How Can I make My Cheekbones Smaller?

Q: I am interested in getting my cheekbones slimmer or smaller.  Is there any way to apply pressure to them everyday or put something on them to make them gradually get smaller without the need to undergo plastic surgery?

A: The concept of making facial bones smaller is a surgical one. No amount of pressure or any form of outward manuevers will change the shape of a facial bone. Outward pressure, even if it were possible to do, would only make the overlying soft tissues thinner (pressure resorption) but would not change the shape of the underlying bone.

Cheek bone reduction requires cutting the ‘legs’ of the bone and allowing it to sit down or inward. In some cases, only the front legs of the bone need to be cut (body of the zygoma).In other cases, the back legs (zygomatic arch attachment to the temporal bone) need to be cut as well. By inward positioning of the cheek bone and its backward bony arch, the width of the face is narrowed. When done on both sides of the face, the narrowing effect can be quite noticeable.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana