LearnMicroexpressions

Facial expression guide

Disgust

Watch the center of the face.

Neutral face for comparison
Neutral
Disgust facial expression example
Disgust

What to look for

  1. 1The nose may wrinkle.
  2. 2The upper lip rises.
  3. 3The cheeks lift and the eyes may narrow.

Begin near the nose rather than the eyebrows. Wrinkling at the nose and a lifted upper lip are useful features in this expression pattern. The cheeks may also rise and the eye opening can narrow.

Try this observation exercise

Compare the area between the nose and upper lip with neutral. Then inspect the eyes. When comparing with anger, identify where the movement is concentrated instead of categorizing both examples as a frown.

Compare with anger

Anger often emphasizes lowered brows. In this example, disgust is most visible around the nose and upper lip.

See the anger lesson
Practice disgustAll expression lessons

Further reading: Paul Ekman Group’s disgust guide. Our learning approach.