How reliable is your view of yourself? The question is worth considering in day-to-day life, but is especially important for anyone considering a cosmetic procedure, such as nose surgery at San Francisco’s The Jacobs Center for Cosmetic Surgery.

While most people likely have a good general idea of their own appearance, one strategy used to get a glimpse of one’s own face may not be as accurate as a mirror.

JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery published research in the spring revealing that a person’s nose can look up to 30 percent bigger than its actual size when seen in a selfie. This false impression is due to the fact that people tend to hold their phones in front of them, at a distance of about a foot, in order to take a photo of themselves. That distance happens to be ideal for creating the look of a nose almost a third larger than reality.

Anyone who truly feels their nose doesn’t fit the proportions of their face—phone photo or not—is encouraged to schedule a consultation with an experienced facial plastic surgeon who can thoroughly study the face and make a recommendation based not just on the overall size of the nose, but the combination of facial features.

With an experienced and artistic eye, Dr. Jacobs will determine what surgical steps—if any—may be necessary to bring a nose or other features into proportion with the rest of the face. He will base his determinations on actual observations of the face in three dimensions, not a potentially misleading selfie.

Contact The Jacobs Center for Cosmetic Surgery to learn more about nose surgery in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, contact the Healdsburg office at (707) 473-0220 or the San Francisco office at (415) 433-0303, or reach out online.