The Golden Ratio: Explained

Did you know – There is a mathematical science behind what we perceive as beautiful? It’s true and it boils down to the golden number 1.618.

This number, known as the golden ratio or simply ‘Phi’, named after Phidias, an ancient Greek sculptor who is thought to have used it in much of his work, dates back 2500 years. In this time the ancient Greeks discovered that by dividing a line up into 1:1.618, you create the most visually appealing proportion.

Over the years this number is thought to have been used by renowned artists, sculptors, and designers, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, and it is abundant in nature too. The ratio has been seen in naturally occurring shells and in architectural designs for years. More recently it has been used as a tool by aesthetics practitioners the world over, to help guide them in understanding and refining their aesthetics treatments.

Now, this isn’t to say that we believe that beauty is solely reliant on the number 1.618. Beauty, after all, is influenced by a huge number of factors, and what we perceive as beautiful varies greatly from person to person. Alongside the proportions and symmetry of the face, complexion, health, facial expression and age, among many other factors, help define what each of us, individually, find beautiful.

However, Phi, the golden ratio, sits as one tool in the large repertoire of any highly skilled aesthetics Doctor, as it does for Trikwan’s Doctors Sanjay Trikha and Zoya Diwan. But how is this unique ratio used? Well, it has been shown in numerous studies that many facial markers in attractive faces are very closely aligned with the Phi ratio proportion, 1:1.618.

If you were to take any individual, and then measured all of their facial proportions, such as:

• Pupil to Nose to Chin
• Chin to Teeth to Pupil
• Hairline to Eyebrow to Eye
• Top lip to teeth line to bottom lip
• Outer eye to outer eye to the width of the lips
• Top lip to bottom lip (when mouth is closed)
• Smile width to nose width
• Inside corner of eyes to face width

Even down to the ratio of your central incisor to your lateral incisor tooth, you will find that all of these features will be at a ratio very close to 1.6. And the closer those ratios get to 1.618, the more beautiful the face is perceived to be. In cosmetics these ratios have been collated to create the ‘Phi Mask’ which has been used as a clinical assessment tool to aid clinicians in determining attractiveness.

Our highly experienced Trikwan doctors use this tool in their practice at our Harley Street and Mayfair clinics. The Phi ratio is a powerful tool in helping us assess beauty and it can be used as a guide to ensure that filler placement and volume is proportional and, most importantly, natural-looking. One great example of a treatment where we use this is in our Cupid’s Bow Lip fillers. The Phi ratio is applied, with the most ‘beautiful’ lips conforming to Phi, with the top lip height equalling 1 and the bottom lip height equalling 1.618. Many inexpertly performed lip fillers, which have overfilled the top lip (therefore changing the ratio) resultantly look unnatural and strange to the eye. As aesthetic practitioners we use the Phi tool to ensure that, when we inject, the bottom lip is proportionally fuller than the top. Combining this with Dr Trikha and Dr Diwan’s uniquely developed Cupid’s Bow sculpting technique, our clients leave our clinic with the perfectly shaped, natural looking lip they expect having visited us at Trikwan Aesthetics.

BOOK WITH DR SANJAY TRIKHA OR DR ZOYA DIWAN HERE