Narrow nose

What counts as a narrow nose?

The test is the nasal index: nose width divided by nose height, times 100. Width is measured across the nostril wings at their widest. Height runs from the root between the eyes to the point where the nose meets the upper lip.

An index under 70 is narrow. For example, a nose 32 mm wide and 50 mm tall has an index of 64. It looks clearly taller than wide.

Where the bands come from

The four bands, narrow, medium, broad and very broad, go back to the French anthropologist Paul Topinard in the 1880s. They were later standardised for living people at 70, 85 and 100.

On skulls, anthropologists use the bony nasal opening instead, with different cut-offs of about 47 and 51. Our analyser works on faces, so it uses the living bands.

Want your own number? The free nose shape analyser measures your nasal index from one front photo and deletes the photo once you have seen the result.

Why some noses are narrow

Climate is the best-supported explanation. Thomson and Buxton showed in 1923 that the nasal index falls in colder, drier regions. A 2017 study in PLOS Genetics found the same link with nostril width and modern 3D face scans.

The idea is that a narrow airway warms and moistens cold, dry air before it reaches the lungs. That pressure acted over many generations. Today, family is a far better predictor than where you live.

What a narrow result does and does not mean

It describes proportion, not size. A long nose of normal width can be narrow, and a small, short nose can be medium or broad.

It says nothing about breathing. Airflow depends on the inside of the nose: the septum, the turbinates and the valve area near the nostrils. A narrow outside does not mean a narrow airway.

Profile shapes that are often narrow

Greek, Roman and Snub noses frequently fall in the narrow band, but any profile can. Take a side photo to find your profile, and use our result for the width.

For glasses, a narrow bridge usually needs a smaller bridge measurement, the middle number on the frame arm, or adjustable pads that can be pinched closer.