Male vs Female Cheek Implant Augmentation – Aesthetic Shape Differences

While a variety of off-the-shelf cheek implants are available, none of them provide any guidance about gender specificity. This is unfortunate, as like all facial augmentations, few are non-gender specific or non-binary in nature. Yet this is how most surgeons approach cheek augmentation… locked into choosing whatever is in the catalog believing or hoping that this will be effective.

But there are significant differences in the aesthetic goals and outcomes that males vs females desire and cheek implant augmentation surgery should not be performed without understanding and applying them.

Female pattern — malar-dominant contour

Primary zone

• Anterior malar body (zygomatic eminence)

Boundary emphasis

• Posterior limit: stops before the zygomaticotemporal suture
• Arch involvement: minimal to none
• Superior limit: close to inferolateral orbital rim
• Inferior limit: submalar area, often the most important female augmentation zone

Projection vectors

• Anterior + inferolateral
• Little to no posterior sweep

Visual goal

• Highlighted submalar cheek apex
• Soft taper into the arch
• No lateral flaring

Female Cheek Implant Shape

• Compact, teardrop / oval
• Centered on the malar-submalar body
• Projection-focused, minimal lateral flare”

Male Pattern —  greater arch-dominant width

Primary zone

• Cheek- zygomatic arch, extending posteriorly

Boundary emphasis

• Anterior limit: infraorbital rim
• Posterior limit: toward the posterior arch past the mid-zygomatic suture line
• Superior limit: lateral orbital rim
• Inferior limit: no submalar fullness

Projection vectors

• Pure lateral width
• Optional mild posterior sweep

Visual goal (schematic language)

• Visible lateral bony cheek-arch line
• Continuous malar ? arch blend
• Lateral cheek width no greater than jaw width

Male Cheek Implant Shape

• Elongated, wraparound
• Continuous malar ? arch design
• Even thickness along the arch
• Moderate malar thickness, not apex-heavy
• Width and lateral definition over projection”

Key Contrasting Differences

Cheek Implant Shape Concepts

Based on my extensive midface implant augmentation experiences between males and females the fundamental differences can be summarized as (female = green color, male = teal color):

1) Female aesthetics favor projection without width while male aesthetics favor width without submalar fullness

2) Female implants help shape the cheek while male implants help shape the facial frame.

3) Standard cheek implant styles may work for some females but rarely for men.

4) Custom cheek implant designs, beside being optimally fitted to the patient’s bony anatomy, allows these gender-specific mplant shape differences to be most effectively applied. 

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon