How to tell if I have a thick skin nose?

How to tell if I have a thick skin nose?

Although there is no exact method to tell or measure the thickness of the skin of the nose, usually by examination, doctors can tell their patients if they have thick skin or normal skin or thin skin.

1) One of the simplest methods that even patients can use to estimate their own thickness of the skin of their noses, is this method:

You can look at your nose in the mirror. If you can see the underling cartilage edges, if it is shown, or somehow you can mark the points of angulations of cartilage, then you can somehow tell that you have rather thin-skin nose.

In contrast, on the other hand, if you cannot see the underling cartilage, you can guess that your skin is thin. 

2) When you have oily skin, if you carefully look at the mirror and see openings on your skin (which are opening of oil glands), your nose can usually be considered as a thick-skin (meaty) nose.

3) Palpating the Tip of The Nose: If you palpate the tip of your nose and you will weak cartilages, it’s a sign that you have a thick-skin nose.

What are the different types of nose skin?

To simplify the answer, I usually categorize the nose skin into three types. Thin, normal and thick. But in reality there are varieties of different thickness of the skin among patients coming for nose job. You can’t exactly specify the thickness of one patient into normal group or thin group. I mean there is no exact point of difference or exact line separating these three types of skin. So somehow only the examination, can help the doctor and also the patient to have a general idea of the thickness of their nose skin.

Can a closed Rhinoplasty be successful on thick skin nose?

Definitely. To be honest, I prefer only closed Rhinoplasty or Endonasal Rhinoplasty for thick skin noses because in this technique, we don’t elevate the skin (that sometimes in these patients is too thick). So not elevating the whole skin causes less trauma, less swelling and rapid resolution of the swelling.

What are the important aftercares of thick skin nose Rhinoplasty?

As a general rule, the aftercare of Rhinoplasty in both types of skin are the same but there are a few differences. The most important one is taping the nose for longer period as the swelling in the thick skin group is much more comparing to other nose skins. You should be more patient. Also, you should take care of the skin.

In another way, skin-care should be done in this group (thick-skin noses), because immediately after the surgery, the quality of the skin in thick skin noses gets worse. The oilier the more acnes.

So, there are sometimes that you have to consult dermatologists (skin doctors) to treat the problems of the skin. So we have to be aware of the quality of the skin after Rhinoplasty. We have to pay more attention to the quality of the skin in this group of patients with thick-skin noses.

Can I do Rhinoplasty if I have a thick skin nose?

Of course, Yes! In the group of thick skin noses we can categorize different types of subgroups: Mild, Moderate, Severe, Extremely Thick.

Except Extremely Thick Skin Nose that sometimes nobody can do a nose job for, the other types of thick skin noses can have Rhinoplasty. By the way, the result depends also on the experience of the surgeon who is doing the surgery. If the surgeon is well-experienced in fatty noses then everything can go all right. So as a general idea thick skin noses definitely can have Rhinoplasty.

How can I preserve my nose job results if I have a thick skin nose?

The answer is related to the technique that the surgeon has chosen for the surgery. Usually in Thick Skin Rhinoplasty, we have to put cartilage graft under the tip of the to give more support to the tip so that in the long run the tip doesn’t drop because most of the patients with thick skin noses are at risk of nose drop or tip drop.

So, this is the simplest way to preserve the result by the doctor.

But is there any responsibility for the patients to preserve the result? Yes, Sometimes I recommend occasional taping. Also, the way that the patients take of their skin can affect the result. The more they pay attention to their nose skin, the better the results will be preserved in the long term.

Is thick skin nose the same as meaty nose?

Yes. Although nose has a sparse amount of muscle in it, but sometimes people name meaty nose in synonym with thick skin nose.

In reality the majority of the thickness of the skin in fatty noses (meaty noses) is occupied by sebaceous glands (glands that secrete sebum or oil). The thicker the skin is, the bigger these glands are. So, the thickness of the skin in fatty noses (meaty noses) is not related to the muscles, but related to the thickness or size of sebaceous glands.

Will my thick skin nose change to normal nose after Rhinoplasty?

In reality, although we cannot change the quality of the skin during the Rhinoplasty, but practically if the surgery is done properly by preserving or somehow augmenting or strengthening the skeleton of thick skin nose, somehow, we can make the thick skin, thinner.

So, in practice after a couple of years post operation, we see that the nose no longer looks fatty.

Can I get a beautiful nose job result if I have a thick skin nose?

Definitely. Even sometimes the result of nose job in fatty noses is much more beautiful than normal or thin skin noses.

Especially in the long-term, because in the long-term, in thin skin noses gradually the problems will be shown more. The edges of the cartilage will be exposed.

In contrast, in fatty noses (thick-skin noses) if the surgery has been done properly, with time, the results will be much better.

Is there any way to control or reduce the thickness of the nose skin?

Practically not. There is no definite way to reduce the thickness of the skin. But some doctors do laser treatment before nose surgery and some of them prescribe their patients, especially those with extreme oily skin, an especial drug for acne that is called Isotretinoin to reduce the oiliness of the skin and as a side effect as it suppress the activity of sebaceous glands it somehow reduces the thickness of the skin. But most of the time it is temporary.

by: Dr. Shahriar Yahyavi (Feb 2024)