Nasofrontal angle
The angle where your forehead meets the bridge of your nose.
Why it matters
This transition sets how the nose flows from the forehead; a smooth, balanced angle reads refined.
Where the forehead becomes the nose
The nasofrontal angle is the transition at the very top of the nose: the soft saddle where the lower forehead (the glabella, the smooth pad of bone between the brows) gives way to the bridge of the nose. The landmark at the deepest part of that hollow is the nasion. In profile the metric reads the angle formed between the forehead above and the nasal bridge below at this point.
A smaller angle means a deeper, more sharply scooped junction; a larger angle means a shallower, flatter transition. Cobourne et al. (2016) studied this junction specifically, examining idealized and normative values for the nasofrontal angle and the dorsal line of the nose.
Why the transition matters in profile
This angle decides how the nose appears to grow out of the face rather than being attached to it. A balanced junction lets the eye travel smoothly from brow to bridge; a very deep scoop can make the nose look as if it starts abruptly, while a very shallow one can blur the forehead and nose into a single plane.
The tool frames a smooth, balanced angle as reading refined. That is a convention about contour, not a measure of anyone's value, and it interacts with brow prominence and forehead slope rather than standing alone.
Why the range here is deliberately calibrated
This is the most important honesty point for this metric. The classical soft-tissue textbook norm for the nasofrontal angle runs roughly 115 to 135 degrees, with women often sitting a touch higher (more open) than men. The band shown in this tool is shifted upward, to about 128 to 148 degrees with an average near 137, because the face mesh reads this region around ten degrees higher than the textbook figure.
The band is matched to the mesh scale, not to the textbook, so do not compare your number here directly against a 115 to 135 reference and conclude something is wrong. On top of that, profile accuracy is limited, so treat the value as indicative: brow prominence, forehead angle and lighting all shift where the nasion appears to sit.
Interpreting your value, and what is adjustable
Read a single reading as one snapshot. If it falls outside the band, that points to the shape of one transition rather than to a problem with the face as a whole.
The depth of this junction is mostly fixed bone and cartilage. Hairstyle and brow grooming change the frame around it, and lighting and camera angle change how deep the scoop appears. Non-surgically, small amounts of filler placed at the bridge can soften a very deep nasofrontal angle for a number of months. Surgically, rhinoplasty can adjust the bridge and this transition permanently. Both are listed neutrally, as options that exist, not as steps anyone should take.
Typical range
~128-148° (mesh-calibrated)
Angle between the forehead (glabella) and the nasal bridge at the nasion. Measured from the profile photo.
What your reading means
- Typical
- Your forehead-to-nose transition is well balanced.
- Less common
- Your nasofrontal angle is close to the preferred range.
- Distinctive
- Your forehead-to-nose angle is sharper or flatter than the preferred range.
How we measured it
From your side photo, the angle between the forehead (glabella) and the nasal bridge at the nasion.
The evidence
Soft-tissue norms run ~115-135° (women a touch higher than men); the mesh reads ~10° above that, so the band is shifted to the mesh scale. Profile accuracy is limited.
References
- Cobourne, M., Garagiola, U., McDonald, F., Wertheim, D., & Naini, F. (2016). Nasofrontal angle and nasal dorsal aesthetics: a quantitative investigation of idealized and normative values. Facial Plastic Surgery, 32(4), 444-451.
- Naini, F. B. (2011). Facial Aesthetics: Concepts and Clinical Diagnosis. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.