The profile of your face is more important to your overall look than you may realize. If you catch a glimpse of it in the mirror and notice that one feature overpowers your entire face—be it because it’s too big, too small or too fatty—it can throw off the entire balance of your look. For years, plastic surgeons have catered to requests to streamline the profile. And with all the recent advancements in the world of aesthetic beauty, getting it is now easier than ever.
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According to New York plastic surgeon Craig A. Foster, MD, most patients comes in complaining about bumps on the nose, droopy nasal tips, chins that are too small and loose necks. However, when treating the profile, it’s important to pay attention the entire face and not focus on correcting just one problem area, which can make you look disproportional. Sometimes, in order to fix something that bothers you, it requires additional treatments to additional features.
If You Don’t Like Your Chin
The chin is one area of the face that can be camouflaged rather easily—stick to turtlenecks and scarves—if you want to distract attention from it. But, you can only pull of this look during certain times of the year; the rest of the time it’s generally too warm to stay bundled up. “A lot of patients come in not liking what they see in their chin,” says New York dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD. “We now have Kybella as an option to treat fat in the chin area. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes and requires a series of treatments (usually two or three, but some patients may need up to six) spaced four weeks apart to fully dissolve the submental fat in the area,” she adds. While there may be some post-treatment swelling and tenderness, the results, which are permanent, can typically be seen in a few weeks or so.
For those who need more sculpting in their chin area, liposuction may be suggested for evening out fat in the chin. Using a tiny incision right under the chin, which will be barely visible once you’re totally healed, the extra fat can be removed while the area, as a whole, is contoured. “Chin augmentation or a facelift may be recommended to help tighten the neck area and sharpen the jawline,” says Dr. Foster.
If you’re looking to change the shape of your chin, and fat isn’t an issue at all, Willowbrook, IL, dermatologist Jessie Cheung, MD, says that a little but of filler can create a totally new chin in just a few minutes, lasting around two years. “The filler acts like an augmentative agent and can build up the chin to create something that’s more flattering to your face.”
If You Don’t Like Your Nose
If you’re after a quick fix—like five minutes—and surgery isn’t your thing, you may want to consider an injectable nose job, which uses fillers to create the illusion of a more perfect nose. “By injecting small amounts of filler along the bridge or tip of the nose, we can create a less bulbous and more streamlined-looking nose,” says Dr. Cheung.
Because the injectable nose job can’t solve every nasal flaw, there are plenty of instances when rhinoplasty (aka a nose job) is the only solution. “When there’s a bump on the bridge of the nose, we can shave it down so that the nose fits more harmoniously with the tip. And, the tip itself can be corrected if it’s drooping or plunging. Both techniques correct the nose so that it’s more attractive in the profile,” says Dr. Foster.
If You Don’t Like Your Lips
It’s normal for the lips to become thin and flat with age and look pretty nonexistent when you look at yourself from the side. “By creating more lip projection with fillers, we can shorten the distance between the nose and chin, which creates a more youthful appearance,” says Dr. Cheung.
If You Don’t Like Your Cheeks
Gone are the days of using cheek implants to add volume to the cheeks (some doctors still use them but it’s pretty fair and few between). Instead, fillers are used to create a more youthful contour to the cheeks, which allows them to look fuller and more lifted in the profile. “Adding structural support to the midface will also help to pull the sagging folds off the mouth area and improve under-eye hollows,” says Dr. Cheung. “Everything is connected!”
