Jawline augmentation is traditionally associated with a male facial reshaping procedure. While this may have been historically true that is no longer so. You only have to look at commercials, ads, news women and female celebrities to realize that having a well defined jawline is a contemporary desired facial feature for women as well.
More women today try injectable fillers of the chin and jaw angles to see if they like the change. For those that do surgical implants are the only assured method to achieve it with a permanent effect. While there is a role for the use of standard chin and jaw angle implants in some females, achieving a smooth connection between the chin and jaw angles can only be reliably done with a custom jawline implant.
But like many facial features there are significant differences in the female jawline from that of the male. Such differences must be considered in their design. First and foremost the overall size of the jawline implants is smaller. While the average volume of most male jawline implants is in the range of 16 to 24ccs, female jawline implants are much smaller. Typical volumes for these implants range from 6 to 12ccs.
Besides smaller volumes female jawline implants generally have more emphasis on vertical length and not so much on width. Rather than a more square chin for men, female chin shapes are round or ultra round. (almost triangular) The jaw angles have much less width but with vertical lengthening to create a better defined shape.
Lastly while the connection between the chin and the jaw angles in a male can be either linear or non-linear it is always a linear connection for female jawline implants. It is the smooth jawline as seen in side and oblique views that has great aesthetic value for women.
While female jawline implants are smaller this does not mean they will have less postoperative swelling or a shorter recovery. The tissue pocket dissection remains the same whether the jawline implant is small or large.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana