Ever wondered why so many people seem to look the same on TV and social media nowadays? According to cosmetic surgeon Dr Riccardo Frati, there’s a good reason for this, as he says there are five main face types that seem to cover the majority of modern faces: feline, timeless beauty, reality ‘doll face’, English rose and features face. So, which one are you? Read on for more…
Sounds crazy to be able to categorise faces into just five types, right? But cosmetic surgeon Dr Riccardo Frati says we can do exactly that, based on his patients’ requests. So, what are these face types? Let’s have a look in more detail. I've also called upon two fabulous aesthetic practitioners - Natalie Haswell and Amar Suchde - for their thoughts.
1. Feline face
First up on Dr Frati’s list is the feline face, which, as the name suggests, is a cat-like appearance, sporting angular features, a small nose, cat-like eye and an arched or lifted brow. Sound familiar? That’s possibly because you’ve seen it on celebs like Bella Hadid (whose look Frati claims was the most requested in 2020 at his clinic, and who he explained to FEMAIL “has flawless skin, angular features and the tip of her nose is super refined”.), Megan Fox, Kendall Jenner and Taylor Swift. Do you have these features? If so, welcome to the feline face club!
The surgeon intimated that some of the celebs out there have had certain treatments to achieve this look, stating, “Kendall appears to have had a brow lift or "ponytail lift" looking back at photos and I believe Bella has potentially had this too.” We recently wrote about the non-surgical fox eye lift, which you can read about here.
2. Timeless beauty face
Yep, even some modern faces are timeless in terms of their beauty. But what does this even mean?! Well, Dr Frati identifies those timeless beauty as being identifiable by their strong jawlines, small noses and warm, friendly smiles. Some examples of those? Here’s a few: Kate Moss, Jessica Alba and Jameela Jamil. Yeah, ok - I can see that.
So, what work do people get in order to achieve this timeless beauty look? According to Dr Frati, “Blake Lively has a strong jawline, small nose, happy smile. She appears to have had a rhinoplasty looking back at older photos of her, and some lovely natural dental work.”
But rhinoplasty doesn’t have to mean going under the knife anymore. A liquid rhinoplasty can give incredible results and is a treatment that’s growing in popularity with people who want to reduce the size of their noses, change nose shape and hide humps and bumps. Same goes for the jawline filler, which can give definition and structure.
Are you a timeless beauty?
3. Reality TV ‘doll' face
Ok, so one face type we’re probably all familiar with is the reality TV doll face look, and this seems to have filtered down through social media too. So, what does Dr Frati determine as the ‘doll face’? He recognises characteristics such as a small nose, lips plumed to the max, and high, plump cheeks. Who fits into this face type then? For Dr Frati it’s Charlotte Crosby, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, among many others. He told FEMAIL, “Kim and Kylie represent today’s beauty ideal for many.” Sound like you?
One thing to note is that while filler treatments like lip fillers have become seriously popular, it’s not actually a treatment that requires the person doing it to be qualified in any way. Anyone could, technically, buy the stuff and inject (TERRIFYING!). But fillers come with their own complications and we’ve all heard the horror stories and it’s not worth messing up your face for a cheap pair of lips. If you’re thinking of getting a plumper pout or midface volumisation, make sure you see someone who’s medically qualified, ethical and can give you the best advice and treatment.
To get the doll face look, Dr Frati explained that people typically undergo “a rhinoplasty, brow lift, dermal fillers and Botox, along with a combination of skin tightening (Morpheus8) and laser (fraxel).”
4. Classic English rose face
Are you a classic English rose? It’s a term that’s been around for a long time and one which is still relevant according to Dr Frati. So, what exactly makes someone an ‘English rose’? The surgeon says you can identify them by their glowing skin, angular jawline, ‘apple-like’ cheeks and lack of fine lines. Famous English roses, AKA ‘upper class faces’ include Emma Watson and Keira Knightly, who Dr Frati suggests have probably looked after their skin, using SPF.
He explained in his interview with FEMAIL, “Both Emma and Keira’s cheeks sit high and apple like – this could be achieved by using a dermal filler injected just above or on top of the patient's cheek bone”.
5. Features face
So, what’s the features face then? Dr Frati believes it consists of a strong jawline and nose, wide eyes and, in some cases, defined cheekbones. The celebrities he sees as having a features face include Alexa Chung, Princess Eugenie and Rumer Willis.
When it comes to creating that strong jawline, he states it “can be achieved using a dermal filler, guided and injected using a cannula technique.” And this is definitely a treatment we’ve noticed becoming more and more popular in the last couple of years.
Can we really narrow it down to just five face types?
Now you've heard about each of the five faces, let's find out what aesthetic experts Amar and Natalie think about them...
Natalie Haswell, owner of Haswell Aesthetics, Colchester explains, "I must admit, I am a little sceptical about these statements. Purely because I never categorise people, other than for gender, with regards to the differences in facial anatomy - particularly bone structure - or patients from varied ethnic backgrounds. I feel we must not lose sight of holistic care, especially with regards to the initial assessment.
I don’t want to look like anyone else but, instead, fresher and more contoured in line with my ethnic background, female gender and facial profile.
Make sure you see someone who has studied aesthetic medicine to the highest level and the ageing process, so they can give you met expectations and desired outcomes! Otherwise you may be very disappointed and left looking very disproportionate because you have asked for a certain selection of treatments and been treated by a not very well qualified or skilled injector."
For Amar Suchde, founder of AMS Aesthetics, "the concept of beauty is always changing. Just like they say every eight miles you go, the accent changes, I also think the concept of beauty changes. Beauty in London is very different to, say, beauty in Liverpool or Newcastle.
With the surge in social media and influencers, I think there's more access to see what others are doing, and younger people want to look a certain way because they're conditioned to a certain idea of beauty.
As an injector, it's really important when a patient comes in to see what they really want or need, and what will suit them. Taking into consideration what Dr Frati said about people wanting to fit into these face types, it's clear that many people of a certain target market look the same. So, it's really up to the injector to tailor their treatment style and consider what their eye to beauty is. We have to take into consideration face shape and angles and ratios, as there's a science and an art to injecting. We don't want everyone to look the same. Everyone is beautiful in their own way."
Which face type are you?
So, which face type are you? Of course, if you don’t feel like your face fits into any of these five categories, don’t worry. I’m not sure mine does either, but I’m ok with that. We each have our own unique features - some of which we like and some of which we don’t. And we live in an age where, if something is bothering us, there are plenty of options out there to add, take away or change. However, the most important thing is to only ever make these changes for yourself, not for anyone else - whether that’s a plumper pout, a treatment for lines and wrinkles or a smaller nose. And if you’re someone who wants to do this, the best possible thing to do is to arrange a consultation with a medically qualified practitioner to determine what’s right for you, and what’s actually achievable.
Glowday lists hundreds of medically qualified aesthetic practitioners from around the UK, keeping you in safe hands.
Photo credit: Commons Wikimedia