Contour · Diagnosis First

Round Face Slimming Options

Fat, muscle or bone: the cause chooses the option

Gangnam, Seoul | Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Jonghwan Choi
Surgical and non-surgical routes compared · KHIDI-registered for international patients

Round Face Fat, Muscle or Bone Round Face Fat, Muscle or Bone Round Face Fat, Muscle or Bone Round Face Fat, Muscle or Bone 
Round

Round face slimming

What can be done for a round face in Korea?

The short answer

A round face can be slimmed by removing fat, by relaxing muscle, or sometimes not at all, and which of these applies depends on what is making the face round. Rewind offers four options: buccal fat removal for deep cheek fat, cheek liposuction for fat under the skin, a fat dissolving (contour) injection for smaller pockets of fat without surgery, and a jaw slimming injection of botulinum toxin for a bulky chewing muscle. Width that comes from bone is changed by none of them, and the examination says so when that is the finding.

Details of each option come from Rewind's own Korean treatment pages. Session numbers and durations are the clinic's published figures; anaesthesia and operating times for the surgical options are not published, so this page does not state them.

Most round faces owe their shape to more than one cause, and a treatment chosen from a menu at home tends to address only one of them. The examination sorts the causes first, then matches each to an option, and sometimes the right answer is to treat only one of them and leave the rest.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi assessing the width of a patient's lower face
Fig. 01 · Fat, muscle and bone are told apart at the desk
Cases

Case photographs

Two Rewind round-face cases where deep cheek fat was the finding

Both patients below were examined and found to carry deep cheek fat, so the buccal pad was part of the plan. The second was double-chin liposuction with the buccal pad removed and the neck muscle tightened in the same session. Neither pair shows a muscle-driven or skeletal round face, since those are answered by different routes and would look different again.

Rewind patients · fullness traced to the cheek pad

Before, buccal fat removal as a single procedure for a round lower face, front view After, buccal fat removal as a single procedure for a round lower face, front view BEFOREAFTER
cheek fat only
Buccal fat removal performed as a single procedure
Individual results may vary.
Before, double-chin liposuction with buccal fat removal and platysma tightening, oblique view After, double-chin liposuction with buccal fat removal and platysma tightening, oblique view BEFOREAFTER
cheek and chin
Double-chin liposuction + buccal fat removal + platysma tightening
Individual results may vary.

Photographed by Rewind Plastic Surgery at the clinic. A face with a different cause of roundness would not respond in the same way. Surgery can be followed by bleeding, infection, prolonged swelling, altered sensation, asymmetry and scarring, and results vary between individuals.

Causes

Cause and option

Fat, muscle or bone: what makes a face read round

Four findings account for almost every round face seen at consultation. Each has its own answer, and one of them has no answer among the options on this page.

cause 01
Fat you can pinch
Fullness in the layer under the skin of the side and front cheek. It is answered by cheek liposuction, or by a contour injection where the pocket is small and defined.
cause 02
Fat deep in the cheek
The buccal fat pad, sitting in its own pocket below the cheekbone. It cannot be pinched or injected away, and it is removed surgically from inside the mouth.
cause 03
A strong chewing muscle
A masseter that bulges when you bite down makes the lower face square and wide. It is relaxed with a jaw slimming injection; removing fat leaves it exactly as it was.
cause 04
Bone, fluid or descent
Skeletal width, retained fluid and tissue that has slipped with age can all read as roundness. None of the four options alters bone, and descent is a question for the lifting operations.
Examine

The examination

How Rewind tells whether a round face is fat, muscle or bone

The sequence below is how a round face is read at consultation. It takes the guesswork out of choosing, and it is the reason a plan is written only after the examination has finished.

01Clench

The jaw muscle is felt while you bite down

A masseter that hardens and widens under the fingers on clenching is contributing to the width of the face, whatever the fat around it is doing.

02Pinch

The layer under the skin is gathered and judged

Fat that can be gathered between the fingers in the side and front cheek belongs to liposuction or to an injection, depending on how much of it there is.

03Deep

The deep cheek is read on its own

Fullness low in the cheek that cannot be pinched suggests the buccal fat pad. Of the four causes, it is the only one reached from inside the mouth.

04Scan

Imaging where it adds something

Rewind's contour material describes an ultrasound scan that reads fat thickness, deeper fat and the salivary gland, and a facial contour analyser that records the surface before a plan is designed.

05History

Weight and age change the answer

A face that is round at a stable weight behaves differently from one that has recently gained weight, and a midface that has started to thin narrows which options are sensible.

06Match

Each cause is matched to one option

The written plan names the cause and the option chosen for it. Where two causes are present, routes may be combined, or one is treated first and reviewed before the second is added.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi examining a patient's face at the consultation desk
Fig. 02 · The clench and pinch checks happen here, before any plan exists
Routes

Surgical or not

Which round face slimming options need surgery, and which do not

Two of the four options are operations and two are injections. The difference matters less than it first appears, because the choice follows the cause of the roundness, and the cause is fixed before any preference comes into it.

01Surgical

Buccal fat removal and cheek liposuction

Both remove fat in a single operation. The pad comes out through an incision of about 1 cm inside the cheek, closed with dissolving sutures, while cheek liposuction suctions the layer under the skin and is quoted per area, side and front separately.

02Injection

Contour injection and jaw slimming injection

Neither involves an incision. Rewind's material states that the contour injection is given without anaesthesia and usually shows its clearest change after two to three sessions, and that the jaw slimming injection lasts three to six months, varying with the muscle.

03One adviser

The same surgeon offers all four

Because Dr. Choi performs the operations and gives the injections, the recommendation does not depend on which list a patient happened to arrive through. A pocket too small for surgery is told so, and a muscle problem is never offered liposuction.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi explaining slimming options to a patient
Fig. 03 · Surgical and non-surgical routes are discussed side by side
Rooms

At the clinic

Where round face treatments are carried out at the Apgujeong clinic

Operating room at Rewind Plastic Surgery used for facial contour surgery

Fig. 04 · The theatre used for buccal fat removal and cheek liposuction

Treatment room with beds at Rewind Plastic Surgery

Fig. 05 · A treatment room used for injections

Operations and injections take place in the same practice, on the fourth and fifth floors of the Richro Building in Apgujeong, Seoul. The operating room is reserved for the two surgical options; injections are given in a treatment room on the same floors, so a patient who begins with an injection and later needs surgery stays with the same surgeon and the same records.

Buccal fat removal: intraoral, about 1 cm
Cheek liposuction: side and front quoted apart
Contour injection: no anaesthesia, no stitches
Jaw slimming injection: planned in units
Ultrasound read of fat and gland where useful
All four planned by Dr. Jonghwan Choi
Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeon

Board-certified plastic surgeon

Every round face plan, surgical or not, is drawn up by Dr. Jonghwan Choi, whose Korean certification is in Plastic Surgery. Rewind receives patients from abroad as a KHIDI-registered institution, Reg. M-2025-01-08-09288.

Cost

Pricing

What round face slimming costs at Rewind, option by option

The four options are priced in different units: an operation per procedure or per area, an injection per session or per dose. Comparing them fairly means multiplying the injection figures by the number of sessions a plan is likely to need.

Buccal fat removal, single procedureDeep cheek fat on both sides, as the only operation of the day
₩2,000,000
Cheek liposuction, side cheekFat under the skin, quoted per area; the front cheek is listed separately
₩940,000
Contour injection, 15 ccPer session; the clinic's page puts the clearest change after two to three sessions
₩150,000
Jaw slimming injection, 50 unitsBotulinum toxin into the chewing muscle; a 100-unit plan is also listed
₩150,000

List prices with VAT charged on top, including any anaesthetic fee for that item. Which option applies is settled at the examination, and a combined plan is written out line by line before anything is booked.

Fit

Suitability

Which round faces suit an injection, and which need an operation

Usually answered without surgery

  • A small, defined pocket of fat under the skin, in someone who prefers no incision
  • Squareness from a strong chewing muscle, felt clearly on clenching
  • Heaviness that is partly retained fluid alongside a little fat
  • A wish to see a change that wears off before committing to anything lasting

Usually a surgical conversation, or none

  • Deep cheek fullness that has lasted through weight loss
  • A larger volume of fat under the skin of the cheek
  • Fullness that has not moved after a short course of injections
  • Width from bone, or fullness from descent, which none of the four options addresses
  • For surgery: bleeding or healing disorders, relevant medication, pregnancy or breastfeeding
After

Aftercare

What each round face option asks of you afterwards

The four routes differ most in what follows them. The injections return you to ordinary life the same day with a short list of things to avoid; the operations bring swelling, specific instructions and a review appointment.

Contour injection
One day without alcohol or sauna
Do not rub or press the area, and avoid alcohol, sauna and strenuous exercise for a day. Mild swelling usually improves within two to three days.
Jaw slimming injection
Hands off the jaw
Avoid strong massage or pressure on the area, and heavy drinking or hot, humid places for a day or two. Daily life resumes straight away.
Buccal fat removal
Soft food and gentle brushing
Brushing is allowed on the day, food stays soft until the next day, and wide mouth opening, hard chewing and puffing the cheeks are avoided for a period.
Cheek liposuction
Compression and a quieter month
Bruising and swelling are expected. Compression is worn as instructed, and sauna, alcohol and strenuous exercise stay off the schedule for a month.

Injections can cause swelling, bruising and tenderness where the needle went in, and a relaxed chewing muscle can make firm chewing feel weaker for a while. Surgery carries the risk of bleeding, infection, prolonged swelling, altered sensation, asymmetry and scarring, and removing the buccal pad from a face that later thins can leave the midface looking hollow.

Doctor

Professional

At Rewind, one board-certified plastic surgeon carries every case — from the first consultation to the final follow-up. Because a face is a story, and a story deserves a single author.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeonRewind,
Dr. Jonghwan Choi presenting at an academic session
Fig. 06 — Academic session, presented by the medical director

Rewind's Doctor

Dr. Jonghwan Choi Medical Director

One surgeon, from the first
consultation to the last follow-up.

A board-certified plastic surgeon devoted to anti-aging lifting — with the precision and restraint built through years of craniofacial practice.

Board-certified plastic surgeon (Plastic Surgery)
10 peer-reviewed publications
Medical Director, Rewind Plastic Surgery
Korean Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons
Former chief director, Apgujeong Y&T Plastic Surgery
Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
J Craniofac Surg · JKMS · Arch Craniofac Surg
Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
Ask

Questions

Slimming a round face in Seoul — the questions asked first

What can be done for a round face in Korea without surgery?
Two options at Rewind: a contour (fat dissolving) injection for small pockets of fat under the skin, and a jaw slimming injection of botulinum toxin for a bulky chewing muscle. The clinic states that the contour injection shows its clearest change after two to three sessions, and that the jaw injection usually lasts three to six months.
How can I tell whether my round face comes from fat, muscle or bone?
A simple check is to clench your teeth with your fingers on the angle of the jaw: a muscle that hardens and widens is contributing. Fat under the skin can be pinched; deep cheek fat and bone cannot. Only an examination separates them reliably, and most faces show more than one cause.
Which slimming options need surgery and which do not?
Buccal fat removal and cheek liposuction are operations. The first takes deep cheek fat out through an incision of about 1 cm inside the mouth; the second suctions fat under the skin of the side or front cheek. The contour injection and the jaw slimming injection involve no incision at all.
Is buccal fat removal the right choice for a round face?
Only when deep cheek fat is a real part of the roundness. If the width comes from the chewing muscle or from fat under the skin, removing the pad changes little, and in a midface that is already lean it risks a hollow look later. The examination decides whether it belongs in the plan.
How long do the non-surgical options last?
Rewind states that the jaw slimming injection usually lasts three to six months, depending on the muscle and on aftercare, so it is repeated to keep the effect. The contour injection reduces fat cells in the treated pocket over a short course, after which the shape depends largely on a stable weight.
Can injections and surgery be combined for a round face?
Yes, when more than one cause is present. A strong chewing muscle and deep cheek fat, for example, are separate problems with separate answers. Whether they are treated in the same period or one after the other is decided at the examination, with a review before anything further is added.
Will losing weight make my face less round?
Partly. Fat under the skin shrinks with weight loss, while deep cheek fat often persists, and muscle and bone do not change at all. If your face stays round once your weight is stable, the remaining fullness is usually deep fat, muscle or structure, which is exactly what the examination looks for.
What does each round face option cost at Rewind?
Buccal fat removal on its own is listed at ₩2,000,000, side-cheek liposuction at ₩940,000, a 15 cc contour injection at ₩150,000 per session and a 50-unit jaw slimming injection at ₩150,000. VAT is charged separately.
Voices

Google Reviews

What our patients say.

G 5.0 ★★★★★ 51 Google reviews · Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong — live-synced from Google Business Profile
★★★★★

Came to REWIND to get my facial treatment and i'm absolutely obsessed about it💞 the doctor is so kind and is an expert! Everyone must visit!

YunHee Hong2 weeks ago
★★★★★

There are just way too many cosmetic clinics in Korea and I'm so happy I found Rewind Clinic in Gangnam. Dr. Choi was so kind and patient while explaining the different face-lifting options, from threads to mini-lifts to deep-plane lifts…

J. S.5 months ago
★★★★★

I found Rewind clinic through a Korean chat forum and many local clients highly recommended it. The clinic is brand new, featuring large, clean rooms and many private waiting areas so it doesn't give off that "factory" clinic vibe. All the…

J. Siou5 months ago
★★★★★

Really nice environment. Doctor is easy to communicate and understands my visions. Waited two weeks to make a review and I confirm the results exceeded my expectations and I am super happy with it. Can't wait to come back!! :))

Kristie Chu5 months ago
★★★★★

I received a thread lift at Rewind Plastic Surgery. The clinic was clean and the atmosphere was comfortable. The consultation was thorough, and I felt confident because they kindly explained everything tailored to my facial condition. They…

한주연2 weeks ago · Translated by Google
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Location
Apgujeong, Gangnam
4F & 5F, Richro Building,
812 Nonhyeon-ro,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Hours
Mon·Tue·Wed·Fri 10:00–19:00
Sat 10:00–16:00
Closed Sundays & Thursdays
Lunch 12:00–13:00
Consultation
In your language
WhatsApp · Instagram
Interpreter-assisted
consultations available
Registration
KHIDI Registered
Registered institution for
international patients
Reg. M-2025-01-08-09288

Scientific evidence

Published work on facial fat reduction and its limits

The papers below cover the surgical half of this page: contouring of the face and jaw line by liposuction, the caution attached to removing the buccal pad, and how skin in older faces behaves once fat has been taken away.

They describe other surgeons' patients, techniques and settings. None is a study of Rewind Plastic Surgery or of any injection used here, and none predicts how an individual face will respond.