1
Upload Your Photos
Upload 6 clear photos of your face securely and privately through our online portal.
Drag and drop file To upload
POSES REQUIRED
Reviewed July 13, 2026
What is double break angle?
The double break is the pair of gentle steps you see on a well-defined nasal tip from the side. One is the supratip break, where the tip lifts off the bridge; the other is the columellar break at the junction of the tip and the columella. Together they are what makes a tip read as defined rather than round.
How It's Measured
How is the double break measured?
The double break is read on a side profile as the two-step contour running from the tip down to the columella. The QOVES engine places the lower of those two breaks, the columellar break, and measures the angle it makes between the tip, the columella and the base of the nose (Naini, 2011).
- Supratip break: the upper step, where the dorsum meets the tip lobule. Losing it makes a tip look full or over-operated.
- Columellar break: the lower step, formed by the curve of the medial crus at the tip-to-columella junction. This is the angle the engine reads.
- Tip-defining points: the paired high points of the tip. The two breaks and these points frame the small triangles that make a tip look crisp.
When both breaks are present, the tip reads as sculpted; when they flatten out, the tip reads as a rounded ball (Naini, 2011).
Rotating the nasal tip upward opened the double break angle from 33.0° to 37.2° on the same face, same lighting, same framing.
Why It Matters
Why does the double break matter?
Tip definition lives almost entirely in these two breaks. The tip surface is framed by four tip-defining points whose connections should form two small triangles, and it is the supratip and columellar breaks that give those triangles their edges (Naini, 2011). Flatten the breaks and the same tip reads as heavy and undefined.
A missing break is usually not about cartilage alone. Poor tip definition is multifactorial, driven by broad or weak lower lateral cartilages, thick subcutaneous fat and thick tip skin (Ofodile et al., 1993). Thick-skinned tips are the hardest to give a visible break, which is why surgeons deliberately set the tip further forward of the dorsum to force one through the skin (Kosins & Daniel, 2017).
Where the break sits is also not the same for every nose. Ethnic and lower-projected noses tend toward rounder tips and more obtuse angles, which softens the double break (Ethnic Rhinoplasty, 2010), and average Caucasian noses run more obtuse than the aesthetic ideal (Harris & Chan, 2005). The cards below give a working range, but a natural tip respects the rest of the nose.
< 30°
Under-defined
30°–45°
Balanced Break
> 45°
Over-rotated
The columellar-lobular angle behind the double break. In rhinoplasty practice a balanced tip sits near 30 to 45 degrees; a smaller angle reads under-defined and a larger one over-rotated. Values vary with nasal type and skin thickness.
Demographic Variants
Double Break by Nasal Type
The double break is judged against nasal type, since tip shape and skin thickness change how visible the two breaks are. Each row links to the source.
Type / group | Tip and break tendency | Source |
|---|---|---|
Caucasian aesthetic ideal | More defined tip with clear supratip break; nasolabial angle more obtuse in women | |
Average vs ideal Caucasian | Average noses run more obtuse than the aesthetic ideal, softening the break | |
Ethnic / lower-projected noses | Rounder tips, more obtuse angles and lower projection soften the double break | |
Thick-skinned tips | Fat and thick skin blunt both breaks; tip must be set forward to show them |
2
Facial Assessments
We measure 160+ facial markers, including skin quality, symmetry, eye shape, brow density, and more.
3
Personalized Report
You’ll receive a plan highlighting your strengths, areas for improvement, and best ways to improve your appearance.
Emma’s Report
January 16, 2026
Explanation
Your forehead wrinkle depth aligns with expectations for your age and demographic, falling on the lower end of our predicted range.
Your Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the two-step contour of a defined tip seen from the side: an upper supratip break where the tip lifts off the bridge, and a lower columellar break at the tip-to-columella junction. Together they give the tip a sculpted, natural look (Naini, 2011).
The supratip break is the upper of the two, where the dorsum meets the tip lobule. The columellar break is the lower one, formed by the curve of the medial crus at the tip-to-columella junction. Both are needed for a true double break (Naini, 2011).
Usually it is thick tip skin, thick subcutaneous fat and broad or weak lower lateral cartilages blunting the breaks (Ofodile et al., 1993). Surgically the fix is a narrower tip framework set further forward of the dorsum so a break can show through the skin (Kosins & Daniel, 2017).
Yes. Ethnic and lower-projected noses tend toward rounder tips, more obtuse angles and less projection, which softens or hides the double break, so the aesthetic target should follow the nose rather than a single ideal (Ethnic Rhinoplasty, 2010).