There’s a reason Costhetics likes to refer to kids as ‘cheeky monkeys.’ Their plump, round mid-faces are the very definition of youth.

Cheek-focused aesthetic enhancement treatments have been at the forefront of facial rejuvenation for decades. More recently, however, attention is being focused on the chin, driven by a wide range of new chin-enhancing options. (More about that below)

Genioplasty: On Trend

Genioplasty, the process of adding or subtracting volume from the chin, has been quietly climbing the charts of in-demand facial plastic surgery. Traditionally, this contouring was considered to be primarily a male-oriented procedure. Its goal was to create the strong chiselled chin and jaw we associate with masculinity and attractiveness.

In more recent years, women have learned that a well-defined chin and jawline structure is the foundation of a balanced harmonious face. This realisation may be the reason that members of The Aesthetic Society have reported an uptick of 20% in chin augmentation surgery.

7 Most Common Face Shapes & Jawlines

The entertainment world is awash with fabulous chins: Hugh Jackman, Mel Gibson, Pat Rafter, and of course our beloved Chesty Bond. “Australians have the most manly facial structure I’ve seen and that’s what Americans want,” cosmetic surgeon Robert Yoho told the Sydney Morning Herald. “It makes you look like a movie star.”

A beautiful jawline doesn’t exist in a vacuum, however. You wouldn’t put Hugh Jackman’s chin on Heidi Klum’s face, would you? What contributes to an attractive jawline is the part it plays in your overall facial shape:

• Diamond face – Considered the most desirable face shape for women (think Megan Fox), this face shape is defined by a narrow forehead and jawlines, with cheeks serving as the widest point of the face.
• Inverted triangle face – The signature of Scarlett Johannsson and Reece Witherspoon, the inverted triangle face has a wide forehead and cheekbones with a narrow jawline and chin.
• Oblong face – Sometimes referred to as a ‘long face,’ this facial shape has the dimensions of a rectangle, with forehead, cheeks, and chin on the same line. Gisele Bundchen and Victoria Beckham make the most of their oblong faces with smart make-up contouring.
• Oval face – Oval-faced beauties like Rihanna have a forehead that is slightly wider than their chin, with facial length being about one-and-a-half times the width.
• Pear face – Minnie Driver and Kelly Osbourne have trapezoid faces with a jawline that is wider than the forehead, along with a broad chin.
• Round face – Round faces like Isla Fisher’s are the originally baby faces. Instead of angular features, they have chubby cheeks and a face whose length and width are almost equal.
• Square face – This more ‘masculine’ facial shape can be found on David Beckham. It’s defined by a prominent jaw and square chin, with the jawline and forehead roughly the same width.

The Zen of Chin Beauty: Everything in Balance

The power of a well-proportioned chin has frequently been an underestimated and forgotten facial feature. That’s until recently, when more and more people were facing mirrored images of themselves on Zoom, a video chat or in a recently posted selfie on social media. Suddenly, there has been a rush to find the ‘perfect’ chin.

Surprise! It turns out there is no ‘perfect’ chin. There is only a chin that fits in harmoniously with other facial features, creating a balanced, aesthetically pleasing totality. Your chin should fit together with your forehead, cheeks, nose, and even your ears! In a well-balanced face:

• The chin is neither overly prominent nor receding from both the front and side view.

A pleasing facial profile relies two key features: your chin and your nose. When they’re out of balance, here’s just a sample of what can happen:

• An under-defined chin makes a profile looks disproportionate
• A receding chin can make the nose look more prominent than it is
• A too-small chin makes your neck look as if it starts too high
• A too-large chin can make the face appear round and unformed

The ability to re-contour the jawline and transform the shape or projection of the chin represents a giant leap forward in personalised aesthetic treatments to enhance a patient’s individual beauty. In many cases, small modifications made with dermal fillers (for example) may be sufficient to significantly alter a person’s facial balance.

How to Change the Shape of Your Chin

Crafty make-up shading tricks aside, you will need to turn to a professional to contour your lower face on a long-term basis. Experts understand facial symmetry and balance and spend their careers perfecting facial aesthetics. They also have the training and experience to help identify the best way to enhance chin dimensions for you. 

• Autologous fat transfer – In this technique, fat is removed from one part of the body with liposuction, processed, and injected into the chin. Advocates say it’s safer to use an individual’s own fat tissue. Detractors say that AFT cannot be reversed. The fat cannot be removed like filler or an implant.
• Chin reduction – For people whose long jawbone creates an under-bite, surgery to re-set the jaw length is a good option. This surgery is often combined with a sliding genioplasty. The surgery reshapes the chin bone to optimise the contour of the lower face.
• Cosmetic injectables – The strategic addition of dermal fillers in the chin can undo volume loss and help correct minimally sagging skin (jowls). Anti-wrinkle injections may also be used to slenderise the jaw. The injections relax masseter muscles which often enlarge due to teeth grinding.
• Implant surgery – Implants provide a permanent solution to an out-of-proportion chin. With tapered ends to fit the curves of each patient’s natural jawline, the implant is inserted into a pocket under the chin where, over time, it begins to feel like natural bone.

Too Much of a Good Thing: 5 Solutions for a Double Chin

Loss of facial volume can be ageing, but nothing is more ageing than a double chin. Associated with lax muscles and wrinkles, the layer of fat that forms below your natural chin can be banished with:

• Cosmetic injectable – Perhaps the most exciting advancement in this area, injections are available that can dissolve fat beneath the chin so that it’s re-absorbed naturally by the body. Detractors say results are not as reliable as other options.
• Liposuction – removes excess volume in the subcutaneous layer of the skin.
• Low temperature therapy – You can zap excess chin fat with the help of freezing air, delivered via a mini applicator to your lower face. Fat cells are frozen to death, reabsorbed by the body, and eliminated.
• Necklift – Fat is removed surgically, and muscles are tightened to create a firmer chin line.
• Radio frequency assisted lipolysis – Fat cells are exposed to radio frequency waves via electrodes in a small cannula inserted under the skin. The cells are ‘melted’ and sucked back into the cannula.

Chin up!