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Why are we attracted to beauty?
Perception, emotions and self-image: understand what attracts us, without reducing a face to ideal proportions.
The essential benchmarks
What to remember
What we find beautiful depends on what we look at, our history and the context. In aesthetic medicine, the challenge is to understand what's bothering you personally, then define a request that looks like you.
Does beauty amount to symmetry?
A look, a smile or an expression can touch us without matching a specific pattern. Symmetry is not enough to explain this impression. Age, culture, memories and familiarity also influence what we appreciate.
It is therefore of little use to compare his face with a photograph chosen for his lighting, makeup or retouches. A photo can help explain a preference; it does not become an objective to reproduce line for line.
What neurosciences can explain
In a brain imaging study published in 2011, 21 participants watched paintings and listened to music. The activity of a region of the mid-orbitofrontal cortex was associated with the intensity of beauty they reported to feel.
This observation sheds light on a subjective experience. It does not prove that a face has a universal beauty score, nor that an aesthetic procedure would automatically produce happiness. A brain measure does not replace what the person tells about his or her own experience.
Transforming an impression into a concrete demand
"I'm tired air" can mean very different things: a shadow before the eyes, a loss of volume, dull skin or simply a photograph taken on a bad day. Consultation is used to clarify the details that are inconvenient, its seniority and the circumstances in which it becomes visible.
It is also useful to say what you want to keep: your smile, the mobility of the forehead or the shape of your mouth. These elements are as important as the proposed change.
Keeping the freedom to decide
An aesthetic demand can be considered and completely personal. It deserves to be heard without trial. It also deserves time, especially if it comes from a hurtful remark, breakup or repeated comparisons on social networks.
If the appearance occupies an invasive place in your day, causes social avoidance or significant suffering, talk to the doctor. Good accompaniment does not necessarily involve an injection.
Preparing your first appointment
Note what bothers you with your own words, the care already done and your questions. You can ask for an explanation of the options and take the time to think before deciding.
Find the progress of the first consultation of aesthetic medicine and the Presentation by Dr. Marianne Cayatte.
A question about your situation? The practice welcomes you to 4 Passage Lonjon, Place de la Comédie in Montpellier.
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Updated on 20 October 2026. The information presented makes it possible to prepare the consultation; the choices of care are specified during the appointment.