How to Make Your Face Less Flat? 6 Surgical and Non-surgical Options
Having a flat face can be a challenge for many people. Fortunately, many surgical and non-surgical procedures and treatments can help you achieve the facial shape you desire, from providing a subtle enhancement to a dramatic transformation.
What Does it Mean to Have a Flat Face?
A flat face can be defined as a face with little to no definition or with no prominent curves or angles. A flat face can be due to genetics or age, and the lack of definition can result in a face that appears dull and uncharacteristic. It could mean the forehead, cheeks, and chin are all of the same height. This can give the impression of having a shorter face and can make it challenging to achieve a more sculpted look. Many treatments can help to give your flat face more dimension and contouring, including fillers, Botox and other injectables, and surgical procedures.
What Causes a Flat Side Profile?
A flat face can be attributed to aging, genetics, or lifestyle habits. Aging can cause a lack of definition in the face due to decreased collagen and elastin production. Collagen and elastin are two key proteins our body produces that are responsible for giving the skin its structure and definition. As we age, the production of these proteins decreases and can result in sunken cheeks and sagging skin, making the face appear flat. While there is no way to reverse the natural decrease in production, there are treatments that can stimulate collagen and elastin production and reduce the appearance of a flat face.
Genetics can also play a role, as genes in our DNA are responsible for bone structure and facial characteristics, leaving some people with a sunken cheekbone for a flat-looking face. Lifestyle habits like smoking or excessive sun exposure can also contribute to a flat face as they can cause the skin to lose elasticity.
Surgical Options for Flat Face Reshaping
Surgical options are available to reshape the face for a dramatic change. Facial contouring surgeries are designed to contour and create a more aesthetically pleasing look. These procedures typically involve reshaping the underlying facial structure with implants or removing excess fat, skin, or bone. These surgeries can create more pronounced cheekbones and a stronger chin, which can help to give a more defined and contoured look to a flat face. Some surgical options include:
- Facelift: A facelift tightens and lifts the skin around the face and neck to provide a more youthful and sculpted look. It can help to reduce wrinkles and sagging skin, while giving the face more definition. This surgery can provide a dramatic transformation and is ideal for achieving a more balanced and contoured facial shape. Different types of facelifts, like mini facelifts or deep plane facelifts, can meet your unique needs.
- Cheek and chin augmentation: Chin augmentation is a procedure that reshapes the chin by using a synthetic implant to create a more prominent chin. This can help to define the face, add symmetry, and create a more balanced facial shape. Cheek augmentation is similar but is used to create more volume and definition in the cheeks.
- Facial fat grafting: Facial fat grafting is another option for those looking to add definition and contour to their face. This procedure involves taking fat from one part of the body and injecting it into areas of the face to create more volume and definition.
Non-surgical Options for Flat Face Reshaping
There are also non-surgical options for those who want to contour their face without anesthesia and significant downtime. Many patients can return to normal activities immediately after a treatment session with minimal signs of a cosmetic procedure. Non-surgical treatments for a flat face can include:
- Dermal fillers: Fillers are injected into areas of the face lacking volume, like the cheeks and chin. They provide immediate and long-lasting results and can help to create a more chiseled and defined look to a flat face. Many dermal fillers, like Juvederm®, are made from hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance found in the body that helps to hydrate and plump the skin.
- Liquid facelift: A liquid facelift is a non-surgical procedure that combines dermal fillers and neuromodulators like Botox® to contour and define the face. This procedure can help to create a more balanced shape, reducing any flatness.
- PDO thread lift: A PDO thread lift is a minimally invasive procedure that uses medical-grade absorbable threads to lift and contour the face. The threads are inserted under the skin, which helps to lift sagging skin and add definition to the face.
Get a Better Side Profile in New York
Philip Miller, MD, FACS, is a renowned double board-certified facial plastic surgeon in New York with a long career helping patients achieve unparalleled cosmetic results. Dr. Miller provides comprehensive consultations with customized treatment plans to help patients add shape, volume, and definition to their faces with surgical and non-surgical procedures. Contact us to schedule a consultation and learn more about how to get a better side profile.
What Age is Normal to Get Wrinkles?
There really is no “normal” age when we start to notice wrinkles. Their formation depends on a variety of factors – some of which we can control and others we can’t. While your friend might start to notice fine lines around the eyes in her 20s, you might not see lines develop until almost a decade later.
Wrinkles are a normal part of aging. Some wrinkles are the result of repeated facial expressions like squinting or smiling. Others occur because of collagen depletion in the dermal structure, which leads to skin laxity and facial creasing. Factors that might accelerate this process include genetics, sun damage, poor diet, and lifestyle choices like smoking and drinking alcohol.
What age do wrinkles start appearing?
The aging process is different for each patient. Many people show the first signs of aging in their mid-20s as our bodies begin to produce less collagen and sun damage can take an early toll. Prominent signs of aging like wrinkles often appear on the face, neck, hands, and forearms, with the most noticeable areas on the neck and face. While aging cannot be stopped, there are many ways to promote healthy skin and reduce wrinkles, sun damage, sagging skin, and other signs of aging.
Are wrinkles normal at 20?
As individuals move out of their teens and into their 20s, signs of aging can begin to appear. The first signs of wrinkles in your 20s are movement lines around the brow, mouth, and eyes, due to repetitive movements like smiling, laughing, and frowning. Significant wrinkles and lines on the forehead and other areas are not typical. If they do occur this early, they can likely be attributed to factors like excessive sun damage or lifestyle choices like smoking.
Are wrinkles normal at 30?
Most people still have a youthful appearance in their 30s without significant wrinkles. Wrinkles and fine lines may become more apparent in the mid-to-late 30s, or even sooner depending on sun exposure and other variables. The most common spots for lines at this age are between the eyebrows (frown lines) and the triangle areas between the nose and corners of the mouth (nasolabial folds).
What causes wrinkles?
Wrinkles are just one of the many changes to our skin as we age. As we grow older, our skin loses elasticity and becomes thinner and more translucent. Aging skin is more fragile and retains less moisture, making it easier for wrinkles to form. While age is a major contributing factor to wrinkles, there are many causes, including:
- Repetitive facial movements
- Sun damage
- Smoking and alcohol consumption
- Lack of proper skin care
- Dehydration
Wrinkle Prevention
Aging is an inevitable process, but there are many preventative measures that can keep skin looking young, healthy, and wrinkle-free, including:
- Sun Protection: Sun exposure is the leading cause of premature aging and can be prevented with proper protection like hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Sun protection should be worn every day to avoid damaging ultraviolet rays from penetrating your skin, even if it is overcast.
- Moisture: A quality moisturizer helps nourish and hydrate the skin, especially ones containing hyaluronic acid. Dry skin is more prone to wrinkles, and daily moisturizers can prevent wrinkles.
- Water: Drinking enough water each day is essential for overall health and skin health. Water can help flush toxins, regulate digestion, and keep your skin hydrated from the inside out to promote a youthful appearance.
- Diet and Exercise: Eating vitamin-rich foods like salmon, avocados, vegetables, and leafy greens are key to absorbing nutrients and antioxidants that promote healthy skin cells. Exercise increases blood flow to the dermal tissue, helping you maintain a rosy glow and keeping skin in top condition.
Wrinkle Treatment
Wrinkles are inevitable at some point, despite our best efforts. There are treatments to help reduce those lines and promote a youthful appearance, from minimally-invasive dermal fillers to facelift surgery. Gotham Plastic Surgery in New York offers:
- Dermabrasion: A skin resurfacing procedure that removes the top layer of skin for rejuvenation and reduction in wrinkles and other signs of aging.
- Botox®: This injectable treatment effectively reduces facial lines like crow’s feet, frown lines, worry lines, forehead lines, and neck wrinkles.
- Liquid facelift: A non-surgical treatment that combines facial fillers like Restylane and Juvederm to reduce wrinkles and add volume.
- FaceTite: This non-surgical treatment delivers radiofrequency energy into the dermal tissue to tighten skin and boost collagen levels for a reduction in visible wrinkles.
- MicroLift: This less invasive surgical facelift technique resembles the result you get when you pull up your hair in a tight ponytail. With smaller incisions and a shorter recovery time, it can be a good option for younger patients before they opt for a deep plane facelift.
- Deep plane facelift and neck lift: These surgical procedures remove and tighten skin, while repositioning fat and tissue to reduce sagging and wrinkles.
Schedule Your Wrinkle Treatment at our Manhattan Office
Gotham Plastic Surgery is an innovative practice that serves patients in a discreet, confidential, and accredited facility. Led by Dr. Philip Miller, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, our team works closely with patients to identify the best wrinkle treatment plans to help patients look younger, healthier, and more natural.
Dr. Miller uses the NatraLook® process to empower patients to explore their aesthetic confidence and naturally enhance their appearance. Gotham Plastic Surgery in New York is a safe and positive environment to discuss personal desires and achieve beauty goals through a unified vision.
Contact us to schedule a consultation and learn more about our wrinkle treatments.
Next, read about your options with Three Types of Facelifts.