Face Value

Wright State University

"Beauty is not in the face," poet, artist, and writer Kahlil Gibran once said, "beauty is a light in the heart." But that light, we're now learning, is reflected in the face. It seems that our faces do say a lot about us ~ more than we would like to think. Even tiny shifts in appearance are noted by others, mostly subconsciously. Face shape and tint (beyond ethnic coloring) transmit messages about health, personality, fertility. One example can be found in the work of Carmen Lefevre, Northumbria University in England. Her studies reveal, according to this article, "that people with higher levels of testosterone tend to be wider-faced with bigger cheekbones, and they are also more likely to have more assertive, and sometimes aggressive, personalities." As well, the article continues, "the amount of fat on your face ... provides a stronger indication of your fitness than more standard measures, such as your body mass index": http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150312-what-the-face-betrays-about-you