What is your canthal tilt?

A free tool that measures the angle of your eyes from a photo, right in your browser, with nothing uploaded.

What canthal tilt is

Canthal tilt is the angle of your eye, measured along the line from its inner corner to its outer corner. The inner corner is the medial canthus. The outer corner is the lateral canthus.

Draw a straight line between those two points and compare it to horizontal. That angle is the canthal tilt. It is a simple, physical measurement of eye shape, not a judgment about a face.

If the outer corner sits higher than the inner corner, the tilt is positive. If the outer corner sits lower, the tilt is negative. If the two corners are close to level, the tilt is neutral.

Canthal tilt is separate from eye shape. Eye shape describes the outline of the eye, such as round, almond or narrow. Canthal tilt only describes the angle of that outline against horizontal. A round eye can have a positive tilt, and an almond eye can have a negative one.

The term originally comes from anatomy and eyelid surgery, where it is used to plan procedures around the eye. It has since become a common phrase in beauty and self-improvement spaces, where people run a canthal tilt test out of curiosity.

People often check their canthal tilt after reading about "hunter eyes" online, or while comparing glasses or eyeliner styles. The number itself is neutral. What you do with it, if anything, is up to you.

How the calculator measures it

Our canthal tilt calculator works from a single photo, taken or uploaded in your browser. The photo is never sent anywhere. It is processed on your device using MediaPipe Face Landmarker, a model that maps 478 points on your face.

Two of those points sit at the medial and lateral canthus of each eye. The calculator draws a line between them and measures the angle of that line against horizontal.

It does this separately for the left eye and the right eye. A face is rarely symmetric, so the two angles are often a little different from each other.

Heads are rarely perfectly level in a photo, and that matters. If your head is rolled to one side, a simple angle measurement would read your eyes as more tilted, or less tilted, than they really are.

To avoid that, the calculator corrects for head roll, meaning the tilt of your whole head in the frame, before it reports the eye angle. It uses the position of both eyes and the outline of the face to make that correction.

The output is three numbers: the left eye's canthal tilt, the right eye's, and the average of the two. We also check that your head is turned close enough to straight for the reading to be trustworthy.

A yaw, or side turn, over 12 degrees is labeled "slightly turned." So is a roll, or head tilt, over 8 degrees. Past 25 degrees of yaw, or 20 degrees of roll, we ask for a retake, because the angle is no longer reliable.

Measuring canthal tilt by hand, from a screenshot or a printed photo, is hard to do consistently. Small errors in marking the exact corner of the eye, or in drawing the horizontal reference line, can shift the angle by several degrees. A landmark model applies the same rule to every photo.

Each angle is shown to one decimal place, though at that level of precision a repeat photo can move the number by a degree or two. Treat the result as a close estimate from that specific photo, not a fixed lab measurement.

The same photo also gives you a reading on eye shape, facial symmetry and face shape, since all of them come from the same set of landmarks.

Positive, neutral and negative canthal tilt

We use a small buffer around zero, because tiny measurement noise and natural asymmetry mean almost nobody lands on exactly flat. Above +2 degrees is labeled positive. Below -2 degrees is labeled negative. Between those two points is neutral.

These ranges describe the angle only. They say nothing about eye color, eye size, eyelid type or eye shape, all of which vary independently of canthal tilt.

A one or two degree difference between two photos of the same person is normal and expected. Small shifts like that usually come from expression, lighting or head position, not from any real change in your eyes.

What is a normal canthal tilt?

There is no single normal number, but there is a typical range. Most adults have a mildly positive canthal tilt. Commonly cited averages sit roughly between +4 and +8 degrees for women, and a little lower for men, though individuals vary widely around those averages.

Ethnic background is also a source of variation, and so is simple genetics within any population. A negative canthal tilt is not rare and is not a flaw. It is a normal variant that a meaningful share of adults have.

Canthal tilt also changes over a lifetime. It tends to decrease with age, as the skin and soft tissue around the lower eyelid and outer corner gradually descend. A tilt measured in your twenties is not necessarily the tilt you will have decades later.

This is a gradual, structural change, separate from the day-to-day shifts caused by expression or camera angle. It happens slowly, over years, and is one reason a canthal tilt calculator reading is best read as a snapshot rather than a permanent label.

Clinical studies of canthal tilt usually measure it directly, with calipers or 3D scans, on a defined group of subjects. A photo-based canthal tilt calculator lands close to those figures, but a single photo cannot fully substitute for a clinical measurement.

Because of that, "normal" is best read as a wide, overlapping range rather than a target. The calculator's neutral, positive and negative labels describe where you sit on that range today, on this photo.

Why your two eyes may differ

Almost no face is perfectly symmetric, and eyes are no exception. It is common for the calculator to report a slightly different canthal tilt for your left eye and your right eye.

Small differences, on the order of a degree or two, are normal facial asymmetry and not something to read into. Larger differences can come from how the photo was taken rather than from your face.

If your head was turned even slightly when the photo was captured, one eye ends up closer to the camera than the other. That changes its apparent angle more than the other eye's. A straight-on photo minimizes this effect.

Past injury, eyelid surgery on one side only, or simply the ordinary asymmetry every face has can also produce a lasting difference between your two eyes' angles, separate from anything about the photo.

The average of the two eyes is usually the more stable number to track over time, since it smooths out small asymmetries and small photo angle errors that affect one eye more than the other.

How to get an accurate reading

A few things about the photo can shift the measured angle by several degrees, independent of your actual anatomy. Camera position, expression and head angle all matter more than people expect for a canthal tilt test.

• Hold the camera at eye level, not below. Shooting from below tilts the apparent angle of the eyes upward at the outer corner.
• Keep a neutral, relaxed expression. Smiling lifts the cheeks and the outer corners of the eyes, which makes the tilt look more positive than it is at rest.
• Face the camera directly. Turning your head, even slightly, changes each eye's apparent angle differently.
• Keep your head level. A tilted head changes the raw angle before any correction, and large tilts are harder to correct for accurately.
• Use even, front-facing light so the corners of your eyes are clearly visible to the landmark model.
• Pull hair away from your eyes and brows, so the inner and outer corners are not partly hidden.

Following this checklist gives the calculator a cleaner set of landmarks to work from, which means a more accurate angle for both eyes.

If a result looks surprising, retake the photo with this checklist before assuming the number is wrong. Most unexpected readings trace back to camera angle or expression, not to a measurement error.

Can you change your canthal tilt?

Your underlying anatomy sets a baseline, but the appearance of canthal tilt is not fixed. Makeup is the simplest lever. A winged eyeliner shape that extends slightly upward at the outer corner visually lifts that corner.

Brow shape also plays a role. A brow with a higher arch toward the tail, and a tail that sits above the brow's inner point, tends to make the eye below it read as more lifted.

Lash placement is a smaller but real factor. Emphasizing length at the outer lashes, rather than the center or inner lashes, draws the eye toward the outer corner and can make the tilt look slightly more positive.

None of these change the actual angle of your medial and lateral canthus. They change what a viewer perceives, through contrast, shading and where the eye is drawn to look first. The underlying number on a rescan would stay about the same.

A separate category is surgical. Canthoplasty and canthopexy are procedures that reshape or reposition the outer corner of the eye. Unlike makeup or brow shaping, they can change the canthal tilt itself, not just how it appears.

These are medical procedures with real risks and a recovery period. If you are considering one, consult a qualified surgeon rather than acting on anything you read on this page.

Canthal tilt and eye shape

Canthal tilt is one measurement among several that describe how a face reads. Eye shape, facial symmetry and overall face shape all interact with it, and none of them determine the others.

The looksmaxxing community online often treats a positive canthal tilt, sometimes called "hunter eyes," as an attractiveness marker. That association is cultural, not a fact about anatomy. Negative canthal tilt is common, normal, and shows up across people considered attractive by any standard.

If you want the fuller picture, the face shape test runs on the same photo and the same 478 landmarks. It reports your face shape alongside symmetry and eye shape in one pass, from the photo you already took.

From there, the face shape guides cover hairstyles, glasses, beard styles and makeup for each shape, including how frame shapes and brow shapes interact with eye angle.

If your result comes back oval, for example, the oval face shape guide covers glasses and brow shapes that work well with that outline, which pairs naturally with a canthal tilt reading.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good canthal tilt?

There is no single "good" number. Most adults have a mildly positive tilt, commonly cited as roughly +4 to +8 degrees for women and somewhat less for men, but negative and neutral tilts are common and normal too. "Good" here just means accurate to your face, not a target to chase.

Is negative canthal tilt bad?

No. A negative canthal tilt, where the outer corner sits slightly lower than the inner corner, is a normal variant found across many faces. It is not a medical issue and does not need correcting. The positive-tilt preference associated with "hunter eyes" is a cultural trend, not a health or symmetry standard.

Can smiling change my canthal tilt result?

Yes, temporarily. Smiling lifts the cheeks, which pulls the outer corner of the eye upward and makes the tilt look more positive than it is at rest. For an accurate canthal tilt calculator reading, use a relaxed, neutral expression and a straight-on, eye-level photo.

Why did my two eyes get different scores?

Small differences of a degree or two are normal facial asymmetry, which almost everyone has. Larger differences usually come from the photo: a slightly turned head puts one eye closer to the camera, which distorts its apparent angle more than the other eye's. Retake the photo facing forward to check.

Does head tilt in the photo affect the result?

Yes, which is why the calculator corrects for it. A tilted head changes the raw angle of the eye relative to the photo frame before any correction is applied. We estimate head roll from the landmarks and adjust the reported angle accordingly, but very large tilts are flagged for a retake instead.

Can makeup or surgery change canthal tilt?

Makeup, such as winged eyeliner, along with brow shaping and lash placement, changes how the eye is perceived without changing the underlying angle. Canthoplasty and canthopexy are surgical procedures that can change the actual angle of the outer corner. They carry real risks, so consult a qualified surgeon before considering either.

References

• Dutton, J. J. Atlas of Clinical and Surgical Orbital Anatomy. Elsevier Saunders. Standard reference for canthal and orbital anatomy, including canthal tilt.
• Codner, M. A., & McCord, C. D. (Eds.). Eyelid and Periorbital Surgery. Thieme. Covers lateral canthal position, age-related descent, and canthoplasty/canthopexy technique.
• American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Patient information on canthoplasty and canthopexy. plasticsurgery.org.