The “right” nose for a selfie

According to a survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic, 42% of surgeons reported visits from patients seeking cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance.

In the selfies they showed to their surgeons, their faces appeared harsh, disproportionate, and unattractive. The images they intended for social media were heavily distorted.

To study this phenomenon, a team of researchers led by Boris Paskhover at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark measured facial feature distortion at different distances and camera angles. They found that the perceived width of the nose increases as the camera gets closer to the face.

At a distance of 30 centimetres, for example, selfies make the nose appear 30% larger in men and 29% larger in women, whereas at one and a half metres proportions are accurate.

Similar calculations can be applied to other facial features. Men wishing to emphasise a stronger chin or jawline can adjust the camera’s distance and angle, and women can do the same to highlight their eyes.

This phenomenon has contributed to the popularity of one of the best-selling accessories in recent years: the selfie stick, used to take wider and more flattering shots.

Younger patients, particularly those under 40, often take out their phones during consultations to point out that their nose looks too big.

It is the surgeon’s role to talk with patients, showing them with a mirror or a photo taken at the correct distance that their nose is, in fact, normal.