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 both eyes
A difference of a degree or two between them is ordinary. A large gap usually means the photo was taken at an angle.
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. It is a real anatomical measurement with almost no attractiveness research behind it.
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, because they rarely match exactly and the difference is more informative than the average.
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 face 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). Variation from about -5° to +8° is ordinary
Very sensitive to camera height and head pose.
What moves it There is nothing to work toward, for two separate reasons worth separating. No study links the angle to how a face is rated, so no figure is established. And the angle is set by where the outer corner attaches, so nothing non-surgical moves it - canthoplasty does, and that is an adult decision for a qualified surgeon with real risk. What does change how the eye area reads, without touching the tilt, is sleep, fluid retention and the skin around the eye.
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 degree or two apart is ordinary. A large gap usually means the head was turned.
Canthal tilt is the angle between the inner and outer corners of your eye. This
measures it for both eyes and reports the difference between them.
Then it does something no other page on this query does, which is tell you how
little is known about it.
What we could not find
Canthal tilt is real anatomy. Surgeons measure it, it has a proper name, and it
describes something you can see.
The numbers
A 2020 surgical classification gives the bands directly. Class I is 0 to 5
degrees. Class II is above 5. Class III is below 0. In that study of 76
adults, mean age 23, most fell in class II, measuring about 9.6 degrees on
the right and 9.5 on the left.
Wider population variation of roughly minus 5 to plus 8 degrees is ordinary,
and nothing in that range is medically abnormal.
The gap
What does not exist is a study showing the angle predicts how a face is rated.
We looked for one meeting our evidence standard and found nothing: no
meta-analysis, no solid single study.
So the position is precise rather than evasive. Surgeons measure this angle and
publish bands for it, and nobody has shown the angle predicts attractiveness.
The community treats negative tilt as a verdict on the strength of research that
was never done, and being able to say which half is which is the whole reason
the evidence standards exist.
What the measurement here covers
The angle from horizontal, per eye. Positive when the outer corner is
higher, negative when it is lower.
The difference between your two eyes, which is usually more useful than the
average. Faces are not symmetrical and a degree or two apart is ordinary.
Camera angle is the main source of error. A head turned even slightly
raises one outer corner relative to the other. If your two eyes come back far
apart, retake the photo square to the camera before believing it.
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 sleep,
the fluid retention that follows a bad night, and the skin around the eye.
Those are unglamorous and they are the ones that move in a week.
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. It is a normal anatomical variation. The community treats it as a verdict, and there is no research supporting that reading.
Is there research linking canthal tilt to attractiveness?
There is a measurement literature with published bands, and we quote it. What there is not is a study showing the angle predicts how a face is rated. That gap is worth knowing, because the community treats negative tilt as a verdict on the strength of research that does not exist.
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. Broader variation of roughly minus 5 to plus 8 degrees is ordinary and none of it is medically abnormal.
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?
Because faces are not symmetrical, and because camera angle exaggerates it. A degree or two of difference is ordinary. A large gap usually means the photo was not square to the camera.
Does canthal tilt change with age?
The tissue around the eye changes over a lifetime. Whether that shows as a measured change in tilt is not something we have a vetted source for.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
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