What is a perfect nose?

Can a perfect nose be produced? Well, there is not one perfect nose that can work for everyone. When looking at pictures of models or celebrities who are considered to have beautiful noses, one can clearly see they all have different noses. It is not necessarily a certain size or shape of the nose that makes it beautiful but rather how well the nose fits with the rest of the face.

However, there are general characteristics of a male and female nose that people find attractive. For example, in most women raised tips with a gentle (concave) curve of the dorsum results in a feminine and natural appearing nose. The dorsum is the top edge of the nose. During nose surgery (rhinoplasty), the hump on the dorsum is gently shaved until a natural appearing curve is achieved. The next step in rhinoplasty is to raise the tip. In women the tip is raised such that the angle between the bottom portion of the nose and upper lip is about 95-100 degrees.

The goals for rhinoplasty in men are slightly different that those in women. In most men a straight (not curved) dorsum is more appropriate. The tip is typically raised less maintaining the angle between the bottom of the nose and upper lip of about 90 degrees. Some men, however, will prefer to have a gentle curve and the tip raised higher.

So, it is important for any rhinoplasty surgeon, to spend enough time with the patient discussing his or her goal of nose surgery, as well as likely outcomes and limitations. A surgeon will typically meet with patients at least twice before surgery to have these discussions.

Nose aesthetics discussed.

Vladimir Grigoryants, MD

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