Often a person considers chin implant surgery after consulting a board-certified plastic surgeon initially about their nose. Although the nose does occupy center stage on a person’s face, when it is considered carefully, people sometimes conclude that improving the chin can do as much or more for a harmonious and pleasing appearance. One reason the subject doesn’t come up sooner may be that people think the chin is less changeable.
In fact, the chin does change – or appear to change – over the course of a person’s life. The surrounding tissue is usually the source of this change. The fat that is naturally under the skin or below the chin can increase, or the volume of the skin’s surface can decrease through loss of collagen, or the skin itself can become slack from its lifelong relationship with gravity. Any or all of these surrounding factors can cause the chin to appear different as life goes on.
A Feature that Speaks Volumes
In other cases, the chin we’re born with just may not be saying what we want to say about the person behind it. A receding profile at the chin might imply weakness or uncertainty, or just not match the rest of a person’s profile. Implicitly, some features communicate more specifically than others. The mouth or lips, for example can communicate liveliness, openness, or generosity. In a sense, the chin is a focus of strength.
It is easy to overstate this or to sound more emphatic than it is. The effects are subtle. And yet anyone on Broadway or in Hollywood, whether actor or makeup artist, who is tasked with communicating a particular character would probably agree. Experienced plastic surgeons come to the same conclusions, after years of appreciating people’s characteristics and helping them attain their goals.
Accessible Amendments
Although the chin might appear solid and foundation-like, the process of enhancing its profile is not unlike that of other procedures, whether augmenting or reducing the shape. Implants can be selected in a variety of tissue-compatible materials and sculpted to impart the desired profile.
Similarly, chin reductions are not as difficult as people commonly imagine. Subtle incisions and bone shaving are used to achieve a contour that harmonizes with other features and frames a fine foundation for the face.
And most people who are in good health overall can be candidates for chin augmentation. I would be happy to have a chat about whether changing your chin is an option that works with your personal features and goals.