Nose analysis: width, projection, and angles

Nose analysis describes the nose with a small set of measurements: alar width relative to the intercanthal distance, the shape of the dorsal profile (bridge), tip projection and rotation, and the nasolabial angle between the nose base and the upper lip. Each has a wide normal range that varies by sex and ancestry.

The measurements that describe a nose

Because the nose sits at the center of the face and projects toward the camera, it is the feature people misjudge most in photos. Facial anthropometry describes it with a handful of repeatable measurements:

Width

Alar width is the distance between the outermost points of the nostrils (the alae). The classical guideline compares it to the intercanthal distance — the gap between the inner eye corners — and finds them approximately equal in the neoclassical canon. Measured populations scatter widely around that rule, and average proportions differ substantially between ancestries, so equality is a compositional reference, not a norm.

Dorsal profile

The dorsum is the line of the bridge from the radix (where the nose meets the forehead) to the tip, seen in profile. It can be straight, convex (carrying a dorsal hump of bone and cartilage), concave (a scooped or "ski-slope" line), or a combination — for example straight with a slight supratip break above the tip.

Tip projection

Projection is how far the nasal tip extends forward from the plane of the face. A widely used reference, the Goode method, compares tip projection to nasal length and places the typical ratio at roughly 0.55–0.60 — meaning the tip projects a bit more than half the nose's length forward from the alar base.

Tip rotation and the nasolabial angle

Rotation describes whether the tip points upward or downward, and the nasolabial angle is its standard proxy: the angle between the columella (the strip of tissue between the nostrils) and the upper lip, measured in profile. Commonly cited typical ranges are roughly 90–95° in men and 95–110° in women. Larger angles read as upturned; smaller angles as a downward-pointing or "drooping" tip. Both directions occur throughout the normal population.

Nasofrontal angle

At the other end of the bridge, the nasofrontal angle between the forehead and the dorsum — commonly cited around 115–135° — determines how deep the radix appears and where the nose visually "starts."

Common nose profile types

Everyday nose-type labels are combinations of the measurements above. Described neutrally:

• Straight — a dorsum with little curvature from radix to tip.
• Convex / aquiline — a dorsal hump gives the bridge an outward curve; "aquiline" adds a slightly downward-rotated tip.
• Concave — an inward-curved bridge, often with an upturned tip and a more open nasolabial angle.
• Snub — short nasal length, strong upward rotation, small projection.
• Bulbous tip — wide, rounded lower lateral cartilages give the tip a fuller shape regardless of bridge profile.
• Wide / narrow base — alar width noticeably above or below the intercanthal reference.

None of these types is a deviation from correct; they are points in a continuous space of bridge curvature, rotation, projection, and width. Average values for each measurement differ across ancestries, and analysis frameworks built on one population's averages misdescribe everyone else — a known criticism of the neoclassical canons.

How AI measures the nose

Refrakt measures the nose relative to the rest of the face, never in isolation:

1. Landmark mapping. Dense landmarks are placed on the radix, dorsum, tip, columella, alae, and nostril bases, alongside the eye and mouth landmarks used for scale.
2. Scale and pose normalization. Absolute pixel sizes are meaningless, so every nasal measurement is expressed as a ratio — alar width to intercanthal distance, nasal length to face height — after the head is rotated to a standard reference pose.
3. Profile angles from 3D. The nasolabial and nasofrontal angles and tip projection live in the profile view. Refrakt's side profile analysis reconstructs depth from the scan, so these angles are measured from geometry rather than guessed from a front photo.
4. Distortion control. Because the scan flow fixes camera distance and pose, the measurements describe your anatomy — not your lens (see below).

Why noses look different in selfies

The most common reason people misjudge their own nose is focal-length and distance distortion. At arm's length — roughly 30 cm — the nose tip is meaningfully closer to the lens than the ears, cheeks, and jaw. Perspective magnifies near objects more than far ones, so the nose is enlarged relative to everything behind it. A widely cited 2018 analysis estimated that a selfie at about 30 cm makes the nasal base appear roughly 30% wider than a photograph taken at 1.5 m.

The effect reverses with distance: portraits shot from several meters away with a longer lens compress depth and make the same nose look flatter and smaller. Neither image is the "true" nose — they are different projections of the same 3D shape. This is precisely why measurement requires controlled capture geometry, and why comparing your selfie to a celebrity's telephoto press photo is comparing two different optical setups, not two faces.

Nose measurements at a glance

All ranges are approximations from surgical and anthropometric literature, measured on specific populations with specific methods. They indicate where many people fall, not where any nose should fall.

Frequently asked questions