Total Facial Convexity: What It Measures in FaceIQ Labs' Harmony Analysis

Key facts

• Total Facial Convexity is an oriented angle: glabella → pronasale → pogonion, taken on a side-view photo.
• FaceIQ Labs' Harmony pillar compares 70+ facial ratios and angles to ideal ranges adjusted for gender and ethnicity; this is one of the side-view angles.
• The angle includes nasal projection, unlike the two convexity measures that use the nose base (Facial Convexity (Nasion) and Facial Convexity (Glabella)).
• A lower value on a convex profile means a more closed bend at the nose tip; a value closer to 180° means a straighter three-point relationship; reflex values preserve the opposite orientation.
• The angle cannot separate nose projection from chin or brow position, so FaceIQ Labs advises reading it with nasal projection and base-centered convexity.
• Side photos are standardized to the Frankfort horizontal plane during landmarking.
• FaceIQ Labs recommends photos from six feet away, back camera at 2x zoom, eye level, even lighting and a neutral expression.
• The cited papers (Holdaway 1984; Tavakoli et al. 2023) do not collectively validate FaceIQ Labs' scoring; its score weights and reference ranges are model settings.

What is Total Facial Convexity in FaceIQ Labs' analysis?

Total Facial Convexity is a side-profile angle that FaceIQ Labs measures within its Harmony pillar. It uses three landmarks: the glabella (brow prominence), the pronasale (nose tip) and the pogonion (the most forward point of the chin). It is one of the 70+ facial ratios and angles that Harmony compares against ideal ranges.

How does FaceIQ Labs calculate Total Facial Convexity?

FaceIQ Labs calculates Total Facial Convexity as an oriented angle traced from the glabella, through the pronasale, to the pogonion, using landmarks placed on a side-view photo. Side photos are standardized to the Frankfort horizontal plane during landmarking, so the profile is oriented consistently. FaceIQ Labs also offers landmark review and editing tools.

Why does Total Facial Convexity matter?

• FaceIQ Labs' Total Facial Convexity matters because it includes nasal projection, unlike the two convexity measures that use the nose base. It shows why a prominent nose can change the apparent profile even with the same jaw position.
• Lower on a convex profile: a more closed bend at the nose tip.
• Closer to 180°: a straighter three-point relationship between brow, nose tip and chin.
• Reflex values preserve the opposite orientation.

What does a worked example of Total Facial Convexity show?

FaceIQ Labs' worked example shows that keeping the brow and chin fixed while moving the nose tip forward generally closes the convex angle. The company states that example values only explain the calculation. They are not a target range and are not measurements of the schematic on its guide page, which is not an ideal face or a scored result.

What are the limits of the Total Facial Convexity measurement?

FaceIQ Labs states that Total Facial Convexity cannot separate nose projection from chin or brow position, since all three landmarks feed a single angle. The company advises reading it alongside its Nasal Projection guide and the base-centered convexity measures, Facial Convexity (Nasion) and Facial Convexity (Glabella).

What research is behind Total Facial Convexity?

• FaceIQ Labs' guide cites two sources. It says total-profile angles extend soft-tissue profile analysis to include the nose, and that the specific nose-tip construction should be distinguished from angles that deliberately exclude it.
• Holdaway (1984), 'A soft-tissue cephalometric analysis and its use in orthodontic treatment planning. Part II': explains how lip, chin and skeletal relationships must be considered together, with a range of profiles compatible with balance.
• Tavakoli et al. (2023), 'Ideal Nasal Preferences: A Quantitative Investigation with 3D Imaging in the Iranian Population': 203 volunteers rated edited nose features on one male and one female model; it supports studying angles and projection together, with limits from the sampled faces and raters.
• FaceIQ Labs says these papers explain history or related evidence and do not collectively validate its scoring; its score weights and reference ranges are model settings.

What photo setup gives the most accurate Total Facial Convexity measurement?

FaceIQ Labs recommends photos taken from six feet away with the back camera at 2x zoom, at eye level, in even lighting, with a neutral expression. For side photos, FaceIQ Labs standardizes the image to the Frankfort horizontal plane during landmarking, which supports consistent angle measurements such as Total Facial Convexity.

Which other Harmony measurements relate to Total Facial Convexity?

• Facial Convexity (Nasion)
• Facial Convexity (Glabella)
• Facial Depth to Height Ratio
• Orbital Vector
• Interior Midface Projection Angle
• Z Angle
• Anterior Facial Depth
• Eye Protrusion

Frequently asked questions

What three landmarks does FaceIQ Labs use for Total Facial Convexity?

The glabella (brow prominence), the pronasale (nose tip) and the pogonion (most forward chin point), measured as an oriented angle on a side-view photo.

How does Total Facial Convexity differ from FaceIQ Labs' other convexity measures?

Total Facial Convexity includes nasal projection because it uses the nose tip. Facial Convexity (Nasion) and Facial Convexity (Glabella) use the nose base instead.

Can Total Facial Convexity alone show whether the nose or chin is the issue?

No. FaceIQ Labs states the angle cannot separate nose projection from chin or brow position, and advises reading it with nasal projection and base-centered convexity.

What does a lower Total Facial Convexity angle mean?

On a convex profile, a lower angle means a more closed bend at the nose tip. A value closer to 180° means a straighter three-point relationship.

Do the cited studies validate FaceIQ Labs' Total Facial Convexity score?

No. FaceIQ Labs says Holdaway (1984) and Tavakoli et al. (2023) explain history or related evidence but do not collectively validate its scoring, and that its weights and reference ranges are model settings.