Chin Fillers
22 June 2022
Chin fillers may not seem as exciting as nose or cheek enhancement. However, chin augmentation is one of the most commonly performed aesthetic treatments in my clinic in Singapore. The lower one third of the face significantly affects facial proportions and appearances1. In my practice, chin fillers are becoming more popular among female and male patients because of its ability to correct and optimise the profile and definition of the face.
To illustrate, retruded chins or short chins can make an appropriately sized nose look disproportionately large2. Patients with small chin seeking nose augmentation are often unaware of the impact their chin size has on their nasal and facial proportions2. Hence, for patients seeking to rejuvenate or enhance their appearances, especially the midface, an appreciation of holistic proportions of the face by your doctor is necessary to avoid unnecessary treatments and unrealistic expectations.
Related blogposts:
Hiko Nose Threadlift: All You Need to Know About It
5 Things to Know About Nose Fillers
Chin fillers can be used to improve facial profiles and definitions by:
• Lengthening short chins
• Correcting weak and recessed chins
• Correct cleft chins
• Improve jawline definition
• Create a slimmer face silhouette or V shaped face Ideal chin proportions and chin augmentation
Although the best way to know is to discuss this with your doctor and allow your doctor to understand your insecurities; there are 2 easy ways of self-assessments.
Rule of thirds
A simple, validated scale that is also one of the most commonly used ideal facial proportions for analysis is called the rule of thirds. According to this rule, faces that are uniformly divided into thirds are considered attractive by the majority3.
Non-surgical augmentation of the lower face can be accomplished with chin filler or jawline fillers for males and females. Chin fillers are a safe and effective way of correcting short chins, retruded chins and chins with clefts (“butt chin”).
Chin fillers can also be complemented with other minimally invasive treatments such as jaw botox and face threadlifts to address concomitant issues in the face. Enlarged jaw muscles at the sides of the face can occur due to teeth grinding or bruxism. These enlarged jaw muscles can contribute to making the face looking wide or square. For patients looking for a slimmer silhouette of the face and concomitant wide faces, chin fillers can be combined with jaw botox injections.
Ageing in the face is marked by bone resorption, sagging, and volume loss. This can lead to a loss of chin and jawline definition and prominent laugh lines and jowls. To adequately address these signs of ageing in the lower face, chin fillers can als be combined with jawline fillers or face thread lifts to restore definition.
Related blogposts:
Jaw Botox and Chin Filler Review: A Slimmer V Shaped Face
Bruxism: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments for Teeth Grinding
Silhouette Soft Face Thread Lift
Chin fillers are dermal fillers injected into the chin to lengthen, sculpt and correct folds in the chin. Chin fillers can be injected using different techniques such as with a needle or cannula. Your doctor should be able to assess which technique for laugh line filler injections will give you the best results.
Dermal fillers are soft gels that are injected into the face to sculpt the face and remove lines and folds. In Singapore, the most popular type of filler is hyaluronic acid dermal fillers. You can read more about the different types of dermal fillers in Botox vs Fillers: Differences, Uses, Effects and Myomodulation.
As a non-surgical treatment, chin fillers are an effective way to improve chin proportions, lengths and projections in males and females. For male patients looking to restore definition in their jawlines, chin fillers can restore the chiselled jawlines and chin without looking feminine. The results of chin filler injections can also be appreciated immediately with no downtime or recovery time.
In my clinic in Singapore, after a consultation and evaluation, the patient’s chin is numbed with a topical numbing cream.
After the chin is numbed, markings for safety zones and injection points are drawn. Next, the chin is disinfected.
The chin filler is injected into the chin. This can be done directly with a needle or a cannula. Which technique for chin filler will work best for you will depend on your doctor’s assessment.
There is a mild discomfort; almost like an ant biting sensation with chin filler injections. In my clinic, the chin is first numbed with a numbing cream and the dermal fillers I use contain lidocaine, a type of local anaesthesia. These two steps help to reduce any pain experienced with the chin filler injections.
Most commonly, there may be some redness, soreness, swelling and temporary discomfort from the injection.
Rare complications from chin fillers include infections and vascular compromise.
Chin fillers containing hyaluronic acid last 9-12 months.
Some of the techniques that your doctor can do to reduce the risk of blood vessel occlusion is to use a cannula or aspirate before injecting. Choosing an experienced doctor with a good grounding in facial anatomy and clinical acumen is also essential to ensuring best outcomes. Ultimately, everyone’s facial anatomy differs so taking precautions and the utmost care is of paramount importance to minimise risks.
Choice of chin fillers also matters in avoiding complications of nasolabial fillers. There are also dermal fillers that are reversible. Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers can be dissolved with an antidote to reverse blood vessel occlusion.
Just the right amount of chin fillers in the right places can enhance your facial proportions and correct issues like short, retruded or cleft chins. However, too much chin fillers is not a good thing.
One of the most well known and dreaded outcomes of chin fillers is the “witch chin” look. A chin that is overtly long, pointy is extremely unnatural and can make one look very unpleasant. You can learn more about unwanted outcomes of dermal fillers in this blogpost Fillers Gone Wrong: Tell Tale Signs of Too Much Filler Injections.
On a lesser scale, incorrect placement of chin fillers can broaden the lower face. In females, this may masculinise the face. Most of my patients share their concern that chin fillers may make them look feminine. This is a valid concern as chin fillers can create a ‘V-shape’ face that is regarded as femine.
To avoid all these unpleasant side effects of chin fillers; it is important for patients to discuss their insecurities and expectations with their doctors. Choosing a doctor that is an experienced injector and also very familiar with facial anatomy, proportions and the relationships of your facial features for your gender and ethnicity is also important to ensure the best results.
The chin is just one component of the lower face; so it is also important the chin is not viewed as an isolated feature in silos. In some instances, augmentation of the chin alone may not not meet aesthetic expectations. Concomitant treatments that address common issues in the lower face such as sagging such as face threadlift or HIFU may be needed.
For female patients wanting to achieve a slimmer face shape or males looking for a more chiselled and sharper jawline, one common combination is jaw botox and chin fillers, albeit with different techniques. Jaw botox helps to reduce bulky masseter muscles that can blunt the jawline and make the face look broad. Chin fillers are next injected to sculpt the chin and/or jawline.
Another advantage of combination therapy is that it avoids the risks of too much dermal fillers injections.
The chin is an integral part of the lower face; and the profile of the chin can affect the appearance of the lower face and other facial features in the nose. Understanding facial proportions and profiles that are appropriate for your gender and ethnicity is the key to ensuring best results and unnecessary treatments.
In my clinic, non-surgical chin augmentation is one of the most commonly performed treatments for both male and female patients. Chin filler injections have the benefit of giving immediate enhancement with no downtime. When injected by an experienced injector that is with a solid understanding of facial anatomy and ideal facial proportions; side effects and risks of excessive filler injections can be minimised.
References
1. Vertical dimension: a dynamic concept based on facial form and oropharyngeal function. Mack. J Prosthet Dent. 1991 Oct;66(4):478-85.
2. Chin Advancement, Augmentation, and Reduction as Adjuncts to Rhinoplasty. Sykes and Suarez. Clin Plast Surg. 2016 Jan;43(1):295-306.
3. Evaluation of facial beauty using anthropometric proportions. Milutinovic et al. Scientific World Journal. 2014 Feb 20; 2014:428250
