Cheekbone Contouring Injection vs Contouring Injection: Not the Same

Hello. This is Dr. Song Myung-seung of NUWA Clinic Gangnam, where we assess the concern before the treatment.

If you have found this article through a search, you are probably weighing up whether to have the cheekbone contouring injection or a contouring injection to reduce your cheekbones.

To give you the conclusion first: cheekbones do not reduce with a contouring injection. Many people arrive thinking the two are the same treatment, but the area they go into and the way they work are entirely different. That is why the right answer only emerges once you know why your own cheekbones look prominent. Today I will go through how to reduce cheekbones, divided by cause.

The contouring injection was never meant for cheekbones

The contouring injection dissolves fat in the jaw and cheeks, not the cheekbones.

What is commonly called a contouring injection is a fat-dissolving injection. It is used to dissolve areas where fat has gathered, such as a double chin, deep cheek fat or the jawline. It can therefore show an effect in places where fat can be felt when pinched, like under the chin or in the cheeks. The problem is that the cheekbone has a different structure.

Why does the contouring injection not work on cheekbones?

Because the tissue in the cheekbone area is not resolved by a general fat-dissolving injection alone.

The reason cheekbones look prominent differs from person to person, dividing broadly into three.

The most common is where the cheekbone itself has developed outwards or forwards. Next is where the soft tissue covering the bone is thick and creates volume. And in practice, the two mixed together is the most common of all. The key point is that tissue in the cheekbone area will not have its line resolved by an approach that simply dissolves fat. This is why the cheekbone needs the separate approach of the cheekbone contouring injection.

How does the cheekbone contouring injection differ from a contouring injection?

The cheekbone contouring injection refines the facial line by tidying the tissue and soft tissue over the cheekbone.

Where the contouring injection focuses on dissolving gathered fat in the jaw and cheeks, the cheekbone contouring injection works in the direction of easing a prominent line by tidying the tissue covering the cheekbone. Although both look like injections, they part ways at whether the target is the cheekbone or the jaw and cheeks. This is why some people say, “I had a contouring injection to reduce my cheekbones and nothing changed.”

Cheekbone contouring injection vs contouring injection

Category	Contouring Injection (fat-dissolving injection)	Cheekbone Contouring Injection
Main area	Double chin, deep cheek fat, jawline	Cheekbone
How it works	Dissolves gathered fat	Tidies tissue and soft tissue over the cheekbone
Good fit for	Areas where fat can be felt when pinched	When the cheekbone looks prominent

The similar names make them easy to confuse, but what they aim at is completely different. That is why looking at the cause first matters more than settling on a treatment name first.

Why I look at the cause before the treatment name

What we are most wary of is carrying out exactly the treatment a patient has arrived with in mind.

Even when someone says, “I would like the cheekbone contouring injection,” I first look at whether that cheekbone is down to bone or to soft tissue. Where necessary I check the tissue structure with 3D MetaView. Because when the cause differs, the answer differs too.

Simply doing the treatment that has been asked for is the easiest option from a doctor’s point of view. But a treatment that does not match the cause will not resolve the concern, however well it is carried out. All that remains is the disappointment of “this isn’t quite the feeling I wanted.” So I believe it is right to look at the cause first, rather than treat first.

A case from the clinic

There was a patient who came for the cheekbone contouring injection, but on assessment cheek sagging turned out to be the larger cause.

For that patient I suggested a different direction, such as Titanium Lifting, rather than an injection. Had we proceeded with the cheekbone contouring injection alone as originally requested, the change in the line that was actually wanted would have been hard to feel. This is why, with the same concern of “my cheekbones look big,” the answer differs when the cause differs.

In closing

How to reduce cheekbones ultimately starts from “why do my cheekbones look prominent?”

The contouring injection is not for cheekbones, and a cheekbone concern needs to be approached with the cheekbone contouring injection. Above all, being assessed for whether your cheekbone is bone or soft tissue comes first. If your cheekbones are on your mind, I will look at the cause with you first.

This has been Song Myung-seung of NUWA Clinic Gangnam, where we assess facial shape concerns first. NUWA Clinic Gangnam is located directly in front of Exit 7 of Gangnam Station, on floors 3 and 4 at 385 Gangnam-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can the cheekbone contouring injection and a contouring injection be had together?

A. As the areas differ, there are cases where they are carried out together. That said, it is right to decide after first assessing whether your face is a cheekbone issue or a jaw and cheek fat issue.

Q. How many sessions of the cheekbone contouring injection are needed?

A. Around three sessions at two to four week intervals is generally suggested, but this differs according to the state of the cheekbone. Individual differences apply, so we advise on this after assessment.

Q. I had a contouring injection but my cheekbones are the same. Why is that?

A. Because a contouring injection (fat-dissolving injection) is not for cheekbones. Cheekbone tissue is not resolved by a general fat-dissolving injection alone, so it needs to be approached with the cheekbone contouring injection.

*Treatment direction and results may differ according to the individual, and an accurate assessment is given through consultation at the clinic.