What Makes a Face Look Feminine?

When you think of the word “feminine”, what comes to mind? It’s a difficult question to answer, yet when we see a face, our minds can almost immediately determine whether that face belongs to a man or a woman. When transitioning, it is important to understand the various features that your surgeon can help you create with several unique facial feminization procedures.

A Curved Hairline

For most people, the hairline is a telltale characteristic of a female face. Men often have an M-shaped hairline, sometimes even with the “widow’s peak” feature, while women have a more curved hairline. Men’s hairlines are this way naturally from birth, but for women, this is not the case. In some situations, women who develop female pattern baldness may slowly develop the M-shaped hairline over time. Sometimes procedures like brow lifts can feminize the forehead and round out the hairline. In other cases, it may be as simple as choosing the right hairstyle to maximize your femininity.

Wider Eyes

The term “doe-eyed” says it all; female eyes often appear larger and wider than those of their male counterparts. That’s because a woman’s orbital bones are less pronounced, which means the browbonecasts less shadow over the eye area, making it appear larger – even though it is roughly the same size. Eyelid and brow surgeries can provide this appearance, and carefully-applied makeup can enhance that femininity and make the eyes truly stand out.

Rounder Cheeks and Jaw

Just as men have a more pronounced browbone that protrudes further from the forehead, they also have longer jawbone and flatter cheeks. Women, on the other hand, have soft, curved jawlines and high cheekbones that add curves and symmetry to their faces. Procedures to fill the cheeks and even reduce the jaw are available, and once again, these can be highlighted with cosmetics post-surgically to enhance femininity.

Fuller Lips

When comparing images of male and female lips, it becomes quite clear that men have thinner lips while women have fuller lips. Though women do often enhance the appearance of their lips with makeup, the truth is that they are naturally fuller and more delicate-looking. In many cases, women have smaller mouths in general, and this is due in part to the natural shape of the jaws. Simple minimally-invasive and noninvasive procedures such as a lip lift can enhance lip fullness and provide a more feminine smile.

No Adam’s Apple

Finally, one of the most pronounced features that distinguishes a male face from a female face is the Adam’s apple. Though not technically part of the face, the appearance of an Adam’s apple immediately makes all other facial features look more masculine because the human eye is conditioned to associate the Adam’s apple with masculinity. Procedures such as a tracheal shave to reduce the size of the Adam’s apple exist, and these enhance femininity even further.

It’s easy to tell the difference between a feminine face and a masculine one, but it’s’ often difficult to describe the actual physical characteristics. These five things are the most common indicators of femininity, and there are procedures available to enhance each one.

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