At a glance
- Term
- Facial convexity
- Area
- Face geometry
- Measurable from a selfie
- No: a profile view
- Evidence
- Established
- Related
- Chin projection, Nasolabial angle, Forward growth
How to read the curve
Start at the forehead in a side photo and follow the outline down to the chin. The word “convex” describes the outward bow you see when the chin sits back relative to the middle of the face. “Concave” describes the inward curve you see when the chin sits farther forward.
A straight profile can still have a nose that stands out in silhouette. The term describes the general line from forehead to chin, so you don't need every point along the outline to line up.
Why a front selfie can't measure convexity
Imagine drawing a line down the middle of a front photo from your forehead to your chin. It might run straight down the picture even if your chin sits well back in profile. You can see where the chin falls from left to right. Its position from front to back is the part you're missing.
The free face-symmetry scan measures distances between landmarks in one selfie. It names what it measured and reports left-right differences and basic ratios.
What to do with a profile measurement
If someone gives you a number for facial convexity, ask which view they used and which points they measured. The common mistake is to take a number from one picture as a fixed fact about your face.
If you're trying to describe a photo, “the chin sits back in this view” may say all you need. For a question about the chin alone, chin projection is the more precise term.
Questions people ask
- Does a convex profile tell me how my face grew?
- A profile photo shows where your features sit at the moment you take it. That single outline can't tell you how they got there or establish a pattern of forward growth.
- Is the nasolabial angle another name for facial convexity?
- No. The nasolabial angle describes the angle where the nose meets the upper lip. Facial convexity takes in a longer stretch of the profile, from the forehead down to the chin.
Written from the measurements and ingredient facts on this site, then checked for the usual mistakes. Not medical advice.
Related pages
The closest pages in this section, picked by topic rather than by date.
- Chin projection meaning: reading your side profileUnderstand chin projection meaning, why a front selfie can't measure it, and how to read profile measurements without treating them as fixed
- Nasolabial angle meaning: Reading your profileNasolabial angle meaning explained: where this profile angle sits, why a front selfie can't measure it, and what the surgical range means.
- A guide to forward growth meaningUnderstand forward growth meaning, why a front selfie cannot measure it, and why tongue posture cannot grow adult jaw and midface bones forw
- Bigonial width meaning and how to measure itUnderstand bigonial width meaning, how a selfie measures the distance across your jaw corners, and what comparing it with cheekbone width te
- Bizygomatic width meaning: the distance across your cheekbonesLearn bizygomatic width meaning, how cheekbone width relates to face shape, and what a selfie can measure without fixing your face to a labe
- A guide to brow ridge meaningUnderstand brow ridge meaning, why a front-facing selfie can't measure its projection, and what established evidence says about changing it.
- buccal fat meaning: What it is and what photos can't showLearn the buccal fat meaning, why cheek fullness can't measure this fat pad, and what permanent removal may mean for your appearance later.
- Canthal tilt meaning: what your eye-corner angle tells youLearn the canthal tilt meaning, how to measure eye-corner angles in a selfie, and why a photo result isn't a fixed fact about your face.
- A guide to cheekbones meaningLearn cheekbones meaning, how cheek width compares with your jaw and forehead, and why one selfie cannot give a fixed measurement of your fa