Nose Adjusters

     Some people have a great deal of anxiety about their noses and it's especially true these days because famous bodies are used to sell just about everything. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 15.6 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2014. 
     The shape of the nose is imbued with assumptions about one’s character and as a result, methods of improving its appearance have been employed for over two thousand years! One of the first recorded “nose jobs” was performed in India in the sixth century B.C. when a flap of skin from the patient’s cheek was used to make a new nose. However, it wasn’t until a syphilis epidemic in Europe in the late 16th century that cosmetic nasal surgery became popular. One of the symptoms of advanced syphilis is that people's noses fall off. One of the most popular procedures involved taking skin from the patient’s arm and grafting it to their face in an effort to make a new nose.
    Physiognomy, which experienced a revival in the 19th century, claimed that the shape of the nose could tell you about a person’s moral character: a straight nose signified refinement, while a hawk nose signified a cunning moral character. 
     By late 19th century plastic surgery began to gain popularity in America and people whose noses, or other features, didn't conform to the ideals of beauty could find a doctor, or facial artiste, if you will, who would sculpt their face. Procedures included making eyes, lips, and noses look better. 

     But, for those born with a nose that they didn't like, back in the 1920s you could purchase the Anita Nose Adjuster which promised to reshape one’s nose without surgery. This gadget was advertised that with it you could adjust your ill-shaped nose into a perfect specimen, all in the privacy of your home in just a few weeks. 
    The contraption eliminated the need for costly and painful surgery; it worked painlessly while you slept. Ads warned against inferior imitations and advised that you should use the Anita because it was the original and only one that was recommended by physicians for broken and misshapen noses. 
     The Anita was self-adjustable and didn't have any screws or metal parts, but was made of porous material that was firm, but comfortable. They offered a free book which also included a form to fill out for your size. When the form was returned, you would be sent your nose adjuster and you didn't have to pay for it until it arrived. The idea was simple. The thing reshaped both flesh and cartilage while you slept or were working. I assume that meant while you worked around the house; it's hard to imagine showing up at the office wearing the thing! 

the Bihana

     Now, you might think that people back in those days were naive and nobody would fall for such a thing today, but you would be wrong! 
     For $38 you can buy the Bihana Nose Adjuster Clip. Wear it while you sleep and it claims to slim and decrease the width of a nose.  But wait!  That's not all!   It repairs upward-facing nostril holes. 
     It doesn't take any batteries and it's comfortable. Simply clip it on to you nose and it puts pressure on the skin around the bone in your nose which over time will reshape it. 
     These things seem quite popular with teenagers in Japan...just Google nose adjusters!