What is causing facial imbalance - Nose or chin? Should I get a rhinoplasty or a chin implant? (photos)

Many thanks for your enquiry. From my perspective, I agree with your thoughts about your chin. As it is little set back, it gives the impression of your nose being too big. I suspect that your nose is not too far off reasonable projection but the dorsal prominence together with your chin being set back, give the impression on your nose being larger. To address things, I think that your would benefit from both being addressed to help harmonise your nose with your face.
Best Wishes. Philip Michael

Hi @Neat489228. Thank you for sharing your photos. You are a great candidate for both a rhinoplasty and chin implant. There are several options for you that can be determined after examination.

Best of luck,

Dr. Nima

Based on your photographs you would be a good candidate for rhinoplasty. A chin implant in combination would also help to balance your facial proportions while also helping to sharpen your neckline. The best way to determine what specific changes will look good on your face, and what changes are surgically possible, is to do your research to find the top rhinoplasty specialists and consult with several of them in person. During your consultation, your photos can be computer-morphed to show how the changes to your nose will affect your appearance. Consult with 2-3 of these surgeons in person and determine your comfort level with their approach, demeanor, and before and after results. Good luck! @drdonyoo

The nose and the chin complement each other in that each contributes to facial balance and proportion. The answer to your question may be a combination of both factors - the nose appears big which makes the chin appear smaller; and your chin is on the smaller side which again contributes to making the nose appear bigger. Depending on your goals, rhinoplasty +/- chin augmentation may be something to consider.

As a board certified plastic surgeon, I see patients with configurations such as yours on a frequent basis: it is a very common concern to have a nose that projects too far from the face with a chin that is under-projected. For this reason, it’s common to perform a chin augmentation in conjunction with a rhinoplasty surgery to bring about facial harmony. The way to determine if the chin is under-projected is to look at your profile photo, then drop an imaginary line from the base of the nose (between the eyes) straight down. Your chin falls behind this line, which means it’s under-projected. I prefer to insert my chin implants intraorally, meaning that you will not have any incisions on the outside of the chin, and the implant will not have the potential to sag over the upcoming decades of your life. The recovery time for both is under two weeks. In the end, it is up to you to decide what you wish to do, since plastic surgery is a want, not a need. I recommend consulting in person with a bored certified plastic surgeon to discuss your concerns and see what procedure or combination of procedures is right for you.

Your nose and chin: based on standard norms of male aesthetics it appears that your nose is too large particularly in its forward projection. It also appears that your chin is too small in it’s forward projection. The large nose makes the chin look weaker and the Weak chin makes the nose look larger. It’s very common to address both of these issues at the same time by performing a rhinoplasty and chin implant.

Nasal cosmetic surgery and a chin implant are frequently performed together in the appropriate patient. The ideal aesthetic result should be individualized to achieve harmony with your other facial features and improve the areas that concern you. Whether a chin implant or a more extensive jaw surgery would be optimal depends on multiple factors including your desired outcome and personal anatomy.

Keep in mind that following advice from a surgeon on this or any other website who proposes to tell you what to do based on
limited photos without examining you, physically feeling your tissue, assessing your desired outcome, taking a full medical history and discussing the pros and cons of the operative procedure would not be in your best interest. Natural appearing results need to be individualized and what is appropriate for one patient is not necessarily the best for someone else.


I would suggest that you find a surgeon with extensive rhinoplasty experience certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and one who is ideally a member of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) or a facial plastic surgeon (otolaryngologist) that you trust and are comfortable with. You should discuss your concerns with that surgeon in person. The extent and length of the procedure, cost, and the specific operative steps to achieve an ideal cosmetic result vary from patient to patient and would depend on the findings at your consultation examination.

Robert Singer, M.D., FACS

La Jolla, California