In this guide14 sections
- Key Points
- What Is a Large or Prominent Chin?
- Is Chin Reduction Surgery Worth It?
- What Is Reduction Genioplasty and How Is It Done?
- Chin Shaving vs Reduction Genioplasty: What Is the Difference?
- How to Make Your Chin Smaller Without Surgery
- Who Is a Good Candidate for Chin Reduction?
- Chin Reduction Recovery: How Long Does It Take?
- Does Chin Reduction Surgery Leave a Scar?
- What Are the Risks and Complications of Chin Reduction?
- Can Chin Reduction Be Combined With a Nose Job?
- Frequently Asked Questions: Chin Reduction
- Chin Reduction Surgery in London
- References
Key Points
- Is chin reduction worth it? It can be, when a long or prominent chin is the feature you notice most in profile and a surgeon agrees the bone is the cause. In studies of jaw and chin surgery, satisfaction with the chin and lower face usually improves, although overall wellbeing does not always change[1][2].
- What is chin reduction surgery called? Reduction genioplasty, also known as mentoplasty or chin shaving. It reshapes or repositions the chin bone, usually through a cut inside the mouth.
- Is shaving the same as a sliding reduction? No. Shaving removes surface bone, while a sliding reduction cuts the chin bone and moves it back or shortens it. The right choice depends on whether the problem is projection, height or width.
- Can I make my chin smaller without surgery? Not the bone. Fat under the chin and bulky chin muscle can be treated without an operation, but nothing non-surgical shrinks chin bone.
- How long is recovery? Most people return to their normal routine after about a week, with swelling settling over several weeks. Your surgeon will give you timings for your own operation.
- What are the main risks? Temporary numbness of the lower lip and chin is the most widely reported[5], followed by changes in the lower lip and chin soft tissues[3], asymmetry, infection, bleeding and the possibility of revision surgery.
If your chin looks too long, too pointed or too far forward in photos, it is reasonable to ask whether it can be changed. This guide answers the questions people search before they book: what counts as a large chin, whether chin reduction surgery is worth it, how reduction genioplasty differs from chin shaving, what recovery and scarring are like, and what the risks are. It also covers the options if surgery is not the answer. If you would rather read about the operation we offer and how to arrange an assessment, our chin surgery (genioplasty) page explains that side.
A large chin is rarely judged on its own. It is read against the nose, the lips and the jaw, which is why a chin consultation often includes a conversation about rhinoplasty and the lower face as a whole.
What Is a Large or Prominent Chin?
A prominent chin is one that sits further forward, extends lower or is wider than the rest of the face would suggest. Surgeons describe the problem in three dimensions: projection (how far forward the chin sits), vertical height (how long the lower face is below the lip) and width (how broad or square the chin point is). An excessively large chin is known medically as macrogenia, although most people who ask about chin reduction have a chin that is simply out of balance rather than a medical overgrowth.
The chin is a feature of the profile, so a side-on photograph tells you more than a front-on one. Many people who search for “why is my chin so big” find that the real issue is a short or heavy lower face, a rounded jaw, or fat and soft tissue sitting over a normal bone. That distinction matters, because bone and soft tissue need different treatments.
There is no single ideal chin, and a consultation is there to work out whether a change would genuinely improve your balance, not to make you fit a template. Our guide to the ideal female jawline looks at how the chin and jaw fit together, and our article on the weak chin covers the opposite concern.
Is Chin Reduction Surgery Worth It?
Whether chin reduction is worth it depends on what you hope it will change, and the research is a useful guide to realistic expectations. Most of it comes from jaw surgery rather than cosmetic chin reduction alone, so it should be read as indicative rather than a promise.
In a 2013 comparison of 60 women having jaw surgery, published in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ↗, those who also had reduction genioplasty reported larger improvements in psychological discomfort and in dissatisfaction with their appearance than those who did not[1]. In a 2015 study of 56 patients in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery ↗, satisfaction with the chin (profile, prominence and shape) rose after jaw surgery and genioplasty, but people who had genioplasty alone did not show a statistically significant gain in overall satisfaction with their face, and psychological wellbeing did not change[2].
The honest reading is that a well-planned chin operation can improve how you feel about the specific feature that bothered you, but it is less likely to change how you feel about yourself in general. Satisfaction tends to be highest when the concern is specific, a surgeon can confirm the imbalance, and expectations match what the operation can do.
It is also worth asking whether a different approach might serve you better. If the issue is a double chin or fullness beneath the chin, the answer may be soft tissue treatment rather than bone surgery, which is covered below. If you are considering the opposite change, our guide to jaw implants vs chin implants and chin implants vs chin fillers explains the options for adding projection.
What Is Reduction Genioplasty and How Is It Done?
Reduction genioplasty is the surgical term for making the chin bone smaller, shorter, narrower or less prominent. Surgeons also use the terms mentoplasty and, more loosely, chin shaving or profileplasty when they are looking at the whole facial profile. It is a form of chin surgery carried out by a surgeon trained in facial bone work.
The general sequence is the same whichever technique is chosen:
- Anaesthetic. The operation is usually done under TIVA (total intravenous anaesthesia) or sedation, with your anaesthetist and surgeon agreeing the approach in advance.
- Access. The surgeon makes a cut on the inside of the lower lip, where the gum meets the lip, to reach the chin bone. As the cut sits inside the mouth, there is normally no scar on the skin. A small cut under the chin is occasionally used in some operations.
- Reshaping or repositioning. The bone is smoothed, trimmed, or cut and moved, depending on the plan (explained in the next section). If the bone is cut and moved, it is held in its new position with small plates and screws.
- Closure. The muscle that attaches to the chin, the mentalis, is carefully reattached and the inside cut is closed with dissolving stitches. A supportive dressing or garment may be applied to the lower face.
The mentalis step matters more than it sounds, because that muscle supports the lower lip and the way it is reattached affects the soft tissue result (see the risks below).
Chin Shaving vs Reduction Genioplasty: What Is the Difference?
People often use “chin shaving” and “reduction genioplasty” interchangeably, but they describe two different levels of operation. Which one is suitable depends on your anatomy and what you want to change.
Chin bone shaving (burring)
Shaving, or contouring, removes bone from the surface of the chin using a burr or an ultrasonic instrument to reduce bulk or soften a pointed or square shape. It suits modest changes, particularly where the chin is slightly too prominent or too broad but the vertical height is acceptable. There is a limit to how much bone can safely be removed from the surface, so shaving is less suited to a significant reduction.
Sliding reduction genioplasty
In a sliding genioplasty, the surgeon cuts across the chin bone, moves the freed segment backwards (to reduce projection), upwards (to reduce vertical height), or both, and fixes it with plates and screws. Sometimes a section of bone is removed first to shorten a long chin. This approach allows a larger and more controlled change, and it is the usual choice for a long chin.
Chin narrowing
A wide or square chin is a separate problem. A 2026 study of 51 patients compared two narrowing approaches and found good aesthetic results and similar satisfaction with both, while the more extensive operation produced greater chin narrowing[9].
Soft tissue chin reduction
Sometimes the chin looks heavy because of the soft tissue over it, not the bone. Removing fat from under the chin, or treating the muscle, is described in searches as soft tissue chin reduction. It can change contour, but not skeletal projection or height. A surgeon will check which layer is responsible before recommending any operation.
How to Make Your Chin Smaller Without Surgery
If you are searching for how to make your chin smaller without an operation, it helps to separate bone, fat and muscle.
- Bone. The bone cannot be reduced without surgery. Facial exercises, massage, posture changes and “mewing” are widely discussed online, but we are not aware of good evidence that they change the size of adult chin bone.
- Fat. Fullness under the chin can come from fat. Treatments range from liposuction to injections and devices. Our guides to how to get rid of a double chin and chin liposuction recovery explain what each involves.
- Muscle. A bulky or dimpled mentalis muscle can make the chin look prominent or pebbled. Anti-wrinkle injections are sometimes used to soften that muscle. They affect the muscle only and wear off.
- Balance. Treating the areas around the chin can change how prominent it looks. Our article on non-surgical jaw reduction covers one such option.
In short, if your concern is that the chin bone is too long or too far forward, surgery is the only way to change it, and if the concern is fullness, there are lower-intensity options worth considering first.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Chin Reduction?
Surgeons look at the whole face rather than the chin alone. Typical considerations include:
- a chin that is measurably long, prominent or wide in relation to the lower face and profile
- a normal bite, or a bite problem that is being assessed separately (jaw position problems can need orthodontic or jaw surgery instead)
- good general health, with smoking stopped before surgery
- realistic expectations about what a change in the chin can and cannot do
Psychological readiness is part of the assessment. Body dysmorphic disorder, a condition in which a person is preoccupied with a minor or imagined flaw, is more common among people seeking cosmetic surgery than in the general population. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis estimated its prevalence at about 24% in plastic surgery patients[10], and a separate review of people being assessed for jaw surgery put it at about 14.5%, with low certainty[11]. These are estimates from varied settings, not figures for any one clinic, but they explain why a thoughtful surgeon will ask how your concern affects your daily life.
Chin reduction is also used as part of facial gender-affirming surgery. Our facial feminisation surgery page explains how chin height and width are considered alongside the brow, nose and jaw.
Chin Reduction Recovery: How Long Does It Take?
Recovery varies between people and between techniques, so treat the timings below as typical rather than guaranteed. Your surgeon will give you instructions specific to your operation.
- First few days. Swelling, tightness and some discomfort in the chin and lower face are normal. Many people are given a supportive garment, and sleeping with your head raised helps.
- Around one week. Many people feel able to return to desk work and normal routines, although bruising may still be visible.
- Two weeks. Bruising has usually largely settled.
- Four weeks. Most of the visible swelling has gone, although the chin can feel firm.
- Six weeks. Many people are advised that they can restart gym work and strenuous exercise, subject to their surgeon’s agreement. The final shape of the chin continues to refine over the following months as the last of the swelling resolves.
With the cut inside the mouth, mouth care matters. You will normally be asked to rinse after meals, brush gently and follow a soft diet for the first days. Walking helps circulation, while heavy lifting and intense exercise should wait until your surgeon says otherwise. For general advice that applies to every operation, see our recovery after cosmetic surgery guide, and for a more detailed look at the aftercare, our chin implant and genioplasty recovery article covers it step by step.
Does Chin Reduction Surgery Leave a Scar?
In most cases there is no scar on the skin. The cut is made inside the lower lip, so the healing line sits in the mouth, where it usually becomes difficult to see. Dissolving stitches mean there is nothing to remove. If a small cut under the chin is used in a particular operation, it will leave a fine line that usually fades with time.
What Are the Risks and Complications of Chin Reduction?
Every operation carries risks, and chin bone surgery is no exception. The commonest to understand before you decide are these.
Numbness of the lower lip and chin
The mental nerve, which supplies feeling to the lower lip and chin, runs close to the area where the surgeon works. Altered sensation is therefore the most widely reported complication of genioplasty. In a long-term German study of genioplasty patients ↗, 24 of 33 patients assessed (73%) had some disturbance of mental nerve sensation after surgery, but after at least a year most of those (19 of 24) reported normal sensation in the lower lip and chin on both sides[5].
Other research suggests that genioplasty adds to this risk when combined with jaw surgery. A prospective multicentre study of 158 patients found that adding genioplasty to a sagittal split osteotomy was significantly associated with reduced sensation at one year[6], a retrospective cohort study of 129 patients found higher odds of sensory disturbance at six months when genioplasty was added (adjusted odds ratio 3.87)[7], and a 2026 clinical assessment found greater sensory impairment in the genioplasty group, although patients’ quality of life still improved[8]. These studies involved jaw surgery as well as genioplasty, so they cannot be read as a direct rate for chin reduction alone, but the message is consistent: temporary or lasting altered sensation is a real possibility and should be discussed in full at consultation.
Changes to the lower lip and chin soft tissue
The soft tissue follows the bone, and the mentalis muscle that supports the lower lip has to be released to reach it. A study of 29 patients found that genioplasty procedures requiring mentalis release increased the visibility of the lower incisor teeth by an average of 1.88 mm, and the lower lip position changed most after vertical reduction[3]. A controlled study of 21 patients found that precisely reattaching the mentalis preserved the length of the lower lip, with a mean vertical difference of nearly 6 mm compared with no precise reattachment, and that without it the soft tissue of the chin tended to drop, a change known as chin ptosis[4]. This is why careful muscle repair is an important part of the technique.
Other risks
- Bleeding or a collection of blood (haematoma), which may need treatment.
- Infection of the wound or around the plates and screws.
- Asymmetry or an unexpected shape, which can be noticeable on one side.
- Numbness or tingling, as above, which is usually temporary but can last longer.
- Anaesthetic-related effects, such as nausea.
- Revision surgery, if the result is not as planned. A 2026 study of 51 patients having chin and jaw contouring recorded lower lip numbness, haematoma, infection and soft tissue ptosis among its complications[9].
Choose a surgeon who explains these risks plainly and tells you what can and cannot be corrected afterwards.
Can Chin Reduction Be Combined With a Nose Job?
Yes, it is common to consider the two together. The nose and chin define the profile, and a change to one alters how the other looks. A surgeon will often assess them as a pair and may recommend one operation, both, or neither, depending on what is causing the imbalance. Combining procedures means one anaesthetic and one recovery, but also a longer operation and more swelling to settle. Our rhinoplasty page explains the nose side.
Frequently Asked Questions: Chin Reduction
Can you get your chin reduced?
Yes. A long, prominent or wide chin can be reduced by reshaping or repositioning the chin bone, a procedure called reduction genioplasty. It is done by a surgeon trained in facial bone surgery, and a consultation is needed to decide whether it would suit your face.
Can you make your chin smaller without surgery?
You can change fullness caused by fat or muscle without an operation, but you cannot shrink chin bone without surgery. If your chin looks big because of soft tissue, treatments for the double chin or the chin muscle may help, and a surgeon can tell you which layer is responsible.
What is chin shaving?
Chin shaving is an informal name for removing surface bone from the chin, usually through a cut inside the mouth, to reduce bulk or soften its shape. It differs from a sliding reduction genioplasty, where the bone is cut and moved back or shortened, which suits larger changes.
How long does chin reduction take to heal?
Most people return to their normal routine after about a week, bruising settles by around two weeks, most swelling resolves by about four weeks, and strenuous exercise is usually restarted at around six weeks. The final contour takes longer to settle, and timings vary.
Is chin reduction painful?
Most people describe tightness, pressure and aching rather than severe pain in the first few days, managed with the painkillers you are prescribed. Pain that is severe or getting worse should be reported to your surgical team.
Will chin reduction leave a scar?
Usually not on the skin. The cut is normally made inside the mouth, so the scar is hidden. Your surgeon will tell you if a small cut under the chin is planned.
Can I have chin reduction and rhinoplasty together?
Often, yes. The nose and chin are assessed together because each changes how the other looks in profile. Your surgeon will advise whether doing both at once is appropriate for you, or whether one first is better.
Will my lower lip be numb after chin reduction?
Some numbness or altered feeling in the lower lip and chin is common after genioplasty and is usually temporary, with most people recovering normal sensation within a year, although a small number have longer-lasting changes[5][6].
Can bad chin surgery be fixed?
Often it can be improved, but it depends on what went wrong and how much time has passed. Asymmetry, an over-reduced chin or soft tissue changes may be addressed with revision surgery or with other treatments. A surgeon needs to examine you and review your original operation before advising.
What type of chin is considered attractive?
There is no single answer. Ideas of an attractive chin vary between people, cultures and sexes, and what suits one face may not suit another. Surgeons usually aim for balance with your nose, lips and jawline rather than a fixed ideal.
Chin Reduction Surgery in London
We carry out chin reduction at our CQC-regulated hospital at 95–97 Baker Street in Marylebone. The first step is a face-to-face consultation, where your surgeon assesses your profile, your bite and the layers of tissue involved, and tells you whether an operation is likely to help. If it is not, they will say so. To read about the procedure itself and book an assessment, see our chin reduction London page.
Phone: 020 7993 4849 | Address: 95–97 Baker Street, Marylebone, London W1U 6RN
Contact us to schedule a consultation
References
- Rustemeyer J, Lehmann A. Reduction genioplasty enhances quality of life in female patients with prognathism and maxillary hypoplasia undergoing bimaxillary osteotomy. International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2013;42(9):1083–1092. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2013.04.001 ↗
- Schwitzer JA, Albino FP, Mathis RK, et al. Assessing patient-reported outcomes following orthognathic surgery and osseous genioplasty. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery 2015;26(8):2293–2298. doi:10.1097/SCS.0000000000001983 ↗
- Soydan SS, Cubuk S, Pektas ZO, Uckan S. The extent of chin ptosis and lower incisor exposure changes following the osseous genioplasties. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery 2013;24(5):e445–e458. doi:10.1097/SCS.0b013e31829026af ↗
- Chaushu G, Blinder D, Taicher S, Chaushu S. The effect of precise reattachment of the mentalis muscle on the soft tissue response to genioplasty. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2001;59(5):510–516. doi:10.1053/joms.2001.22678 ↗
- Driemel O, Kloss F, Roth B, et al. Genioplasty alone and in combination: long-term results with emphasis on sensitivity and photoanalysis [in German]. Mund Kiefer Gesichtschir 2004;8(5):289–295. doi:10.1007/s10006-004-0554-8 ↗
- Mensink G, Zweers A, Wolterbeek R, et al. Neurosensory disturbances one year after bilateral sagittal split osteotomy of the mandible performed with separators: a multi-centre prospective study. Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery 2012;40(8):763–767. doi:10.1016/j.jcms.2012.02.003 ↗
- Shinozaki K, Kobayashi T, Seki N, et al. Factors predicting neurosensory disturbance after bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy: a retrospective cohort study. International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2025;54(3):261–267. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2024.08.029 ↗
- Gerçek AO, Topaloğlu Yasan G, Tüz HH. Long-term effects of inferior alveolar nerve injury on the quality of life of orthognathic patients: a clinical assessment. International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2026. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2026.04.010 ↗
- Xiong J, Xu W, Wei M, He D. Comparative evaluation of total mandibular inferior border circumferential osteotomy and T-chinoplasty with mandibular angle osteotomy. Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira 2026;72(4):e20251933. doi:10.1590/1806-9282.20251933 ↗
- Pérez-Buenfil A, Morales-Sánchez A. Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 2025;24(4):e70121. doi:10.1111/jocd.70121 ↗
- Sáenz-Ravello G, Carrasco García P, Fan S, Al-Nawas B. Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in patients seeking orthognathic surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2025;83(11):1351–1362. doi:10.1016/j.joms.2025.07.003 ↗
