oval features of a face. For instance, in the longface, the surgeon would want to be cognizantthat elevating the entire brow may lead to anunattractively long face. In a square face, onewould want to minimize angularity of browshape that would accentuate the square face.These principles apply to changes in brow po-sition created by the injection of botulinumtoxin as well. In many cases where brow ptosis isminimal, simple electrolysis is effective in ob-taining the ideal brow dimensions for the pa-tient. Aucoin has stated that “To me the browsare the most important feature of the face. Theyare the most expressive feature as well as the onethat can be changed the most without cosmeticsurgery.”8 It is important for the surgeon to behonest with himself or herself as to whether thepatient will achieve the best result with a surgicalprocedure or a nonsurgical alternative.
CONCLUSIONSThe results in this study suggest that there
may not be one ideal brow for every facial shape.Although the Westmore ideal appears to workwell for many facial shapes, there may be analternative ideal for square and long faces. It ishoped that these principles will aid in the pre-operative evaluation of patients undergoing
brow-lift procedures and help the surgeonachieve optimal results. Although the results inthis study did not overwhelmingly favor themakeup artist’s version for long and squarefaces, the principles described may be useful inenhancing the result in patients with long andsquare faces.
Stephen B. Baker, M.D., D.D.S.Department of Plastic Surgery, Building 1-PHC
Georgetown University Hospital3800 Reservoir Road, NW
ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe authors acknowledge Marlene Kurland as the
makeup artist who participated in this study and thankher for her time and hard work.
DISCLOSUREThis study was conducted without any funding or
sponsorship.
REFERENCES1. Gunter, J. P., and Antrobus, S. D. Aesthetic analysis of the
eyebrows. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 99: 1808, 1997.
Fig. 7. Round facial shape. The makeup artist adds a slightly higher arch to the brow to addangularity to the face. However, there was no statistically significant difference in preferencebetween the Westmore (left) and makeup artist (right) versions.
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2. Freund, R. M., and Nolan, W. B. Correlation between brow liftoutcomes and aesthetic ideals for eyebrow height and shapein females. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 97: 1343, 1996.
3. Westmore, M.G. Facial cosmetics in conjunction with surgery.Course presented at the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery SocietyMeeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, May of 1975.
4. Ellenbogen, R. Transcoronal eyebrow lift with concomitantupper blepharoplasty. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 71: 490, 1983.
5. Matarasso, A., and Terino, E. O. Forehead-brow rhytidoplasty:Reassessing the goals. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 93: 1378, 1994.
6. Angres, G. G. Blepharopigmentation and eyebrow enhance-ment techniques for maximum cosmetic results. Ann. Oph-thalmol. 17: 605, 1985.
7. Jewell, D. L., and Hilverdink, R. Forever Beautiful with Rex. NewYork: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1994.
8. Aucoin, K. Making Faces. New York: Little, Brown, 1999.
