Why do some nose jobs look done while others look natural? How can you tell the difference between them?

... because you don't know whether the person has *had* a nose job. If you see a nose that look unnatural -- something about the contour screams "operated," then of course you know that the person has had surgery.But if you see a nose that looks nice and natural, was it a very good nose job, or was the person born with that nose? Hopefully, after your surgery, people won't know whether you've had surgery, because your nose will look so natural.See the "Web reference" link, below my response, for advice on making sure that you get a good, complete consultation, and you can make a good evaluation of whether the doctor is good enough to operate on you.

The bottom line of choosing a natural result is one that looks good to you and no one else. If you like the results with surgeon A vs. B then go to that surgeon.

Results are in the eye of the beholder. What may look poor to you may look great to someone else. Choose a board certified plastic surgeon whom you feel answers your questions honestly, shows results, and has experience. Speak to them about your concerns that you want a natural looking result.

 There are many issues that go into making a nose appeared natural versus unnatural. There are several issues that can occur after a rhinoplasty procedure such as a poly-beak, an open roof deformity, and  a hanging columella that are a tip off to having had a rhinoplasty procedure. For more information and many examples, please see the video and the link  below

It all depends on what the surgeon and  the patient have planed. If you have  a  good  comunication tool with the patient such as  3D prediction or 2D predictions software, any plastic surgeon can understand and show  the  patient a posible result.  During this   stage of planinig ,  is  the Plastic Surgeon who must tell the  patient if he or  she is  looking  an unatural result.   Actaully most of  my patients prefer natural results. And  that is  what I usally give them.

In general, noses that are corrected using your tissues such as cartilage infrastructure look natural and noses that are made with grafts, tip grafts etc. look operated and non-natural. Please examples of natural looking noses below.

Different surgeons have different sense of beauty. You should look at photos and if you see any that bother you, then you may want to search elsewhere. 

Dear Potatohead9, A natural looking rhinoplasty appears as if the patient was born with the nose and it was not surgically attained. A nose that looks "done" will have incorrect angles, be over shortened, hanging columella, and out of proportion with the patients facial aesthetics and ethnicity. When consulting with patients and having the ability to show the patient their proposed result using digital imaging is very helpful. This allows the patient to see the proposed result within lines of their nasal anatomy. In other words the proposed result should be a very realistic account of what is attainable for the patient taking into mind their wants and desires and their skin thickness and anatomy. Each rhinoplasty is  artistically designed to what the patient desires for their end result. In some patients this may mean keeping more of their ethnicity and only slightly reducing their dorsum while another patient may want a more refined nose. That is why open communication during consultation and expert hands will reward you with the natural looking nose you desire. See the video below where the patient describes " my nose looks like I was born with it" this is an example of natural rhinoplasty results as well as the link below for further examples. Best regards, Michael V. Elam, M.D.