CosBeauty Magazine #85
CosBeauty is the #BeautyAddict's guide to lifestyle, health and beauty in Australia. In this issue: - The Breast Report - your guide to augmentation - Put an end to bad hair days - 24 hour makeup, products that last - Sex appeal - do you have it?
CosBeauty is the #BeautyAddict's guide to lifestyle, health and beauty in Australia.
In this issue:
- The Breast Report - your guide to augmentation
- Put an end to bad hair days
- 24 hour makeup, products that last
- Sex appeal - do you have it?
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WHAT MAKES A BEAUTIFUL BREAST?<br />
The assessment of physical beauty varies<br />
enormously across both time and cultures.<br />
What one person considers sexy or beautiful<br />
might be far removed from what another<br />
perceives as attractive. However, there<br />
remain widely held standards of physical<br />
attractiveness, and achieving a positive<br />
aesthetic outcome is crucial to the success of<br />
cosmetic procedures.<br />
When it comes to assessing the breasts,<br />
you may be forgiven for thinking it’s all about<br />
size. Indeed, breast augmentation involves<br />
adding volume to the bust, but a satisfactory<br />
augmentation is about a whole lot more than<br />
just adding volume.<br />
‘There is no such thing as the ‘perfect’<br />
breast,’ says British plastic surgeon Dr Paul<br />
Banwell. ‘However, there are four aesthetic<br />
guidelines that can help surgeons deliver a<br />
beautiful-looking breast.’<br />
These guidelines, which refer to the<br />
proportions of the upper and lower breast,<br />
their slope as well as the position of the<br />
nipple were investigated by a group of London<br />
Plastic Surgeons at the University College<br />
and Royal Free Hospitals. In a study entitled<br />
‘Concepts in Aesthetic Breast Dimensions:<br />
Analysis of the Ideal Breast’, Mallucci et al<br />
used computer measurements to examine<br />
the dimensions and proportions of 100 pairs<br />
of natural (non-enhanced) breasts deemed<br />
attractive, and identifi ed four features<br />
common to all.<br />
‘The study revealed that in all cases the<br />
level of the nipple lay at a point 20 degrees<br />
above the horizontal where, on average, the<br />
proportion of the breast below it represented<br />
55 per cent of overall volume of the breast and<br />
above it 45 per cent,’ explains Dr Banwell.<br />
‘In most cases, the upper pole was either<br />
concave or straight, and the lower pole of the<br />
breast was convex, creating a full curve.’<br />
The UK group also analysed images of the<br />
breasts of ordinary women both before and<br />
after implant surgery to establish whether, if<br />
a breast deviates from these measurements,<br />
it becomes less attractive. The answer, they<br />
found, was that it does, regardless of size.<br />
However, Dr Banwell is keen to reinforce the<br />
importance of tailoring breast shape and size to<br />
the individual proportions and circumstances<br />
of each patient.<br />
‘A one-size-fi ts all approach is not<br />
appropriate,’ he says. ‘We have a way of<br />
assessing the aesthetics we’re trying to achieve<br />
with a breast augmentation, but it’s important<br />
to do that via a tailor-made approach.’<br />
This involves detailed measurement, careful<br />
discussion with each patient and judicious<br />
selection of the optimal implant shape, texture<br />
and method of placement.<br />
‘Every breast is different in terms of its shape<br />
and size and in terms of its characteristics,’<br />
says Dr Banwell. ‘The surgeon has to assess<br />
that and then needs to make a judgement<br />
based upon the patient’s wishes in terms of<br />
what they want to achieve versus what can<br />
actually be achieved.’<br />
With so many media infl uences, today it is<br />
even more important to marry your wishes,<br />
as the patient, with what is both realistic<br />
and achievable. ‘It’s all about having realistic<br />
expectations of improvement,’ he says.<br />
‘Communication with the patient is therefore<br />
so important. The patient needs to fully<br />
understand what’s involved, and if there is any<br />
discrepancy between what they want and what<br />
can actually be achieved, it’s the responsibility<br />
of the surgeon to point that out.’<br />
The education and knowledge of patients<br />
has changed in the past decade or so, and they<br />
are becoming increasingly discerning about<br />
the shape and type of implants they want.<br />
However, the most common request remains:<br />
for breasts to be ‘natural-looking’.<br />
With an experienced and skilled surgeon<br />
and the right expectations, you can look<br />
forward to the most natural-looking,<br />
aesthetically pleasing breast augmentations<br />
for your individual requirements.<br />
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