Nose shapes: the common types and how to tell yours

Nose shapes have names for three different things: the line of the bridge in profile, the angle and size of the tip, and the width of the base. The common names are straight, Roman (or aquiline), hawk, dorsal hump, snub, upturned, button, fleshy and wide. Because they describe different parts, most noses fit more than one, for example a straight bridge with a full tip. This guide shows each shape on one chart, explains how to tell which nose shape you have, and what a face scan can and can’t measure about it.

The parts of the nose the names describe

Every nose shape name is a shorthand for a few features of the same anatomy. The upper third of the nose is bone, the nasal bones; the lower two thirds are cartilage and soft tissue. That split is why the bridge and the tip vary so independently.

• The nasion is the deepest point between the eyes, where the bridge starts.
• The dorsum is the bridge itself, running from the nasion to the tip. Its line in profile (straight, curved outward, scooped inward, or with a bump) decides most shape names.
• The tip, or lobule, is the rounded end. Its size, how far it projects and whether it points up, forward or down give the rest of the names.
• The alae are the nostril wings. The distance across them is the width of the base.
• The columella is the strip of tissue between the nostrils. The angle it makes with the upper lip is the nasolabial angle, which says how upturned a nose is.

Nose shape chart

The nose shapes, one by one

Straight

The bridge runs in an even line from the nasion to the tip, without a noticeable curve or bump, and the tip points forward. It is the shape most drawings of a nose start from.

Roman, or aquiline

The bridge curves gently outward along its length, so the profile is convex. Aquiline comes from the Latin for eagle; the name Roman comes from the profiles on classical statues and coins.

Hawk

A stronger version of the Roman curve, where the bridge arches clearly outward and the tip turns down toward the lip. The downturned tip is what sets it apart from a Roman nose.

Dorsal hump

The bridge is mostly straight but has a raised bump, usually where the bone meets the cartilage, about a third of the way down. It can be inherited, or follow an injury.

Snub

A short nose with a slightly scooped bridge and a tip that turns up a little. Snub describes the length as much as the curve.

Upturned

Also called celestial. The bridge dips inward and the tip points clearly upward, so more of the nostrils shows from the front. It has an open angle between the nose and the upper lip.

Button

A small nose with a short bridge and a rounded tip. It is common in children, and many people keep it into adulthood.

Fleshy

A full, rounded tip with more soft tissue, on a bridge that can be any shape. The tip often looks larger in profile than from the front.

Wide, and narrow

Width is a separate question from the profile and is seen from the front: how far apart the nostril wings sit. A wide base and a narrow one can go with any of the profiles above. Figure B shows how width is compared with the face around it.

What nose shape do I have? A mirror check

You need a mirror, or better, two photos: one straight from the front and one from the side, both at arm’s length or further, with your head level. Close up, a phone lens makes the nose look bigger than it is.

1. Look at the bridge in profile. Lay a ruler, or imagine one, from the nasion to the tip. If the bridge touches it all the way, it is straight. If it bulges past the ruler, it is Roman or, with a downturned tip, hawk. If it dips below, it is scooped, which goes with snub and upturned noses. A local bump means a dorsal hump.
2. Look at the tip in profile. Does it point forward, up or down? Is it small and short (button, snub) or full and rounded (fleshy)?
3. Look at the width from the front. Compare the width across your nostril wings with the gap between the inner corners of your eyes. About equal is the classical reference; clearly wider or narrower tells you where your base sits.

Put the three answers together. A nose with a straight bridge, a forward tip and a base about as wide as the eye gap is a straight nose. A gently curved bridge with a full tip is a Roman nose with a fleshy tip. The names are a vocabulary, not a test you pass or fail.

Nose shapes and attractiveness

There is no best nose shape. Research on faces finds that how a nose fits the face around it, its size and width against the eyes, mouth and lower face, matters far more than which shape name it has. The classical canons, such as a nose as wide as the gap between the eyes, describe one reference face, and Farkas and colleagues found that most of the young adults they measured didn’t match them. Treat them as reference points, not targets. That is how our report shows them too.

What our scan measures about your nose

A face scan doesn’t name your nose shape, but it measures what the names describe, from 478 landmarks placed by Google’s MediaPipe Face Landmarker in your browser.

From the front

• Nose width ÷ eye gap. The width across the nostril wings over the gap between the inner eye corners. The average face model measures 0.96; the classical canon is 1.00.
• Nose ÷ mouth. The same width over the width of the mouth. The engine calls 0.64 to 0.82 the typical band. The facial ratios calculator shows this one free.
• Nose length. The bridge to the base of the nose, as a share of the bridge to the chin. Equal nose length and lower face give 0.50; the average face model measures 0.42.

From the side, with the camera scan

• Nose projection. How far the tip sits in front of the bridge, as a share of face height, from the turned views of the scan. The side profile analysis reports it free.
• Nose to lip angle. The nasolabial angle between the underside of the nose and the upper lip, the measure behind upturned and downturned tips. Studies of preference put it at roughly 90 to 105°, and the range that looks natural is wide. On a face mesh it is a coarse estimate.

One front photo has no side view, so projection and the nose-to-lip angle need the camera scan, where you turn your head when it asks. The full report shows all five readings, each against its band.

What changes a nose’s shape

• Growth. The nose grows through the teens; the bridge often becomes more defined and a button nose in childhood can lengthen.
• Age. In adults the bone is stable, but the tip softens slowly, lengthens and can droop a little, which closes the angle with the lip over the decades.
• Injury. A broken nose can leave a bump or a bend.
• The camera. Close-up photos enlarge the nose; lighting from above can deepen a bridge’s curve. Compare like with like.

Related reading

The same approach for the eyes is in eye shapes explained, and for the outline of the face in the face shapes chart. Facial thirds and fifths covers the proportions the nose sits inside, and the full face analysis measures your nose with the rest of your face in one scan.