Weston Price discussed facial features as a sign of health which interested me facial features and how they vary between countries. The ideal face is broad so that there is adequate room for the nasal cavities and teeth. The flatter and narrower a person’s face is, the worse of a diet their ancestors ate and they ate while young.
I have written about facial features before discussing how facial features vary throughout Europe, and the facial features on the nation soccer teams of various countries. However, until recently I have not had the opportunity to examine these differences first hand. A little more than a month ago I attended a professional conference in my field which was attended by people from several different countries. There was a significant number of people from the United States, Britain, France and Germany, so I was able to study their facial features.
There were definite differences between the facial features of the Germans, French, and English. The Germans had the strongest facial features with the most pronounced cheek bones. I believe the Germans had the most handsome faces although I mostly saw men, so it was a little difficult to judge.
The English/British had the flattest faces with the least defined features. Their faces also seemed the narrowest. Their cheeks were relatively flat and there was little topographical variation over their faces. They probably had the least attractive faces of the three groups.
The French were in between the Germans and the British. They didn’t have as defined features as the Germans, but they were not as flat as the British. Their facial attractiveness seemed to be midway between the German and British.
There appeared to be a correlation between body shape, hair style, and facial features. The Germans seemed to have the least voluminous/agressive haircuts while the English had the craziest haircuts. Possibly, a wilder hairstyle helps add contrast to an otherwise unexciting face.
The Germans also seemed to have the “strongest” build. I didn’t see any obese people amongst the three contingents, but the Germans seemed to have broader shoulders and more powerful torsos than the others. I didn’t notice any differences between the French and the British. This may have been in part due to clothing, but I think all of the Germans looked strong.
A general difference between Germanic and Slavic peoples is that the Germans have broader foreheads relative to their faces while the Russians have wider in the cheek region relative to their head. Although there were no Russians at the conference, agrees with my other interactions with Russians and Ukrainians. This is in agreement with the trend described above.
As you move from West to East in Europe you find that faces become more defined and more beautiful. This trend covers from from England to Russia and leads me to conclude that over the past generations the Eastern parts of Europe had better diets and nutrition.
Some may be curious how the Americans compared? My experience with Americans is so much broader that I find it harder to generalize. If forced to make a comparison, I would say that Americans’ facial features fall somewhere in between the British and French.
