As I began my practice in facial plastic surgery years ago, I started collecting covers from Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Every year, I would examine each cover to look for any changes in the beautiful face of the moment (the Internet was yet to be invented). For 30 years, I continued to make note of the changes in the appearance of the nose, eyebrows, and lips.
With the help of the Internet, I was able to start from the 1900’s and seek the changes of facial beauty in print media. Once I had a century’s worth of material, I composed a visual presentation that was presented at an annual meeting of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery entitled, “Evolution of the Female Beautiful Face”.
The presentation generated a lot of interest, and it was suggested to the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that I might do something on the subject for its new Arts and Medicine section. I was recently contacted by and agreed to compose an essay for JAMA that captured the essence of this original visual presentation. The piece was published in the March 2017 issue of JAMA, and I’ve included the PDF below for you to enjoy.
