Lower eyelid exposure
How much white (sclera) shows below your iris — i.e. where the lower lid sits relative to the iris.
Why it matters
Lower scleral show can make eyes look tired or "droopy"; a lower lid resting at the iris reads youthful and supported.
What scleral show is
Scleral show refers to how much of the white of the eye, the sclera, is visible below the coloured iris. In practical terms it tracks where the lower lid sits relative to the iris: when the lid rests right at the lower edge of the iris there is little or no white showing beneath it, and when the lid sits lower a band of sclera appears. The tool estimates the iris size from its landmarks and reports the visible white below the iris as a share of the iris diameter.
A reading around zero means the lower lid meets the iris, which is the supported, neutral position. The negative values the tool can produce simply mean the lid covers the very bottom of the iris, with no white showing at all.
Why it reads as tired or supported
A lower lid that rests at the iris tends to read as a youthful, well-supported eye, while a visible strip of white below the iris (sometimes called lower scleral show, or in slang 'sanpaku') can make the eye look tired or downcast. This is partly because lower-lid support tends to decrease with age and with reduced tone in the lid. Naini 2011 is the clinical reference used here for lower-lid position and its aesthetic reading.
As with the other eye metrics, this is a perceptual association rather than a rule, and a small amount of lower scleral show is common and entirely normal.
Typical range and its strong caveats
The scored band runs from about -0.15 to 0.05 as a share of iris diameter, with a mesh average near -0.09 and a target close to zero. This is a small distance to begin with, which makes it unusually sensitive to how the photo was taken. Looking downward, or a camera held above eye level, both increase the apparent white below the iris; looking up or a low camera reduces it.
So a single high reading often reflects gaze and camera height rather than lid laxity. The most reliable result comes from looking straight at a camera placed level with your eyes, with a relaxed face.
Interpreting your number and what can change it
Before reading anything into the figure, confirm the photo conditions: eye-level camera, level gaze, no squint. A modest amount of lower scleral show, especially when it varies with expression, is not a problem to be solved.
Where it is persistent and bothersome, the options are medical. Lower-lid or tear-trough filler can add support to the area on a temporary basis, while lower blepharoplasty and canthopexy tighten or reposition the lower lid with permanent results. These are stated as factual procedures only and belong to a qualified specialist's assessment, not to this report.
Typical range
~0 (lower lid meets the iris)
How much sclera (white) shows below the iris, as a share of the iris diameter. Around zero — the lower lid resting at the iris — reads as a youthful, supported lower eye. Higher values indicate lower scleral show.
What your reading means
- Typical
- Little to no lower scleral show — a supported lower eye.
- Less common
- A small amount of lower scleral show.
- Distinctive
- Noticeable lower scleral show, which can read as tired (gaze and camera height affect this).
How we measured it
We estimate the iris radius from the iris landmarks, then measure how far the lower lid sits below the iris, as a share of iris diameter.
The evidence
A small, expression-sensitive distance; varies with gaze and camera height.