Can a Nose Change with Age?

Question

When I was in middle school (6th grade) my nose was a little wide and bulbous. But now that I am in high school, it seems a lot more narrow and sharp. My bridge also seems significantly taller. Why did my nose change? Is it possible that my nose will continue to change? I just turned 16.

Matthew Richardson, MD · Answer

In short, yes, the nose definitely continues to change as we age. In general, the cartilages of the nose tend to grow somewhat larger, and the skin often thins out over time. In some cases (typically older men), the skin will actually get thicker, but this is less common in young people.
Nasal surgery (rhinoplasty) for cosmetic purposes in teenagers is very common and can be a life-changing procedure (in a positive way) for many young people.
Be sure to see a rhinoplasty expert.
All the best,

Vito C. Quatela, MD · Answer

As we age and develop, the nose undergoes several changes. Through the teenage years, we can see changes in the shape and structure of the nose. As we get older, a loss of support causes the nasal tip to droop. Reabsorption of the mid-facial bone and tissues causes the nose to appear more projected as well.

Adam Bryce Weinfeld, MD · Answer

one important bit of reasearch shows that the spetum stops growing at the age of 13 in boys and 12 in girls. based on that infor we generally do not perform full scale rhinoplasties on people younger that that unless the nose is signficantly deformed from truama or birth defect and the absence of nasal breathing is causing signifcant distruption in ones life. but the septum is only one part of the nose. there are not a lot of other studies that address your specific question, but it it has been my observation that subtle chagnes are always occuring in our facial features. our appearance is dynamic, not static. i should note that 12 or 13 may be a little young for a purely cosmetic rhinoplasty in many patients. with a few more years comes a little more maturity and awareness of the "long term commitment" that is inherent with surgery.

Jonathan Kulbersh, MD · Answer

This is likey do to the change in the skin over your nose.  During adolescence, the skin on the face may begin to change.  As the skin becomes less sebaceous and oily, it make become thinner.  Thinner skin on the nose can create the appearence of a more defined nose (the nose looking narrower and more sharp).  The nose like the rest of your body will change with age.  As you get much older, the nose will lose some support and begin to slightly droop. 

	 

	I hope this helps!

Jacqueline Wegge, MD · Answer

The nose goes through many changes as we age and grow.  This includes changes in the overlying skin, and the attachments of the nose, as well as the structure of the nose itself.  The shape of the nose is also very dependent on the facial bones beneath it, and can change very dramatically around the time of puberty based on the growth of the upper and lower jaw.  This is often more pronounced in men as they typically have a growth spurt in their facial skeleton around age 16-18.  This is also plays a big factor in the appearance of the nose in patients with cleft lip and palate and other facial deformities where the upper jaw is small or malformed.  If this is something that you are worried about, you can always have your nose and jaw examined by a plastic surgeon and they should be able to answer questions, and give you an idea of what to expect in the future.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

The nose usually stops growing by age 18 which includes the development of both  cartilage and bone.  With the aging process, the skin over the framework of the note becomes thinner

Vladimir Grigoryants, MD · Answer

The nose does change with age. This is something a lot of my patients who come for rhinoplasty notice.   In some patients, the skin becomes thinner resulting in tip looking thinner, tip cartilages and dorsal hump showing more.  More  patients complain that with age the tip became droopier and wider as tip cartilages widened overtime.  After rhinoplasty, it is common for patients to report that they look younger after the droopy/wide tip is narrowed and lifted and dorsal hump removed.

Garrett A. Wirth, MD, MS, FACS · Answer

Yes, the nose changes with age.  At 16 I would expect further changes can still occur over the next couple of years that can be noticeable.  After that, the changes will occur much more slowly with too many factors to discuss in this format (for example, disease, oil production, normal nose tip growth and drooping, inflammation, and so much more)

Julian De Silva, MD · Answer

As we age,
the skin in our face including our nose becomes thinner and over a period of
years the tip of  the nose
"drops".  Patients with
naturally thinner skin (specific ethnicities) notice thinning of the skin over
the nose from your 20s onwards and this can sometimes be seen with appearance of
an irregular bridge or bump on the bridge of your nose. This bump may have
always been present, however with thinning of the skin becomes more visible. In
addition over a period of years the nasal tip attachments to the dorsum (or top
of the nose) weakens and the tip starts to fall, this can be accelerated with
injury and trauma to the nose. As the tip drops this may give the appearance
that one is developing a bump.

With
rhinoplasty the tip is lifted to a more youthful position, the bump disappears,
and this can be achieved with a minor rhinoplasty, without surgery to the nasal
bones, and rapid recovery.

Andre Panossian, MD · Answer

As a subspecialist in pediatric plastic surgery, I see many kids, young and old, looking for rhinoplasty. Doing an elective rhinoplasty younger than 15 or 16 years of age is not a good idea. The actual structural growth of your nose halts at that point. Your nose then plateaus in appearance for a number of years but the overlying skin will thin out. Some ethnicities and skin types may maintain a more sebaceous or oily and thick appearance that can cause a blunt tip or decreased definition. As you hit the fourth decade of life and beyond, your cartilage and skin begin to slowly lose elasticity and water content. This causes weakening and drooping, usually of the tip.

Can a Nose Change with Age?

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