Rhinoplasty Aesthetics

What makes a beautiful nose?

What makes a nose attractive? If you've been considering rhinoplasty you've probably been giving this question quite a bit of thought. Perhaps you think your nose is just too big. Or crooked. Or upturned. Or your tip too bulbous. Whatever the problem you very likely understand how important the nose is to overall facial appearance. It occupies such a central location on the face that when the nose loses its overall balance with the other facial features such that it ends up attracting an inordinate amount of attention.

The true goal of rhinoplasty is to create a nose that seamlessly blends in with the rest of the face so that you don't even notice the nose anymore. We want to redirect attention away from the nose back toward the eyes where it belongs.

So is there an ideal nose? Traditional rhinoplasty from the 1950s and 1960s tended to prefer a relatively small, upturned nose with a scooped out bridge. Today these noses look quite artificial, over-done and "operated on". The current modern era of rhinoplasty focuses on creating a more natural result that takes into account your personal preferences and, most importantly, multicultural models that do not rely solely on Caucasian aesthetic standards.

Form follows function

At the same time we must respect the other equally important job of the nose which is to allow for proper nasal airflow during respiration. While to some this may seem like an afterthought in reality the outward appearance of the nose and inner function of the nose often go hand in hand. Those reductive rhinoplasties from the 1950s and 1960s often led to delayed problems with tip pinching and nasal valve collapse that created chronic nasal obstruction symptoms. Many modern day rhinoplasty surgeons follow a structure-based rhinoplasty approach that respects the nasal framework and work to maintain (or improve) the underlying structural support of the nose. This approach helps to prevent long term nasal valve collapse or pinching that would upset both the aesthetic and functional results of surgery.