You may like how you look in the mirror, then see a photo from your side profile and immediately focus on your nose, chin or jawline.

So, why does your side profile bother you when your face looks perfectly balanced from other angles?

Sometimes it’s simply because you’re less accustomed to seeing yourself from the side. But your profile also highlights relationships between facial features that aren’t nearly as noticeable from the front.

Understanding those proportions can help you pinpoint what you’re actually seeing before deciding whether you want to change anything at all.

Your Profile Is About More Than Your Nose

The nose naturally becomes prominent when the face is viewed from the side, so it’s often the first feature people blame when they don’t like their profile.

But the nose doesn’t exist in isolation.

Its appearance is influenced by its relationship with the forehead, lips, chin, jawline and neck. A nose that seems prominent on one face may appear completely proportional on another because the surrounding features provide different balance.

That’s why evaluating the entire profile is important before deciding that one particular feature needs to change.

Your Chin Can Change How Your Nose Looks

Chin projection plays an especially important role in profile balance.

A recessed or underprojected chin can make the nose appear more prominent from the side, even when the nose itself isn’t unusually large. Increasing chin projection can change that relationship and create greater balance between the upper and lower portions of the profile.

For some patients, chin augmentation may therefore be worth considering before assuming rhinoplasty is the only solution.

Other patients may benefit from addressing both the nose and chin when both features contribute to their concerns.

Your Jawline and Neck Matter, Too

Look farther down the profile and another relationship becomes apparent: the transition from your chin to your neck.

A defined jawline and chin-neck angle can create a sharper lower facial contour. Submental fullness, loose skin or changes in the underlying neck tissues can soften that definition and alter the appearance of the entire profile.

This can become increasingly noticeable with age as skin and deeper facial tissues change.

Depending on what’s causing the concern, treatment could involve anything from a nonsurgical procedure to liposuction, chin augmentation or facial and neck lift surgery.

What Can Actually Improve Your Side Profile?

There isn’t one procedure designed to “fix” a side profile because there isn’t one feature responsible for everyone’s concerns.

Treatment depends entirely on what you want to change.

For example:

• Chin augmentation can increase projection when the chin appears recessed.
• Rhinoplasty can change the size, shape, projection or proportions of the nose.
• Neck procedures can address concerns involving fullness, loose skin or loss of definition beneath the chin.
• Dermal fillers may provide temporary contouring or projection for certain patients who aren’t ready for surgery.

Sometimes one treatment is enough. Other times, improving the relationship between two areas creates a more balanced result than concentrating exclusively on the feature that first caught your attention.

Could Rhinoplasty and Chin Augmentation Be Combined?

Yes. In appropriate patients, rhinoplasty and chin augmentation can be performed together.

This can be particularly useful when both nasal shape and limited chin projection contribute to the proportions of the profile.

However, combination surgery isn’t automatically better. If changing the chin alone creates the balance you’re looking for, there may be no reason to alter a nose you’re otherwise happy with.

The opposite is also true. A patient with adequate chin projection may benefit from rhinoplasty without needing anything done to the lower face.

Start With What You Want to Change

You don’t need to know which procedure you want before seeing a facial plastic surgeon.

In fact, it’s often more helpful to explain what bothers you about your side profile without trying to diagnose the cause yourself.

Is it the size of your nose? The shape of the bridge? A chin that seems to disappear from the side? Fullness beneath the jaw? A lack of separation between your jawline and neck?

Those details give your surgeon a much better starting point.

Photos can also be useful during a consultation, particularly if certain angles consistently bother you. They can help demonstrate what you’re noticing and start a more specific conversation about your goals.

Your Best Profile Should Still Look Like You

Changing facial proportions doesn’t have to mean dramatically changing your appearance.

The goal of facial plastic surgery is often balance. A relatively small adjustment to one feature can change how neighboring features are perceived without making you look like a different person.

If your side profile bothers you and you’re considering a rhinoplasty near Bethesda, contact Capital Facial Plastic Surgery online or call our office at 240-630-8175 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Adam Singleton and discuss your options.