A Thinner Nose Without Rhinoplasty: 5 Ideas

You’re not happy with your nose’s appearance. It’s too wide, too bulky, too blocky — take your pick.

You’re not sure you want to invest in an expensive and potentially dangerous plastic surgical procedure, though. You’d rather build up to that, and only then as a last resort.

Good news: That won’t be a problem. There are several ways to make your nose appear thinner without traditional rhinoplasty — no cutting or grafting, and definitely no general anesthesia. 

Here are five ideas. Try one or two to start, or go for them all right away.

1. Contour Your Nose With Makeup

This is a totally noninvasive option that can create a fortuitous optical illusion, one that makes your nose look thinner and smaller than it really is.

You’ll need to use makeup — foundation, highlights — to contour your nose into a “smaller” shape. You’ll shade the prominent parts and accentuate the sides and corners to produce a slimmer footprint (or “noseprint”) than is really the case.

2. Shade and Highlight Your Cheekbones and Eyes

For maximum makeup effect, apply shading and highlights “off-nose” as well. The right combination of lighter and darker tones under your eyes and around your cheekbones can draw attention away from the mass of your nose and toward the other (beautiful) aspects of your face. You’ll be left with a more “balanced” visage that isn’t so heavy on the nose and nostrils.

3. Get a Liquid Nose Job or Thread Lift

A liquid nose job is Botox® treatment of the nose tip. A nose lift is a PDO thread lift targeting the tip and sides of the nose.

Both are ideal if you’re looking for highly visible yet temporary nose-slimming results. Botox typically lasts three or four to as long as six months, depending on the injection sites and other factors. A thread lift should last six to as long as twelve months before fading.

4. Add Volume Elsewhere on Your Face

Like off-nose makeup, strategically applied Botox, PDO threads, or dermal fillers can draw attention away from your nose and make your face appear more balanced. Talk to your aesthetic medicine provider about the right combination of treatments for you, because everyone’s nose is different.

5. Try Nose Slimming Exercises (Yes, For Real)

Nose slimming exercises are real. And for some people, at least, they really work.

The science behind nose slimming exercises is simple. Your nose and the areas of the face around it have several small muscles that respond well to exercise, just like any other muscles. You might think stimulating these muscles would cause them to grow and make your nose look even bigger and bulkier, but something closer to the opposite is true: increasing the mass of the muscles around your nose can actually reduce the apparent size of the nose itself.

Do keep your expectations in check though. Nose slimming exercises won’t alter your nose’s appearance as dramatically as a Botox nose job or thread nose lift. On the other hand, it could help enhance those interventions’ results.