On the Nose : The New Ideal Is a Shape That Conveys Character, Ethnicity and Individuality
MICHAEL Jackson’s pert proboscis notwithstanding, man-made noses that turn up are out, according to Los Angeles-area plastic surgeons. The straight, “classic” nose is in.
Los Angeles plastic and reconstructive surgeon Brent Joseph reports that male and female patients are asking for “a fine, projected tip that’s neither turned up nor down.”
Joseph points out that about 33% of his rhinoplasties are redos of other surgeons’ work.
People no longer want the artificial-looking retrousse, or turned-up, shape that was popular in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, he says.
For some patients, it is necessary to take cartilage from other parts of the body to reconstruct the bridge and tip. People don’t want their noses too narrow or too thin, he says.
“They want classic noses, not cute noses. An Anne Archer nose and a Kim Basinger nose are examples of very classic-looking noses that are in proportion with the cheekbones and chins,” he says, citing examples sculpted by nature.
One goal of rhinoplasty is a nose that is true to an individual’s ethnic heritage and is suited to his or her characteristic beauty.
If, for example, a woman came to Dr. Paula A. Moynahan, the Manhattan plastic and reconstructive surgeon who wrote the book “Cosmetic Surgery for Women,” and asked for a nose like Candice Bergen’s, the doctor would say: “There are limitations to what surgery can accomplish. You are not this person, nor did you have this person’s parents.”
Recent changes in the shape of Cher’s nose are a perfect example of “minimal change for maximum improvement,” says Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, a Los Angeles plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
The American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons reports that of the 590,550 cosmetic surgeries performed in the United States in 1986, 82,200 were for noses, making rhinoplasty the fourth most common aesthetic surgery. (Fat suction was first, breast augmentation second and eyelid surgery third.)
The typical candidate “used to be the 16-year-old girl on her Christmas vacation,” Ellenbogen says. “Now I get doctors, lawyers, married men and women in their 30s, who never had the finances or the time before. Recently I operated on two patients in their 70s.
“It’s every financial group, every age, every sex,” he observes.
The Washington-based society reports that 25% of all nose surgeries were performed on men.
Tom Selleck and William Hurt are often cited as examples of male faces with natural, classic noses. But doctors note that “imperfect” noses are still more acceptable for men than women (two obvious female exceptions being Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler).
“In women we usually look for proportionate beauty,” Joseph says. “With men, some of the most memorable faces are not quite perfect. Tom Cruise has a large arc or bump on his nose, yet it definitely gives him a strong-looking face. It adds character.”
Dr. Charles Spenler of Torrance gives patients an idea of what they will look like by sketching over a Polaroid photo. Computer images, Spenler says, “may build unrealistic expectations.”
Doctors say, however, that most patients have their expectations fulfilled and are pleased with the results of their surgery.
But Moynahan points out that there’s really one post-rhinoplasty nose that’s perfect: “the one that doesn’t look operated on.”
