Selfies make your nose look 30% bigger, says plastic surgeon
New research suggests smartphone self portraits are fuelling the demand for nose jobs.
Selfies are prompting many to develop a skewed self-image and fuelling the demand for nose jobs, new research claims.
This is based on the fact that close-range photos such as selfies can result in distorted facial features, like for example, making the nose appear larger than usual.
According to Dr Boris Paskhover, a plastic surgeon in the US who specialises in reconstructive surgery, patients have been requesting surgery to make their noses smaller, citing selfies the main reason.
“I want them to realise that when they take a selfie they are in essence looking into a portable funhouse mirror.”
In an attempt to discourage patients from using selfies to evaluate their nose size, he teamed up with Ohad Fried, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Department of Computer Science.
Together, they developed a mathematical model that shows how the nose is distorted in close-range photos.
By contrast, an image taken five feet away results in facial features appearing in the same proportions as they would in the real person.
The model is based on facial measurements previously gathered from a large number of men and women from different ethnic backgrounds.
The research is published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.
