Is Facial Contouring Surgery Right for You? Advice from a Korean Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Lee Won from Jewelry Plastic Surgery

Why do some people have "baby faces" while others don't? One of the important features of a baby face is a small and slim face shape. These days, young and small faces are considered the standard of beauty, and every clinic has their own method to slim the face. The amount of information online can be overwhelming. One thing is for sure, the most effective procedure to get a smaller face is facial contouring surgery.

Facial contouring surgery is a surgical procedure that transforms the shape of the face and corrects it. The overall outline of the face is changed after identifying the bone structure, muscle tissues, and nerve locations. The most common facial contouring surgeries are square jaw reduction, cheekbone reduction and jaw (chin tip) reduction. Dr. Lee Won from Jewelry Plastic Surgery has shared about the various facial contouring surgeries out there.

Square Jaw Reduction Surgery

Square jaw reduction is performed by shaving the angled and wide jaw bones through an incision in the mouth. This surgery slims the outline of the face, starting from right under the ears. At the same time, if the end of the jaw (the chin tip) is too short or long, the jaw end can be altered to create the ideal face contour.

Cheekbone Reduction Surgery

Photo Credit: RareLee YouTube Channel

Before we begin discussing the cheekbone reduction surgery, there are actually various cheekbone areas that you need to know. The various parts of the cheekbones are commonly known in Korean beauty as the front cheekbone, 45° cheekbone and side cheekbone. Someone with a protruding side cheekbone will look very different from someone with a protruding 45° cheekbone or front cheekbone.

Photo Credit: TracOS.org

Like the square jaw reduction, cheekbone reduction is also performed through an incision in the mouth. In the cheekbone reduction surgery, the wide protruding cheekbones are shaved, which simultaneously reduces both the 45° and side cheekbones. By reducing both the side and 45° cheekbones, the resulting face shape is slim and smooth, and the face looks a lot younger. A more protruding cheekbone or a square jaw will give off an older and more aged appearance, so the cheekbone reduction and square jaw reduction can help greatly in anti-aging.

In order to enhance the facial contouring effects, the subcutaneous and buccal fat can be removed in addition to cheekbone reduction and square jaw reduction surgery. The subcutaneous fat refers to the layer of fat under the skin, and buccal fat is a large fat reserve that is stored deep in the cheek, under the muscles. Together, they contribute to a chubby face, so removing this fat in combination with facial contouring surgery can give you more satisfactory results.

Why is facial contouring important?

Face shapes have an important effect on determining the overall image. Needless to say, since everyone is different, there are cases where only one operation is required to achieve the ideal face ratio, and there are cases where two or more facial contouring surgeries are required. It is important to get a consultation to determine the overall characteristics of your face through a 3D-CT scan before deciding on surgery.

In particular, facial contouring surgery is a complex surgery since it requires the accurate identification of the location of blood vessels, nerves, and soft tissues in the face in order to safely remove parts of the bones. Therefore, you should always check whether the clinic has a well-equipped safety system for surgery and whether an anesthesiologist will be present.

Photo Credit: Jewelry Plastic Surgery

Facial Contouring Surgery vs Facial Contouring Injection

A variety of procedures have recently gained popularity as more and more people prefer slim and small V-line face shapes. The two most popular procedures are face contouring surgery and face contouring injection. There are two types injections that can give you a slimmer face shape, the Botox and the facial contouring injection. Botox reduces the size of the jaw muscles by using botulinum toxin, while the facial contouring injection reduces the fat in the face area to sharpen the V-line.

In order to figure out the right procedure for yourself, you have to consider the areas of your face which you consider to be a problem. If over-developed bones are identified as the problem, facial contouring surgery, rather than botox or facial contouring injection, will be more effective for you. This is because facial contouring surgery targets the bones, while reducing muscle with botox or reducing fat with facial contouring injection will not be helpful for you. After deciding on facial contouring surgery, you can decide on which of the surgeries (square jaw reduction, cheekbone reduction and jaw/chin tip reduction) you need depending on your problem areas.

Experts such as Dr. Lee Won say that it is not a good idea to simply decide on bone-shaving surgery just to get a slimmer facial line. Facial contouring surgery is a high-risk operation because the jaw and cheekbone areas are full of nerves. It requires a highly experienced surgeon with meticulous and delicate skills to perform such a surgery in order to avoid any nerve damage.

With these tips, we hope that it is easier for you to decide the best facial contouring procedure for you! 

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