Study examines aesthetic nasal tip projection, rotation in white women

A nasal tip rotation of 106 degrees was considered the most aesthetic in a study of young white women, although what defines beauty for white faces is not necessarily applicable to the faces of other races or ethnicities.

Rhinoplasty is a technically challenging aesthetic surgical procedure. Attempts to objectively capture the ideal nasal tip projection (NTP) have been elusive with no clear aesthetic standard identified.

The authors sought to identify the ideal NTP and rotation using digitally modified photos of young white women in electronic surveys given to traditional focus groups (n=106) and online participants (n=3,872).

The most preferred rotation for three NTP methods was 106 degrees. The most aesthetic combination of tip rotation and projection was 106 degrees with the tip projection known as Crumley 1.

"Further research is needed to determine whether a more ideal projection exists beyond the standards defined by current NTP methods," Omar Ahmed, M.D., of New York University, and colleagues wrote in their research paper.