Nasal index
The width of your nose relative to its length (a classic anthropometric ratio).
Why it matters
Nasal index captures overall nose shape — longer-narrower vs shorter-wider — a defining central feature.
What the nasal index is
The nasal index is the width of your nose divided by its length: width at the nostrils relative to the distance from the root (nasion, between the eyes) down to the base. It is one of the oldest measurements in physical anthropology. A higher value means a relatively short, wide nose; a lower value means a longer, narrower one.
It differs from the nose-width-to-face metric. That one compares the nose to the face; the nasal index compares the nose to itself, describing its own shape independent of how large the surrounding face is.
Why it matters
Because the nose is the most central feature, its overall shape, whether it reads long and narrow or short and broad, is a defining part of how a face looks. The nasal index captures that shape in a single number, which is why it has been used for well over a century to describe nasal form across individuals and populations.
The conventional range, and an essential caveat
On this app's scale the band runs from about 0.65 to 0.80, with the modelled average near 0.77, and in the rated faces a narrower index tended to track slightly higher ratings, so the band leans below the mesh median.
This is exactly the metric where honesty about population variation matters most. The nasal index is one of the most variable measurements across human ancestry; historically it was sorted into narrow, medium and broad categories that correspond to broad regional differences. A higher, broader index is the typical and healthy form for large parts of the world's population, especially in equatorial regions, and is no less correct than a narrow one. Farkas 1994's reference values come largely from one population, and treating them as a universal ideal would be wrong. The tendency for a narrower index to read better in this app's sample reflects the make-up and conventions of that rated set, not a fact about noses in general, and it says nothing about a person's worth.
Reading and changing your own value
A value inside the band means a length-to-width balance typical of the reference population. A higher value indicates a shorter or wider nose; a lower value a longer or narrower one. Expression does not affect this much, but camera angle does: tilting the head down shortens the apparent nose and pushes the index up, so a neutral, level head position gives the most honest reading.
What is changeable: contouring makeup can shade the sides and tip to make the nose look narrower, or the bridge longer, in a photo, and photography (lens choice, distance, lighting and head tilt) strongly affects the apparent proportion. The bone and cartilage that set the real index do not change with grooming. Rhinoplasty can reshape nasal proportions permanently and is noted only as a factual option, never a recommendation. For everyday purposes this number is best understood as a neutral description of your nose's shape, heavily inflected by ancestry, rather than a score to act on.
Typical range
~0.65-0.80 (a narrower nose reads better)
Nose width divided by nose length (nasion to base). A classic anthropometric proportion of nasal shape.
What your reading means
- Typical
- Your nose length-to-width balance sits in the typical range.
- Less common
- Your nasal proportions are close to typical.
- Distinctive
- Your nose reads relatively wide-and-short or long-and-narrow.
How we measured it
We divide nasal width by nasal length (bridge to base).
The evidence
Validated: a narrower nasal index tracked higher ratings; the mesh sits high (~0.77), so the band leans below the median.
References
- Farkas, L. G. (Ed.). (1994). Anthropometry of the Head and Face (2nd ed.). New York: Raven Press.