We would like to discuss the ‘different preferences for beauty by age’ in this issue.

The study by Professors Yun-A Kook and Na-Seon Park, the Department of Orthodontics, the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary’s Dental Hospital, and Prof. Jae-Hyun Park, the Department of Orthodontics, the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, on the preferences for lateral profiles involving 210 adults in Korea, has been published in a recent issue of the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. ¹ They surveyed lateral profiles that are preferred by subjects who were stratified by age: younger group (in their 20s and 30s), middle-age group (in their 40s and 50s), and older group (55 and older). The results indicated that each group preferred different lateral profiles. ²

There was a similar study, a master’s thesis of Inha University, which also reported statistically significant difference in aesthetic preference for lateral profile by age, although no difference was found in preference by sex. ³

We have discussed in the previous issue that there is a difference in the perception of facial beauty by race and sex. This time, let’s see if there is a difference in aesthetic preference by age in the general population.

It is true that each age group among the general population in Korea has different distribution of facial types: round shape is more common among people in their 20s and 30s, oval shape among people in their 40s, and rectangular shape among people in their 50s. ⁴ This indicates that the shape of the face slightly changes with age. Along with the shape of the face, their preference of beauty also changes with age.

 

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Recently, there is a growing demand and frequency of plastic surgery among men. This is a trend that can found not only in younger people, but also among middle-aged men. Plastic surgeons who perform aesthetic surgeries should be aware of such difference in aesthetic preferences by age.

Currently famous male celebrities and idol stars on the movies and TV shows have unique facial characteristics that are quite different from the traditional norm of a handsome man. The facial characteristics of these male celebrities preferred by younger people is called ‘flower-boy face’. The preference and desire for this ‘flower-boy’ by younger women is not just a recent trend but has a long history.

 

-To be continued