Your face shape seems like something you were born with and are meant to have for life. Sure, there is a genetic component to the shape and features of your visage, but if you’re not pleased with the way it looks, there a few things you can do to improve your appearance.
Beauty standards have changed a hundred times over throughout our history. These days, one of the many different features considered desirable by some is a V-shaped face – wide cheekbones and a narrow chin.
This look makes your features stand out and signifies youth and health. Unfortunately, very few people are born with a perfectly V-shape face. Even if you are healthy and young, you might have a different structure with a wide jaw or a round face, which isn’t ever a bad thing, but maybe it’s not your personal preference.
This brings us back to the point about changing your face shape. Yes, it’s possible. You can do certain things to thin out the bottom of your face, remove puffiness, and tone the muscles, which results in a narrower chin.
Much like you can change the shape of your body through diet, exercise, and modifications, you can do the same to your face!
So, how do you get a V shape face? A combination of facial massage, makeup, skincare, and self-care can help you get there. If those steps are not enough, you can consider more permanent measures like plastic surgery or fillers.
In this post, we’ll go over all of the different ways you can achieve that coveted V-shaped face, from the simplest measures you can do at home, to more complex solutions you can work towards in the long term.
Facial Massage
One of the most effective and at the same time inexpensive things you can do to affect the shape of your face is facial massage.
Facial massage works instantly – you’ll notice a difference in your face shape immediately after your first massage.
It also works in the long term. If you perform your facial massage consistently over a period of time, your results will be more pronounced and more permanent.
The reason facial massage works so well is because it moves the lymphatic fluid that is stored in your face. This fluid can accumulate under your skin and causes puffiness and sagginess of the skin.
Moving and draining the liquid can give you a slimmer and more lifted shape immediately. It’s also really important for your health and immune function to stimulate the movement of the lymphatic fluid.
As an added bonus, facial massage improves the circulation on your skin, helps even out your skin tone, prevents TMJ and migraines, and even helps smooth out fine lines. There are so many reasons to do it!
Here’s a great lymphatic drainage face massage tutorial from The Moments on YouTube.
You can go to a professional to do the facial massage for you, or you can do it yourself at home. There are a few different ways to do facial massages, but we will focus on the most impactful types of massage that promote lymphatic drainage and help slim down the jaw line
Gua Sha
Gua sha is an ancient Chinese healing technique that involves using a stone massage tool to scrape the skin in short and long strokes.
You can purchase a gua sha massager online – they are usually made out of natural stone like jade or a durable metal like stainless steel.
In Chinese medicine the purpose of the gua sha massage is to move around stagnant chi energy throughout the body to promote healing.
Whether you believe in chi energy or not, it’s now been scientifically proven that gua sha can help with lymphatic drainage and increased circulation.
Using gua sha on your face can instantly de-puff and slim down the areas around your eyes, cheeks, and chin. It can help relax tight facial muscles and give your face a more youthful and glowing appearance.
Using a gua sha to achieve a V-shape face requires some know-how. You’ll need to apply a little bit of oil on your face to help the massager glide over your skin. Argan or jojoba oil work well for this.
Next, you’ll gently move the massager from your collarbone up your neck to the bottom of the jaw. You’ll want to repeat each movement at least 5 times before moving on to the next area.
Once you’ve massaged the neck, you’ll move the massager along your jawline from the tip of your chin towards the area right under your ear. Again, repeat this movement at least 5 times on each side.
Next, you’ll perform a similar movement under your cheekbones working from the nose to the edge of your face.
You’ll do the same thing for your eyebrows and the areas under your eyes. When you get to the forehead, you’ll move the massager up from the bridge of your nose towards your hairline.
If you’re feeling lost, we recommend watching this video of the gua sha process from Tina Engeo on YouTube – it’s a lot easier to follow!
The general strategy is to move the gua sha from the center of your face out towards the edges in gentle, repetitive motions, which helps define your facial features and drains any excess fluids.
The result is a lifted, toned, and slimmed-out face. We recommend doing this every morning for lasting results.
Face Yoga
You’ve heard of yoga, but have you heard of face yoga?
It’s a technique that involves stimulating the muscles of your face along with some manual facial massage that helps naturally lift and tone your face.
Face yoga is especially effective for the lower parts of your face, which is exactly what you need if you’re looking to get a V shape going.
You can do face yoga in conjunction with gua sha or on it’s own. There are many great tutorials online, like the one below from Face Yoga Expert on YouTube that can help you navigate the different “face asanas.”
One of the reasons face yoga works so well is that it helps strengthen and tone the muscles underneath the skin, which can give your face a different shape.
Much like regular yoga can change the shape of your body, face yoga can change the shape of your face if done consistently over a long period of time.
For example, you can achieve wider and more defined cheekbones by strengthening the muscles in that area. You can also lift a sagging chin area by stimulating the muscles around the jawline.
Of course, these exercises can’t change your bone anatomy, but they can help lift, tone, and reduce fat in your face. Over time, this can result in a different face shape that is closer to the V shape as much as your anatomy allows.
Devices
If you’re looking for an easier solution that gua sha or face yoga, you can look into electronic devices that can massage your face for you.
Electronic face massagers can do a lot of the same things that manual massages can do – they can stimulate your muscles using an electric current, and help move around the lymphatic fluid in your face.
Some of them come with special features that also help clarify your skin, so if you’re looking for an all-in-one tool, you could consider one of these:
These tools can give you some impressive results when it comes to lifting your face and reducing signs of ageing.
That being said, many of them have a high price point, and we’re not sure that the results are worth it, considering you can achieve most of the same results for free using gua sha or face yoga.
Makeup
Another near-instant way to give your face a V shape is makeup. Makeup can do wonders and absolutely transforms the way you look.
Contouring is a makeup technique that helps you add dimension and shape using light and dark colors. Most contouring is done with things like concealer, foundation, bronzer, and highlighter.
You can get a contouring kit that has everything you need in one package.
The basics of contouring are that you want to use darker shade (or bronzer) in areas that you want to look slimmer, and lighter colors (or concealer/highlight) on areas you want to appear bigger and more prominent.
So if your goal is to have a more V-shaped face, you would want to apply your darker color along your jawline and create a triangular effect. You will want to blend that darker color up towards the underside of your cheekbones.
Since your cheekbones are supposed to be wider and more prominent in an ideal V-shaped face, you’ll want to use the highlight or concealer to make the cheekbones pop. You can also apply a shimmery rosy blush to the bridge of your cheekbones to really give them a healthy glow.
We also recommend putting a little bit of highlighter at the central areas of your face that normally catch light: forehead, nose, cupid’s bow (above your lips), and the center of the chin. This will add to the illusion of a V shape by bringing these areas forward and making the rest of your lower face area appear slimmer.
Contouring can also be used to manipulate the appearance of other areas of your face. For example, if you want your nose to appear straighter and slimmer, you can use your dark contouring color on the sides of your nose and blend a thin straight line of highlight or concealer along the bridge of your nose.
To learn more about contouring, we recommend checking out some great video tutorials online, like the one below from Vivienne Fung on YouTube. You don’t have to be a pro to be good at contouring, you just have to practice!
Hairstyle
Not unlike makeup, your hair style or hair cut can drastically change the way your face shape appears.
If you have a long and narrow face, and you wish your cheekbones were more prominent for that V shape, you can look into getting curtain bangs.
Curtain bangs are long bangs that reach the tip of your nose. When styled to each side (like curtains) they hit right above your cheekbones and create the illusion of prominent cheekbones.
That can be enough to give you that desirable V shape, especially if you already have a pretty narrow chin.
If you have a wide chin and a square or round face, you’ll have better luck with face-framing layers. These layers usually start around the length of your chin, which means they wrap your face on the way down and hide some of your width.
Whenever you wear your hair up, try leaving those face-framing pieces out so that they can contour your lower face, creating the illusion of a narrow chin.
Skincare
Skincare alone can’t change the shape of your face, but when used in combination with other measures, it can help keep the lower area of your visage slim and lifted.
Here are a few great skincare tips for achieving (and maintaining) a tight V shaped face.
V-Line Masks
V-line lifting masks are special face masks that you wear on your jawline and chin area. They contain ingredients, like collagen, caffeine, and hyaluronic acid, that help tighten the skin and reduce puffiness.
They are similar to eye masks that help you get rid of undereye puffiness before a night out. Similarly, these V-line masks have a temporary effect, but the results last for several hours.
These masks can help minimize a double chin, smooth out some wrinkles, and tighten up the whole area.
These sheet masks conveniently hook behind your ears so you can go about your day while you wait for the magic to work. Most of them can be left on for 30-45 minutes for incredible results.
Tightening Creams
In order to keep your chin from sagging or developing jowls, it’s important to keep your face moisturized and using tightening creams when needed.
Although creams can’t change the structure of your face, they can certainly reduce the appearance of saggy skin, which is the enemy of V shape.
Daily moisturizing is a must when it comes to prevention. If you’re starting to notice sagging, consider investing in some anti-aging and tightening creams that contain ingredients like retinol, caffeine, collagen, glycolic acid, and vitamin C.
These ingredients have been shown to promote skin tightening and the production of elastin, which helps prevent your skin from sagging.
Including these types of skincare ingredients in your routine can go a long way in helping you maintain a V shape naturally.
Lifestyle
Aside from plastic surgery, lifestyle changes are some of the most effective ways in achieving the V-shape face naturally.
So many of us have a beautiful V-shaped facial anatomy hiding underneath our skin, the trick is to reveal it. Here are some impactful lifestyle changes that can help you do just that:
Weight Loss
Weight loss is one of the best ways to reveal a natural V-shaped jawline. Unfortunately, many people gain weight in their face even when the rest of their bodies are a normal size. Dropping a few pounds can be all it takes to reveal a gorgeous sharp jawline.
There is no way to spot-reduce fat. So, if you want to reduce fat in your face, you’ll have to reduce fat everywhere.
Simply paying attention to your diet and opting for less calorie-dense options can be really helpful. There is no one-size-fits-all diet, so do whatever works for you.
Generally, it helps to opt for unprocessed home-cooked foods and only eating when you are truly hungry.
Reduced Sodium Intake
Another important factor that could be “hiding” your beautiful V shape jawline is excessive sodium intake.
Consuming too much salt can force your body to hold on to water. This makes all the tissues in your body expand, including your face. This can make your jawline appear wider and softer.
Try a low-sodium diet or simply drink more water to wash some of the salt content out. You’ll be surprised at how much slimmer and more defined your face becomes after a few weeks of this lifestyle change.
Alcohol
Much like sodium intake, regular alcohol intake can cause a subtle swelling of your body, and it’s especially noticeable in the face.
Some people are more sensitive to alcohol than others, so if you’re noticing that your face feels round and swollen, especially around the eyes and the jaw area, consider going alcohol-free for a few months.
You might be very surprised to find out that the shape of your face changes so much, people will stop recognizing you on the street.
Alcohol can also be damaging to your health, so this is a win-win situation!
Final Thoughts
There are many things you can do to naturally make your face appear more V-shaped. Some of our favorite tools in the toolbox are facial massages because they work SO well. You can also leverage the power of makeup and hair to create the illusion of a more V-shape face.
Ultimately, the best way to achieve long-term results is to do all of the above, and take good care of your health.
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