I was previously chastised for describing Miranda Kerr as broad nosed. Sarah couldn’t see it and Danielle called me the most biased and pathetic judge of beauty that she had ever came across. Well, I have evidence that the bony part of Miranda Kerr’s nose would be classified as a twin deformity by plastic/cosmetic surgeons: a broad nasal dorsum and a broad nasal base. I would not personally describe her nose as deformed, but if I am biased, professional surgeons are worse.
To understand the twin bony deformities in Miranda Kerr’s nose, look at the following schematic showing the nasal bones in relation to the surrounding maxillary bones. The dorsal width is indicated by the length “x” and the ventral width or nasal base width is indicated by the length “y.”
Fig. 1. Nasal bones in yellow (left) and a schematic of the nasal bones and adjoining nasal processes of the maxillary bones.(1)
Fig. 2 shows the 4 types of bony nasal vault deformities.
Fig. 2. “Abnormalities of bony nasal vault morphology. (A) Asymmetric nasal bones. (B) Asymmetric nasal bones and asymmetric nasal process of maxilla. (C) Wide nasal bones causing excessive dorsal nasal width. (D) Wide nasal processes of maxillae causing wide bony nasal base.”(1)
The following illustrations depict deformities C and D in Fig. 2; from left to right: broad nasal base only (D), both broad nasal dorsum and broad nasal base (C and D) and broad nasal dorsum (C).
Fig. 3. Bony nasal vault deformities; shown from left: broad nasal base, broad nasal base and broad nasal dorsum, broad nasal dorsum.(2)
Watch what happens when the deformities in Fig. 3 are corrected:
Fig 4. Voila! Some dramatic improvements, aren't there?(2) Surgical improvement of bony nasal vault deformities shown in Fig. 3; from top to bottom: after lateral osteotomy, after lateral osteotomy and medial oblique osteotomy, after medial oblique osteotomy.
So do you see why surgeons are prompted to describe the pre-surgical conditions of these women as [aesthetic] deformities? How would the surgeons describe Miranda Kerr’s nose? She would be described as a bad case for a white woman. Contrast her with all three examples of white females that reduced the thickness of the bony part of the nose (preoperative pictures on left) in a paper by Kortbus et al.(3)
People considering surgical correction of the bony nasal vault should read the first two papers cited(1, pdf; 2, pdf) and select a surgeon who is very well-versed in the techniques described. In the papers, osteotomy refers to cutting the bones, dorsum is front surface, ventral/base is back of the nasal vault, medial is toward the middle, lateral is toward the side and oblique is at an angle.
Miranda Kerr also has another nose deformity, illustrated in the following image, namely one of a narrow middle vault, which is defined as any upper cartilaginous vault that is at least 25 percent narrower than either the upper or lower nasal thirds (see a paper by Constantian,(4) which I will be discussing in a subsequent article because it is important). This deformity is sometimes not obvious in her pictures.
Fig. 5. Narrow middle vault nose deformity in Miranda Kerr; see text; click for larger image.
I suspect that Miranda Kerr has yet another nose anomaly/deformity, namely of not having a straight nose in side view, but I haven’t come across a clear profile view of her.
Once again, I am not describing Miranda Kerr’s nose as deformed, but using terminology that cosmetic surgeons would assign to it. If I am pathetic and biased, how would one describe medical professionals?
On another note, Miranda Kerr is a Victoria’s Secret model. Having a non-broad nose is important in modeling because a narrow nasal base allows the skin on it to drape more narrowly, creating a shadow effect and results in brighter reflection of light from the dorsum compared to the nasal sidewalls (dorsal highlight).(3) The papers cited again show why being selected by Victoria’s Secret does not imply that this is because most people/most among the target audience find the woman very good looking.
On yet another note, given the before and after pictures showing the results of nose jobs, it should be clear why women who have had nose jobs should be banned from beauty pageants.
References
- Cochran, C. S., Ducic, Y., and Defatta, R. J., Rethinking nasal osteotomies: an anatomic approach, Laryngoscope, 117, 662 (2007).
- Gruber, R., Chang, T. N., Kahn, D., and Sullivan, P., Broad nasal bone reduction: an algorithm for osteotomies, Plast Reconstr Surg, 119, 1044 (2007).
- Kortbus, M. J., Ham, J., Fechner, F., and Constantinides, M., Quantitative analysis of lateral osteotomies in rhinoplasty, Arch Facial Plast Surg, 8, 369 (2006).
- Constantian, M. B., Four common anatomic variants that predispose to unfavorable rhinoplasty results: a study based on 150 consecutive secondary rhinoplasties, Plast Reconstr Surg, 105, 316 (2000).
She does have a broad nose. In the first photo, she is quite attractive otherwise. In the second photo, she is more obviously masculinized. Her eyebrows are also very thick.
Yeah, I too think she has a broad nose, but why does it have to be considered a deformity? She may not have the best nose, but her nose definitely isn't ugly. Those surgeons...tsk, tsk.
DEFORMITIES?!
Plastic surgeons define "deformity" as "anything we say it is to get people to pay to change it".
Plastic surgeons call small breasts a "disease" despite the fact that small breasts are perfectly functional as mammaries and cause no health problems whatsoever. So it's no surprise that plastic surgeons call broad noses, broad nasal bases, narrow middle vaults and non-straight profiles "deformities".
Miranda Kerr looks BETTER with her natural, relatively wide nose than she would look with a surgically narrowed nose, and her narrow middle vault and slightly bumpy profile are beautiful.
Erik, I realize you are simply quoting plastic surgeons' terminology of "deformities" without calling these features deformities yourself; I am saying these features are not just not deformities but actually beautiful on the right face with the right matching features.
Natural great beauties who refused to change their "deformed" noses:
Uma Thurman
Vanessa Williams
Sophia Loren
I can appreciate the difference - somewhat. It would be better if the "after" pictures also lacked makeup (obvious in 2nd pic series) and better hair (3rd). Also if they were the same size.
As to Kerr, Is she "white"? "Deformity" or not, she's pretty.
Hi Erik what do you think about the face and body of an Italian actress named melita toniolo. she has natural breast and round hips. do you think she's feminine or not all?
and also what about my favourite Italian actress monica bellucci?do u think her face is feminine?
So Erik, what would you say is the proper range for nose width? You know, where it gets to extremities and the like?
Miranda's nose isn't thin, but it does not look broad, especially in these pictures. And deformity my ass; Whipped Honey hit it right on the head - plastic surgeons only call broad noses "deformities" to make women insecure with themselves so they'll pay a few grand to get something fixed that was never wrong in the first place.
If Miranda's nose looked any different, I doubt she would look as cute as she does now; her nose, as well as her thick eyebrows are attributes to her prettiness. Why anyone, especially a heterosexual man, would not find this woman adorable is beyond me.
Exhibit A proving plastic surgeons's definition of "deformities" is nonsense:
Michael Jackson's post-surgery face is free of all "deformities" and is the ugliest face on Earth!
Plastic surgeons define "deformity" as "anything we say it is to get people to pay to change it" AND take each feature out of context from its surroundings. Yes, Miranda Kerr has a somewhat broad nose - which is proportional to her somewhat broad face. A narrow nose on a broad face would look badly proportioned and unbalanced.
Michael Jackson's natural face full of "deformities" was merely homely; Michael Jackson's face at his career peak after some plastic surgery was free of "deformities" and much more handsome; Michael Jackson's current face after much more plastic surgery is STILL free of "deformities" and is the ugliest face on Earth, which tells you how much "deformities" have to do with attractiveness!
Oh, and Denzel Washington's always natural face is full of "deformities" and is one of the most handsome faces in the world.
Plastic surgeons' arbitrary definition of "deformities" says Michael Jackson looks better than Denzel Washington!
%-P
Sure, Miranda Kerr's nose looks "broad"... but it's beautiful. She is beautiful. There are so many types of beauty.
I respect your extensive effort in trying to help women with eating disorders by "setting right" the fashion/beauty industry.
But what I can't understand is how you believe changing the worldly definition of "feminine beauty" from what you consider to be the "masculine norm" into your personally-defined "feminine ratio" is going to solve the problem of women not feeling they are beautiful enough.
So long as there are people meticulously dissecting, analyzing, and documenting the exact proportions of beauty, there will be women feeling they are not up to par.
You think an hourglass figure makes a woman femininely beautiful? It is truly lovely, I agree. Yet there are a vast number of women with very different statures outside that definition which still possess incredible and unique loveliness. Hopefully they have people in their lives who appreciate, cherish, and proclaim their personal beauty prior to them finding "scientifically" critical sites such as yours.
Please: Take your research, effort, and hours of meticulous research/documentation and put them to a better use that will truly work on solving some of humanity's greater problems.
Why are you picking on Miranda Kerr?
she is part asian. so her face overall is wider. in proporttion to her wide set eyes and cheekbones, her nose is fine.
If Miranda’s nose looked any different, I doubt she would look as cute as she does now,even if she spent in Canal boat holidays
Are you people serious? find me one person who has the perfect nose and you wont find it, every person has got a different shape or form of nose which to some would be considered a deformity, and to others, normal, and even to others a blessing.
I dont really know the point of this site, basically to discuss if her nose is broad or not, but i know it's definately not relevant to anything important in todays life.
Miranda got lovely nose and cute, I don't find anything wrong with it.
Her nose is broad, but the her big, wide lips I dislike even more. Idon't find her pretty.
Bad case for a white woman? Maybe you know something about white woman beauty standards, but the girl is mixed with Middle Eastern and also Southeast Asian. You can't really standardize every guy of her exact mix and get a survey on what they find attractive. There's no such thing as perfection, at least when it comes to people. Miranda Kerr is a pretty damn good combination of imperfections in that case.
You people act like having a broad nose is a sin
she is absolutely beautiful.why do u consider her nose?shall we all be perfect?or its a aprt of plastic surgery advertisment?
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