Dramatic title, I know. Do selfies actually make you ugly? No. But they aren’t an accurate depiction of how you really look.

Can’t get a selfie you’re happy with until you spend 10 minutes in different poses? Or unless you use a filter? That’s because the front camera of your phone generally isn’t the best way to capture how you look in real life. Features like our nose and forehead can appear bigger than they are because of camera placement and other factors we don’t even think about.

There’s surprisingly a 30% distortion when it comes to most selfies taken with the iPhone. Photo Video Lounge says “holding your iPhone camera less than 12 inches away from your face will result in a photo that emulates the funhouse mirror effect”.

If you need a visual, the 20 or 24mm shots below are what iPhone selfies look like when the camera isn’t a good distance away.

There’s no real problem with phone cameras themselves, we unintentionally distort photos by how we take them. So what’s the fix? Photo Video Lounge says to hold your phone at least 12 inches away. I personally think a full arms length is better, but it’s up to you.

Makeup artist and influencer Eleanor Barnes (aka @snitchery) shared a hack that basically shows her holding the phone at arms length and zooming in. Check out the results for yourself.

Another tip is to take a mirror picture with the back camera. It adds distance while still showing off your face.

Share this post in all your girl group chats! Trust me, they’ll thank you.