We often think of attractive people as models who have slim and sharp faces. As a result, many people wonder if babyface is attractive if chiseled faces are the beauty standard.
Babyface is attractive, and a lot of research backs up that statement. A babyface can make you look honest, kind, and warm. Babyface often makes a person look younger, helping people when they are 30-40 years old.
Why Babyface Is Attractive
A common definition of “babyface” is a person with a round face and puffy cheeks. While that is usually true, that is not the only defining trait of babyfaces.
People with babyfaces often have childlike features like big, round eyes. The “doe-eyed” look can make a person look innocent.
Many babyfaced people also have short noses, a large, curved forehead, full lips, arched eyebrows, and small chins. These baby-like features are universally thought of as “cute.”
Babyfaces often get associated with honesty, warmth, and kindness (Berry et al., 1985). A good example of a kind and beautiful celebrity with a babyface is Selena Gomez.
She has much rounder features compared to many celebrities. However, her youthful features make her look like a kind, warm person, so many people like her.
People usually judge you immediately based on your appearance. These quick and subconscious judgments can happen in 50 milliseconds (Freeman et al., 2014).
The saying “first impressions are everything” does hold some truth to it. More often than not, we hold our own biases about people based on our first impressions of them.
If you have a “moody” resting face (RBF), people might think you are aggressive. Therefore, having a babyface can be beneficial.
Can You Look Powerful With a Babyface?
Having a babyface may make you appear “softer.” However, it does not mean your face isn’t good for being in a position of power.
A study changed several presidents’ photos and showed the images to people (Keating et al., 2002). The babyfaced photos got positive reactions, even if some people did not support certain presidents during their elections.
The “babyfaced” image made the president look more attractive and honest. The softer appearance did not entirely decrease their look of power. Instead, it made them look more innocent.
However, it may not always be a good thing. Looking similar to a baby can keep a politician from getting elected.
Babyfaced people can give off negative characteristics, such as submissiveness, less competency, and weakness. These traits are undesirable in leaders.
It would definitely be harder for a babyfaced candidate to look powerful if they were up against a more “mature” looking person.
Do Babyfaced People Look Youthful When They Are Older?
More often than not, babyfaced people have the advantage when it comes to aging. Many of them will age well and keep their youthful looks.
Another example of a celebrity with a babyface is Alexis Bledel. She was about 18-20 years old on the left and in her late 30s on the right.
As you can see, she retained a fair amount of fat on her face, which made her look youthful. Additionally, she still has a kind, warm appearance.
As we age, we lose volume in our face. Facial fat decreases and moves downward. So, previously full areas like your cheeks can sink.
People with babyfaces often retain their faces’ fullness. They usually have more fat in their faces, so it will not sink and droop as quickly as other people’s faces, or if it does, it will be mitigated.
Are Babyfaced Men Also Attractive?
Some people believe that babyfaced men are not as attractive as babyfaced women. However, that is a matter of preference, and new research suggests that it may not always be true.
A study had women look at photos of babyfaced men and babies. The women’s neural activation patterns looking at the babyfaced men and babies were the same (Zebrowitz et al., 2014).
Again, that is up to a person’s preference. Some women may prefer more “rugged,” bearded men with more masculine features. However, many women often like babyfaced men since they look kinder.
I think it’s also a higher percentage of the population than we might think. Most men are often blindsided by how well “pretty boys” do with women, despite those same pretty boys not getting respect from other men. But that’s a whole other topic of discussion that we’ve addressed in this video here:
Another false assumption is that babyfaced men have feminine features. When we think of masculine facial characteristics, we often think of strong jaws, prominent cheekbones, thick and straight eyebrows, etc.
However, the feminine features of a babyfaced man may not always be a bad thing. A study revealed that faces enhanced in masculinity looked colder, whereas men and women’s feminized faces looked warmer and came off as better parents (Perrett et al., 1998).
Some women indeed prefer aggressive-looking males. However, babyfaced men are still in the game. For instance, women often want partners who look kind and supportive. These traits make the men look like they will take care of their children.
Additionally, it may be ideal for men to have a babyface but retain some masculine features. For instance, Josh Hutcherson has a babyface, but many people think he is attractive.
Josh Hutcherson has other masculine traits that help him look more “manly” while retaining a kinder look. He has thick straight brows, a large jaw, and thin lips, which are typical masculine traits.
If you’re a guy with a babyface, your best option is to offset it by getting a masculine and dominant physique, and then you can have the best of both worlds.
How to Get a Babyface
Dermal Fillers
Fillers are a great and quick way to add more volume to your face. They can also help smooth out fine lines and wrinkles.
A surgeon will inject the dermal filler strategically into your face to add the desired volume. Most dermal fillers last for 3-6 months, so you will need to get them done again if you want to keep your new look.
However, the downside of fillers is that they can migrate to other parts of the face, and their leftovers can linger for years.
Forehead Lift
Babyfaces are youthful, so if your forehead skin begins to sag, it can bring down your appearance. Sagging brows and wrinkles on your forehead can add years to your appearance. Thankfully, a simple forehead lift can help you.
Typically, a surgeon will lift your forehead skin and remove excess tissue and fat for a classic forehead lift. In some cases, they may also realign your muscles and make your eyebrows higher.
Your surgeon may offer you an endoscopic forehead lift. The procedure is somewhat similar. The main difference is that the surgeon will make small incisions on your scalp and insert an endoscope through the incisions to look at the muscles and tissues under your scalp. The surgeon will use a different instrument through a different incision to lift the skin.
Chin Augmentation
If you want a dainty chin to achieve the ideal babyface, you can opt for chin augmentation. The exact technique that a surgeon will use will depend on what you want.
For instance, you may have a very weak chin. If that is the case, a surgeon will either cut and move a part of your chin bone to move it forward.
In other cases, your chin may be too pronounced to compliment the other aspects of a babyface. A surgeon may suggest a chin reduction to reshape your chin.
Blepharoplasty
The muscles that support the eyes weaken as we age. The weak muscles and stretched skin leads to sagging eyebrows, droopy eyelids, eye bags, and a negative canthal tilt. All these factors can make you look much older.
You can get eyelid surgery like blepharoplasty to fix droopy eyes. The surgery will repair your droopy eyelids to make you look younger and more alert.
Mewing
Many people know that mewing helps reshape their faces. It doesn’t give you a babyface, but it can help promote a youthful look. Mewing is essentially proper tongue posture (with a few other techniques like proper swallowing) to encourage facial upswing growth.
When you correct your tongue posture by mewing, you encourage your bones to move up and forward so it will not sink as much when you age. Since it moves your facial bones, it also helps you get fuller cheeks. However, this takes years or decades.
If you want to learn how to mew to look younger, click here.
How to Be Less Babyfaced
Buccal Fat Reduction
A quick way to get rid of a babyface is to get a buccal fat reduction. Most people who naturally have babyfaces have a lot of baby fat in their cheeks. Therefore, reducing the buccal fat pad can help you slim down your face and make you look more mature.
Additionally, a buccal fat pad reduction could potentially help you get cheek hollows. Cheek hollows help you achieve a more model-like look, especially if you have high cheekbones and a strong jawline.
Chin Augmentation
As mentioned earlier, you can reshape your chin to get a daintier chin if you want a babyface. You can use chin augmentation to decrease your babyface as well.
For instance, a chin implant can add more structure and shape to your face. A surgeon could also reshape the chin by shaving it to create sharper lines.
Chin Liposuction
The problem may not be your chin bone – it could be the fat and skin around your chin, creating a double chin.
Chin liposuction removes fat under the skin. It also sculpts the neck and chin contour to make your face slimmer.
Proper Swallowing
You can also reduce your fat cheeked appearance by atrophying your buccinator muscle. This is the muscle you use to suck food in, and unfortunately, most of us still have this habit from childhood since we never transitioned to a true adult swallow.
Check out our article on proper swallowing for more info.
