I watched an episode of the discovery channel where a team found out
the key to facial beauty is the porpotion 1 to 1.6. I need to get the
name of that group or a software program that lets you measure your
features. I also would like to know what these ratios pertain to on
your face and if there are surgeons who use this method.

Hello gapgapgap-ga,

Thank you for your very interesting question.


The Human Face, hosted by John Cleese, is the program you addressed in
your question. It is about our instinctual and social recognition of
faces and how beauty is calculated and physiological reasons we look
the way we do.

The "Golden Ratio" of beauty is 1/1.618

“Basically what this means, is that what people consider beauty (both
from social reasons, and biological reasons) follows the ratio of
1/1.618. If you're attractive or beautiful, your mouth is 1.618 times
as wide as the flare of your nose. The bridge of your nose is 1.618
times as wide as the distance from the tip to your upper lip. Your
eyes are each 1.618 times as wide as the space between the edge of
your eye and the point at which the side of your face isn't visible
when viewed head on. This ratio can be found hundreds of times
throughout the human body. Some doctor created a mask of angles that
can be placed on images of faces. If it's a face that people
instinctively find to be beautiful, it will almost universally fit
this mask. The lips will be in the proper proportion to the nose,
etc... The features don't always have to be the same shape as those of
other people, but if they fit the ratio with the other features on
that person's face, that person will universally be considered
attractive/beautiful. The scientist explains that this is useful
instinctually to continue procreation of the species. If this
biological equation of beauty didn't exist, it's postulated that
humans wouldn't be attracted to other humans, and the race would die
out.”
Ryan Kincaide Website
http://www.ryankincade.com/index.asp?dateObj=06_02

Dr. Stephen Marquardt has used the golden ratio to make a mask that he
claims is the most beautiful shape a human face can have. Here is his
short bio:

 “Dr. Stephen R. Marquardt received his doctorate from UCLA and
completed his residency on Oral and Maxillofacial surgery at the UCLA
Medical Center. He retired from active surgical practice after 27
years and currently conducts his research on human attractiveness in
Orange County, California. Dr. Marquardt is an active member of the
Societies of Maxillofacial Surgeons and a Diplomate of the American
Board of Oral Surgery. He is Chief of Research in Esthetic Facial
Imaging at UCLA.
The Learning Channel Website
http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/humanface/webcast.html

Dr. Stephen Marquardt has created an outline of an ideal human faced
based on 'the Golden Ratio' - the ratio 1:1.618. Every aspect of this
mask is based on that ratio. An excerpt from the article “Doctor May
Have Beauty's Number” by Rafe Jones:

“Dr. Marquardt has tapped this golden tradition in making his mask —
he's used a golden ratio-based arrangement of 40 golden decagons of
six different sizes, carefully aligned with the face's various
features. (..) Dr. Marquardt claims he has captured the ideal face in
his beauty mask. (..) and has conducted a study that indicates a broad
preference among many cultural groups for faces that closely
correspond to his mask.”
The Learning Channel Website
http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/humanface/articles/mask.html

The Mask Template: Print the mask and use it according to the
instructions below.
Note – The mask is copyrighted. It is for your own personal use.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/humanface/images/marquardt_mask_copyright.gif

How to use the beauty mask with your own photo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/humanface/beauty_grid.shtml

For more information on how the mask was designed, and his research
into the golden ratio and beauty, visit Dr Marquardt's website. It
contains an enormous amount of detailed information such as mask
applications, evidence, history, future research and examples how the
mask can be used for Aesthetic Surgery Applications and Aesthetic
Dentistry Applications.
  
Dr. Marquardt's Website 
http://www.beautyanalysis.com/index2_mba.htm

Dr. Marquardt Contact Information:

Marquardt Beauty Analysis, Inc.  
Aesthetics Research & Diagnostic Analysis 
# 443
18685 Main Street, Suite A
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Phone: 714.960.1123 
E-mail: BeautyAnalysis@socal.rr.com

It is briefly mentioned on the BBC Website that “Some cosmetic
surgeons have even begun using the Golden Ratio as a guide for their
work.”
BBC Website
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/humanface/beauty_golden_mean.shtml

Additional Information that may interest you:

Interesting links relating to the mask.
http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/humanface/humanface.html

You may purchase the “The Human Face” Video Set online for $29.95. It
is currently in stock. A 3-minute clip of this video can be seen here
as well.
Discovery Shopping Website
http://shopping.discovery.com/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10000&storeId=10000&langId=-1&productId=12198&categoryId=22770&interCategoryId=22640&parent_category_rn=22608&partnumber=643171

E-mail a jpeg of your face to feedback_tlc@discovery.com
They will add Dr. Stephen Marquardt's beauty mask to your picture and
post it right on their website for your interpretation.
The Learning Channel Website
http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/humanface/photos/emailgallery.html

For more information about the Golden Ratio visit these sites:
http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html
http://goldenmeangauge.co.uk/index.html

Search Criteria:

face beauty proportions discovery channel
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=face+beauty+proportions+discovery+channel

Discovery Channel golden ratio
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=discovery+channel+golden+ratio

surgeons who use the golden ratio
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=surgeons+who+use+the+golden+ratio

http://www.geometry.net/math_discover/golden_ratio_page_no_4.html


I hope you find this helpful.

Best Regards,

Bobbie7-ga

The Golden Ratio...from Wikipedia:
"The ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks already knew the number and,
because
they regarded it as an aesthetically pleasing ratio, often used it
when building monuments (e.g., the Parthenon). It is also sometimes
used in modern man-made constructions, such as stairs and buildings,
on in paper formats. Recent studies showed that the Golden ratio plays
a role in human perception of beauty, as in body shapes and faces."
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

It is defined simply as follows: let the golden ratio be phi. the
square of phi is phi plus one, i.e.:

phi^2 = phi + 1

the positive solution to this quadratic equation is 1.618....

Some stock market speculators use Phi and Fibonacci to trade stocks. 
It even has a name:  Fibonacci Retracement.

But as you might guess, few of these guys are sitting on a beach in
Maui with a Golden Ratio model.  Go figure!

;-)