Femme Framing Is the Latest Aesthetic Trend: But What Is It?

In terms of injectables, there seems to be a new trend or type every month. From dermal fillers to polynucleotides, the pursuit for transformative beauty treatments doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Although we are quite used to lip fillers and the use of botox to fight lines and wrinkles, have you ever considered it could be your forehead that is ageing you?

Think back to your favourite Disney princess and I bet they have a rounded smooth forehead, where the brows are perfectly in the middle of the forehead and eye area. It is this smooth, plumped forehead that signals to our brains that the person looks youthful and more feminine, whereas a strong male is typically drawn with a prominent square forehead. "The female forehead is associated with a rounded more vertical appearance," explains Dr Saleena Zimri, Key Opinion Lead for Texoane. So, as the pursuit for ideal beauty and youthfulness seems set to be going nowhere, it's no wonder that femme framing — manipulating the forehead to look fuller and smoother — is the latest buzzword trend in aesthetics for 2024

But, what exactly is femme framing? Will it suit all face shapes? And how is it achieved? We ask the experts to explain all.

What Is Femme Framing?

Femme framing, also known as forehead feminisation, refers to the non-surgical treatment of using dermal fillers to restore or add volume to the upper third of the face to create a more feminine appearance. According to Dr Zimri, the brow ridge framing the eyes can be a distinct gender marker, she explains that typically masculine foreheads have more pronounced features overshadowing the eyes. In contrast, female foreheads are smoother, without forward-projecting brow bones. "However, some women can have a more typically masculine forehead appearance," she explains, "and this is when 'femme framing' can soften these features."

Dr Ellie Reid, Aesthetic lead at Paragon Aesthetics adds: "Compared to masculine foreheads that appear flatter due to a more rectangular convexity and have more prominent boney ridges such as that from the brow bone and temple ridge, the eyebrows on a feminine forehead often sit higher compared to masculine ones, with a lift or arch in the brow meaning the tail of the brow sits higher than the middle portion."

Additionally, as our faces change with age, loss of volume is one of the key features that attributes to facial ageing, combined with increased looseness to the skin and tone and elasticity of muscles. "All these factors can contribute to losing the smooth, rounded curvature and high brow position that define a youthful and feminine forehead," explains Reid. "I've seen a shift in patients' demands for treatment over the last five years with more patients wanting to look natural but rejuvenated."

How Do You Achieve Femme Framing?

There are a few different types of filler that can be used to restore or add volume to the forehead area. The most popular products seen on the UK market are derived from a substance that also occurs naturally in the body called hyaluronic acid (HA) that can hold up to 1000 times its own weight in water. "HA fillers are loved by practitioners and patients alike due to their ease of placement," explains Dr Reid. "As well as its non-permanent and also reversible nature."

"This form of injectable will leave the forehead looking refreshed and smooth, while restoring volume and contouring the overall shape of the area," Dr Zimri tells PS UK. "It is the only form of Hyaluronic Acid that moves naturally with facial movements so it can be used in the forehead."

Where as botulinum toxin injections can relax the muscle under the skin, improving wrinkling in the forehead area, filler will hydrate it and make it appear plumper and more youthful. It can also improve the shape in a way botox cannot achieve. Femme framing is less about hiding wrinkles and more about correcting any elements that appear concave, or sunken, due to protruding eyebrows or a prominent forehead that is associated with a masculine appearance in females. The end result of a femme framing treatment is to give the appearance of a more curved shape.

Where Does the Femme Framing Trend Come From?

In Asian countries, particularly Korea, this is an increasingly popular treatment, however in the UK it's still in its infancy. "I predict it will be one of the breakout tweakments of 2024," says Dr Kimri – who has already seen a 100 percent increase in interest from the same period last year.

"Unlike other dermal filler treatments that patients may attend an appointment and request, such as lip augmentation, femme framing isn't necessarily a treatment that is popularly requested," explains Dr Reid. "However, patients often attend feeling they look angry, their eyes brows have dropped or feeling their face looks masculine seeking recommendations for treatment." We typically assess the face in a systematic approach breaking facial areas down into horizontal thirds. With my patients I like to take a truly holistic approach to treatment - considering the face as a whole and with this approach, forehead feminisation often routinely plays a role."

What Does a Femme Framing Treatment Involve?

According to Dr Zimri the treatment would be administered via cannula, as this tends to be the less painful way to approach injectables. "I would administer Teoxane RHA® 2 or 3 depending on the patient's skin quality. For example, if the patient has thicker skin, I will use RHA® 3 because this range of dermal filler has been designed to adapt to the dynamic demands of your face," she explains. "It's a highly personalised filler and the only option on the market that is designed especially for highly dynamic areas of the face, as it mimics the natural Hyaluronic Acid in the body. Perfect for an area like the forehead, which experiences frequent contractions and movements."

What Is the Recovery For a Femme Framing Treatment?

"The beauty of non-surgical treatments is that the recovery and downtime is very minimal," says Dr Reid. "Unlike surgical alternatives, patients are free to go about their day as normal after treatment." Dr Zimri agrees and adds, "For one-two days, patients may experience mild swelling and there is the possibility of bruising. However, this is completely normal and will heal quickly." The results will then take around two weeks from treatment, for you to see the full benefits and can last up to 18 months depending on the individual patient.

"Like with any hyaluronic acid-based filler placed in any facial area results are immediate, however in the first two weeks after treatments the filler will hydrate," Dr Reid tells PS UK. "This doesn't make the treatment look more pronounced, it just blends more homogeneously with your own tissues. What we've learnt over the last decade of using facial fillers, is that their longevity can be hugely variable depending on the product, placement, lifestyle factors, number of times an area has been treated and multiple of other factors. I prefer to say, in most patients, the treatment is most visible for around nine to 12 months."