The angle between the inner and outer corners of each eye, in degrees, reported for both sides. A positive tilt means the outer corner sits higher than the inner one.
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Average canthal tilt
°
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Class III below 0
Class I 0 to 5
Class II 5 to 16
Left eye
not yet °
Right eye
not yet °
Difference between them
not yet °
Direction
not yet
Typically positive above 0.5°, negative below -0.5°, level between
Taking the measurement
1
Take a front-on photo
Square to the camera with your head level and a neutral expression. Squinting and smiling both move the outer corner.
2
Choose the file
Measured in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
3
Read the average
The average of your two eyes is your tilt, and a head tilted to one side does not change it. A large gap between the eyes often means the head was not level, so retake before reading it as asymmetry.
Example
Inner eye corner to outer eye corner, against the horizontal.
Drawn from the landmarks our own measurement reads off this photo, not
placed by hand. It is a generated face, not a real person, and nothing
here is a verdict about it.
Canthal tilt is the angle between the inner and outer corners of the eye. A positive tilt means the outer corner sits higher than the inner one. This measures both eyes in degrees. In two of three studies of real faces, the more attractive group had the more upward tilt.
How this is worked out
Inner corner
The medial canthus, where the upper and lower lids meet nearest the nose.
Outer corner
The lateral canthus, at the outside edge of the eye.
The angle
Measured from the horizontal. Positive when the outer corner is higher than the inner one, negative when it is lower. Both eyes are reported separately and averaged. Read the average: a head tilted sideways adds to one eye and takes the same off the other, so it cancels out of the average but not out of the difference.
What each measurement is
Reference bands are this tool's own, chosen for the landmarks it uses.
Where research reports a figure it is given separately, with the source,
because the two are different claims. And each one says what actually
moves it, which for most facial measurements is the more useful half.
Average canthal tilt °
Formula
average of the two inner-to-outer eye-corner angles, against the photo horizontal
Reference
positive above 0.5°, negative below -0.5°, level between
Research
a surgical classification puts class I at 0° to 5° and class II above 5°; one series of 76 adults averaged 9.6° (Lee et al., 2020). In general-population studies, group averages run from under 1° to over 9°, all positive (Gao et al., 2025; Fry et al., 2017). In rated photos of real faces, the most attractive group averaged 9.1° and the least attractive 6.6° (Patel et al., 2026)
Very sensitive to head position. Dipping your chin makes it read more positive and raising it flatter, so keep your head level and the camera at eye level.
What moves it The research points one way: in studies of real faces, the more attractive group had the more upward tilt, and in rated photos the most attractive averaged about 9°. That is a finding about groups, not a pass mark, and the angle is set by where the outer corner attaches to bone, so nothing non-surgical moves it. Canthoplasty does, and that is an adult decision for a qualified surgeon with real risk. Lifting the corner past where it naturally sits also rated lower in the 2025 edited-face studies. What changes how the eye area reads without touching the tilt is the brow and sleep.
Left eye °
Formula
inner corner to outer corner, left
Right eye °
Formula
inner corner to outer corner, right
Difference between them °
Formula
left tilt − right tilt, absolute
A head tilted to one side adds to one eye and takes the same off the other, so a large gap often means the head was not level. Retake before reading it as asymmetry.
Canthal tilt is the angle between the inner and outer corners of your eye. This
measures both eyes and gives you the average, which is the number to read.
What the research says
An upward tilt goes with attractiveness. In two of three studies of real
faces, the more attractive group had the more upward tilt. In rated photos,
the most attractive averaged about 9° and the least attractive 6.6°.
More lift isn’t better. Two 2025 experiments lifted the outer corner past
where it naturally sat, and raters scored those faces lower.
What’s normal. A 2020 surgical classification puts class I at 0° to 5°,
class II above 5° and class III below 0°. In general-population studies,
the averages by population run from under 1° to over
9°, and every group averages a positive tilt.
No study has tested faces with a natural negative tilt, so there’s no direct
evidence on negative tilt either way. Our canthal tilt guide
has every study, graded, and what each one does and doesn’t show.
Getting a reading you can trust
Keep your chin level. In one study, the same eyes went from clearly
upturned to nearly level just by moving the chin. Dipping it makes your tilt
read more positive, raising it makes it flatter.
Keep your head straight. A head tilted to one side adds to one eye’s
reading and takes the same off the other. The average doesn’t move, the
difference between your eyes does, so retake a photo with a big gap before
reading it as asymmetry.
Camera at eye level, neutral face. A camera held above your eye line has
the same effect as dipping your chin, and a smile pushes the lower lids up.
What the angle does not capture
Two people with the same measured tilt can look quite different around the eyes,
because the tilt is one of several things happening there.
Upper eyelid exposure changes how open and how deep-set an eye reads.
Brow position and shape frame it. The fat and bone around the orbit set
how deep the eye sits. None of those is in this number.
So the angle is a description of one line on your face. It is not a summary of
your eye area, and it is certainly not a summary of you.
What changes it
Nothing non-surgical. The angle is set by where the lateral canthus attaches.
Procedures exist, and they belong in a conversation with a qualified
maxillofacial or oculoplastic surgeon who can examine you, with the risks and
the recovery on the table. It is an adult decision and not one to make young.
What does change how the eye area reads, without touching the tilt, is the
brow and sleep. After a night without sleep, eyelids hang lower and eyes look
more swollen, and the hunter eyes guide covers both.
Where to go next
The symmetry test scores the two eyes against each other
along with four other feature groups. The
facial ratios calculator reports tilt alongside eye
spacing and the rest of the set from a single photo.
Frequently asked questions
What is canthal tilt?
The angle between the inner and outer corners of the eye. Positive tilt means the outer corner sits higher than the inner one; negative means it sits lower.
What is a positive canthal tilt?
An eye whose outer corner is higher than its inner corner. It is the more common arrangement, and it is a description of an angle rather than a grade.
What is a negative canthal tilt?
An eye whose outer corner sits lower than the inner one. No study has tested natural negative tilts directly. In real faces the more upward tilt went with attractiveness, so positive has the edge, and a slightly negative reading is not a clinical finding.
Is there research linking canthal tilt to attractiveness?
Yes. In two of three studies of real faces, the more attractive group had the more upward tilt: in rated photos, the most attractive averaged about 9 degrees and the least attractive 6.6. There is a limit: two 2025 experiments lifted the outer corner past where it naturally sat, and raters scored those versions lower.
What is a normal canthal tilt in degrees?
A surgical classification published in 2020 puts class I at 0 to 5 degrees, class II above 5, and class III below 0. In that series of 76 adults most sat in class II, averaging about 9.6 degrees. In general-population studies, group averages run from under 1 to over 9 degrees, all of them positive.
Can canthal tilt be changed?
Surgically, by procedures on the lateral canthus. That is a decision for a qualified surgeon, it carries real risk, and it is not a decision to make young. Nothing non-surgical moves the angle.
Does eyelid exposure affect how the tilt looks?
Yes, and this is why two people with the same measured angle can look different. How much upper eyelid shows, brow position and the fat around the eye all change how the eye reads without changing the tilt.
Why do my two eyes have different tilts?
Partly because faces are not perfectly symmetrical, and partly the photo. A head tilted to one side adds to one eye's reading and takes the same off the other, so a large gap often means the head was not level. The average of the two is not affected, which is why it is the number to read.
Why does my canthal tilt look different in different photos?
Head position. In one study, the same eyes went from clearly upturned to nearly level just by moving the chin: dipping it makes the tilt read more positive, raising it makes it flatter. Keep your head level and the camera at eye level, and compare photos taken the same way.
Does canthal tilt change with age?
Less than is often claimed. In 320 people aged 10 to 89, aging did not move the outer corner. A study that photographed the same 80 people over 40 years found it lower in 40% of them by age 60.
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