Non-surgical rhinoplasty, also known as “liquid nose job,” involves injecting hyaluronic acid (HA) into the nose to alter its shape temporarily. This treatment can be used to address some concerns, such as a bulbous tip, humps, and a low or wide nasal bridge. However, it just creates an illusion by tweaking different parts of the nose. This cosmetic procedure does not reduce its size.
A non-surgical nose job may camouflage some features that the patient finds unappealing. It involves minimal pain and takes no longer than 1 hour. However, this treatment does not reshape nasal bones and cannot address problems like deviated septum and other conditions that cause discomfort. Nonsurgical rhinoplasty offers temporary solutions.
While makeup allows people to enhance and define facial features, it has limitations for reducing nose size. Contouring the nasal tip with highlights and shadows cannot change its anatomical structure. Like nonsurgical rhinoplasty, makeup is a superficial solution.
Skillfully applied highlights and shadows can produce the illusion of a smaller nasal tip. But its appearance will depend on the angle of view and lighting. The contouring effects will distort or disappear as soon as the environmental conditions shift even slightly.
Creative shading may mask the nose size, but it cannot physically alter the protrusion of cartilage and skin. No amount of blending and brushstrokes will reduce the structural framework responsible for projection and other nasal features.
There is a myth that facial exercises or yoga techniques can reshape the nose over time. However, we do not have any solid evidence to support this. The nose contains bone, cartilage, skin, nerves, blood vessels, and other structures. Facial movements cannot alter these internal tissues.
Nose yoga advocates claim that flaring the nostrils, scrunching the nose, and moving it from side to side can slim and lift the nasal tip. Nevertheless, these exercises only engage the superficial muscles surrounding the nose. They do not exert enough force to impact the nasal framework. While yoga and facial exercises may tone adjacent tissues, they cannot change the nose shapes.
Other techniques like nose pinching and stringing involve applying external pressure to mold the nose over time. However, no scientific studies validate their effectiveness. Pinching the nose with clips or bands is unlikely to stimulate cartilage growth in favorable directions. At best, these techniques might temporarily compress soft tissues before they spring back into place once the pressure is released.
You may come across advice suggesting that you can shrink your nose with simple ingredients like toothpaste, garlic, ginger, and apple cider vinegar. However, there is no scientific proof that these methods work for reshaping the nose.
Toothpaste contains abrasives to clean teeth. Rubbing it on your nose not only fails to shrink it, but it can also irritate and inflame your skin. Garlic, ginger, vinegar, and other food-based “remedies” have no medical properties that could alter the size or shape of your nose when applied topically.
While these home treatments may seem appealing because they are accessible and easy to attempt, they are unlikely to give noticeable or lasting results. If you wish to adjust the appearance of your nose, it is better to stick to proven medical procedures advised by cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists. Don’t waste time with toothpaste or DIY recipes because it is impossible to make the nose smaller naturally.
Applying ice may temporarily numb the nose and constrict local blood vessels. However, it cannot freeze or kill cartilage cells. Once the ice melts, the nose returns to its natural state. Any size changes are imaginary. Icing does help to reduce short-term swelling and redness. But the effects are superficial and temporary.
Clay masks, egg whites, essential oils, and other homemade treatments cannot alter the nose as well. Like icing and toothpaste mixtures, these remedies may temporarily change skin texture, color, oiliness, or inflammation. However, they do not reshape the cartilage, bone, and other rigid structures responsible for nose size. Any changes are superficial and last only during application.