Canthal Tilt Calculator: Positive or Negative? Free Test
Upload one photo. See the angle of your eye corners in degrees, corrected for how the camera was held.
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What is canthal tilt?
Canthal tilt is the angle of your eye opening. Draw a line from the inner corner of the eye (the medial canthus) to the outer corner (the lateral canthus) and compare it with level. If the outer corner is higher, the tilt is positive. If it is lower, the tilt is negative. If the two corners are level, it is neutral.
This calculator finds both corners of both eyes among 478 facial landmarks, measures each angle in degrees against the line between your pupils, and reports the average along with each eye on its own.
Positive, neutral or negative? Reading your result
Your result is an angle in degrees, not a grade. Most people land on the positive side, and a negative number is not a failure.
The outer corner sits higher than the inner corner. Clinical references describe this as the usual arrangement.
The corners are close to level. Our repeat photos of one face moved by about a degree, so readings this close to level are not called either way.
The outer corner sits lower than the inner corner. Ordinary variation, and more common with age.
Other sites draw these lines in other places, and there is no official standard. We set the neutral zone from how much our own measurement moves between photos of the same face, so a result is only called positive or negative when it is larger than that.
Why does my canthal tilt change between photos?
The outer corner of the eye sits further back on the head than the inner corner. So when you tip your chin down, or hold the phone above your face, the outer corners rise in the picture and the tilt reads more positive. Tip your chin up, or shoot from below, and it reads lower. Nothing about your face has changed.
We measured how large this is. One volunteer, one day, five camera positions:
| Photo | As it appears | After correction |
|---|---|---|
| Camera at eye level | +4.3° | +0.7° |
| Chin slightly down | +5.9° | −0.2° |
| Chin slightly up | −0.1° | +0.4° |
| Camera held above the head | +8.6° | +0.6° |
| Camera held below the face | +1.7° | +0.2° |
The same face read anywhere from −0.1° to +8.6°, a spread of 8.7 degrees. Published averages for canthal tilt sit between about 4 and 10 degrees depending on the group studied, so the camera angle alone can move the reading by as much as the thing being measured. A tool that reads the photo as it is mostly measures how you held the phone.
The correction works like this: we estimate how far your head is pitched from the depth of the forehead and chin landmarks, and subtract 0.35 degrees of tilt for each degree of pitch. With it, the five photos land within 0.9 degrees of each other. Two honest caveats. The correction was fitted on these five photos, so the table shows it at its best. A sixth photo of the same face, not used for the fit, read +5.1° as it appears and +1.1° after correction. And we have not yet repeated the test on a second face.
Four things give the steadiest reading, in this order:
- Hold the camera at eye level. By far the biggest source of error, as the table shows. If the angle is too steep, we do not score the photo at all.
- Look straight into the lens. A turned head hides one outer corner, and we say so instead of guessing. Tilting your head sideways is fine, because we measure against the line between your pupils.
- Keep your face relaxed. A smile lifts the cheeks and narrows the eyes.
- Stand back and keep the corners clear. Use arm's length or further, since a close lens distorts the face. Glasses and hair across the eyes can hide the corners.
What is a normal canthal tilt?
Slightly positive. A clinical reference on eyelid surgery states that in most people the outer corner sits about 2 mm above the inner corner, and that this can reverse with age. A study of South Indian adults measured an average inclination of 5.1° in men and 6.1° in women, with a standard deviation of about 2.5 to 2.9 degrees. A study by Rhee, Woo and Kwon in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, which built average faces for three groups, reported 4.1°, 5.4° and 9.8°.
Those figures come from clinics, with the head held level and the corners marked by hand. A landmark model reading a phone photo will not match them exactly, which is why we report your number as a measurement of this photo rather than a diagnosis.
Is a negative canthal tilt bad?
No. It is one of the ordinary ways an eye can sit. The study of average faces also built "attractive" composites, and those measured about 7° to 10°: higher than the average face in two groups and lower in the third. That is three blended images, not a rule for one person, and no study sets a number at which a face becomes unattractive. Looksmaxxing forums rank canthal tilt heavily, often under the label "hunter eyes", but that ranking is community opinion. For the wider picture of what those communities measure, see our PSL rating calculator and our guide to canthal tilt, jawline and midface.
Frequently asked questions
What is canthal tilt?
Canthal tilt is the angle of the line that runs from the inner corner of your eye to the outer corner, compared with level. The corners are called the medial and lateral canthus. If the outer corner sits higher the tilt is positive, if it sits lower the tilt is negative, and if the two are level it is neutral.
What is a positive canthal tilt?
A positive canthal tilt means the outer corner of the eye sits higher than the inner corner, so the eye slopes slightly upward toward the temple. Clinical references describe this as the usual arrangement, with the outer corner about 2 mm above the inner one.
What is a negative canthal tilt?
A negative canthal tilt means the outer corner of the eye sits lower than the inner corner, so the eye slopes slightly downward toward the temple. This calculator reports negative only when the corrected angle is below minus 1.5 degrees.
Is a negative canthal tilt bad?
No. It is ordinary variation in how the eye sits, and clinical sources note that a positive tilt can flatten or reverse with age. One study of composite faces found the "attractive" composites measured about 7 to 10 degrees, higher than the average face in two groups and lower in a third. That describes three blended images, not a rule for one person, and no study sets a number at which a face becomes unattractive.
What is a normal canthal tilt?
Slightly positive. One study of South Indian adults measured an average of about 5 degrees in men and 6 degrees in women, with most people within about 3 degrees of that. A study that compared average faces across groups reported values from about 4 to 10 degrees. These were measured with the head held level and the corners marked by hand, so a number from a phone photo will not match them exactly.
Why do I get a different canthal tilt in every photo?
Because the camera angle changes the reading more than faces differ from each other. The outer corner of the eye sits further back on the head than the inner corner, so tipping your chin down or holding the phone above your face lifts the outer corner in the picture. In our own test, one face in five camera positions read from minus 0.1 to plus 8.6 degrees before correction. That is why this calculator estimates the pitch of your head and takes its effect out.
Can canthal tilt change?
Slowly, with age: clinical references note that a positive tilt can flatten or reverse over the years. We know of no published evidence that exercises, massage, mewing or taping move the corner of the eye. Surgery on the outer corner exists, and whether it is appropriate is a decision for a qualified surgeon, not for a photo tool.
What are hunter eyes?
"Hunter eyes" is a term from online looksmaxxing communities, not from medicine. It usually bundles a positive canthal tilt with deep-set eyes and little visible upper eyelid. Canthal tilt is only one part of that description, and there is no agreed measurement that defines it.
Is my photo uploaded or stored?
No. The measurement runs inside your browser. Your photo is not sent to a server and nothing is stored. Closing the page removes it.