Shortening the midface, the area between your brows and the base of your nose, involves either physically changing bone and soft tissue or creating the illusion of a shorter face through styling and cosmetic techniques. The options range from hairstyle choices you can try today to major jaw surgery with months of recovery. Which approach makes sense depends on how much change you’re after and whether the length is caused by bone structure, soft tissue, or simply how your features are proportioned.
What “Midface” Actually Means
Your face is divided into three roughly equal vertical sections. The upper third runs from your hairline to your brow line. The middle third spans from the brow line down to the base of your nose (a point called the subnasale). The lower third goes from the base of your nose to your chin. When people say their midface is “long,” they usually mean one of two things: the actual bone between the eyes and upper jaw is vertically tall, or the distance from the nose to the upper lip (the philtrum) makes the center of the face appear stretched.
Aesthetic research ties attractive facial proportions to a ratio of roughly 1:1.618 between the facial thirds, with some gender-specific variation. Perfectly equal thirds aren’t the goal. What matters perceptually is that no single section dominates. A midface that’s noticeably longer than the other two thirds is what draws attention, and that’s what the various shortening strategies aim to correct or disguise.
Non-Surgical Styling Tricks
The simplest way to visually shorten a long midface is to break up the vertical line your eye naturally follows. Bangs are the most effective tool. Medium to long bangs reduce the visible length of the upper face, which rebalances the proportions and makes the midface appear shorter by comparison. Longer side-swept bangs add asymmetry that distracts from overall length. Short bangs, on the other hand, can actually draw more attention to a long face shape, so avoid those.
Pixie cuts are one of the strongest optical shorteners because they eliminate length around the head entirely, tricking the eye into perceiving a shorter face. The key is avoiding a top-heavy silhouette that adds height. Bobs and lobs work well too, especially when textured around the sides of the face to create visual width. Width is the counterbalance to length: anything that makes the face appear wider will make it appear shorter.
Makeup can also help. Placing blush horizontally across the cheeks rather than sweeping it upward creates a wider visual midpoint. Highlighting the center of the chin and keeping lip color bold both draw the eye downward and outward, reducing focus on the vertical center of the face.
Lip Lift Surgery
A subnasal lip lift (sometimes called a bullhorn lift) is the most targeted soft tissue procedure for shortening the perceived midface. It removes a strip of skin just beneath the nose, pulling the upper lip upward. This shortens the philtrum, the groove between your nose and lip, and increases how much of the upper lip’s red border is visible. The result is a face where the lower boundary of the midface appears to sit higher, making the whole middle section look more compact.
The philtrum is the only landmark in the central face that actually lengthens with age. Everything else stays roughly in place. That’s why this procedure has both a shortening and a rejuvenating effect. Research shows a shorter philtrum, more visible upper lip, and prominent philtral columns are consistently rated as more attractive. The impact tends to be most dramatic in patients around age 35, when philtrum lengthening has become noticeable but surrounding skin still has good elasticity.
The average cost of a subnasal lip lift in the United States is about $3,100, with a typical range of $2,400 to $6,100 depending on the surgeon and location. Recovery is relatively quick compared to bone surgery, usually a week or two of visible swelling, with the scar hidden in the crease beneath the nose.
Maxillary Impaction Surgery
When the midface is long because of actual bone structure, the most definitive correction is a LeFort I osteotomy with maxillary impaction. This is a procedure where a surgeon separates the upper jaw from the rest of the skull and repositions it higher, physically reducing the vertical height of the midface. It corrects what’s clinically called vertical maxillary excess, sometimes referred to as “long face syndrome,” where the upper jaw has grown too far downward. People with this condition often show excessive gum tissue when they smile.
The surgery allows correction in three dimensions. For midface shortening specifically, the maxilla is moved upward (impacted), and any excess bone, nasal septum, and surrounding structures are trimmed so the jaw seats into a stable new position. It’s typically performed under general anesthesia, and the incisions are made inside the mouth, so there are no visible scars on the face.
Recovery follows a predictable timeline. Most people return to work or school within two to three weeks. A soft or liquid diet is necessary in the early days. Full bone healing takes 8 to 12 weeks, sometimes longer. Normal jaw function returns gradually over that period.
Nasal Changes to Expect
One of the most important things to understand about maxillary impaction is that it changes the nose. In one study, 95% of patients experienced widening of the nostrils after impaction. The nasal tip moved upward in 85% of cases, advanced forward in 80%, and rotated in 80%. If your nose is already short or upturned, impaction can cause excessive nostril show.
The nasal septum also needs careful management during surgery. If the cartilage isn’t trimmed properly, it can buckle to one side, blocking the airway or making the nose look asymmetric. Removing too much cartilage near the front of the nose can cause the columella (the strip of tissue between the nostrils) to retract, leaving it in a “hanging” position that looks unnatural. These complications are correctable with follow-up procedures like septoplasty or cartilage grafting, but they’re worth knowing about beforehand.
On the positive side, nasal airway resistance typically decreases after impaction. The widening of the nostrils and internal nasal structures means most people breathe more easily through their nose after surgery, not less.
Orthodontic Approaches
For people whose long midface is partly caused by how the teeth and jaws relate to each other, orthodontic treatment can produce subtle vertical changes without surgery. When back teeth have over-erupted (grown too far out of the jawbone), they force the lower jaw to hinge open more than it should, which elongates the lower part of the face. Intrusion of these molars, pushing them back into the bone using specialized mechanics like temporary anchorage devices or bite blocks, allows the lower jaw to rotate forward and upward. This closes down the vertical dimension and can visibly shorten the face.
The effect is more modest than surgery. Orthodontic molar intrusion works best in cases where the bite itself is contributing to the long appearance, particularly in patients with an open bite. It won’t change actual bone height in the midface, but the autorotation of the lower jaw can make the overall facial proportions look significantly more balanced.
Dermal Fillers for Visual Balance
Injectable fillers don’t shorten anything structurally, but they can reshape how the midface reads. The principle is the same as with hairstyling: adding width and projection to certain areas makes the vertical dimension less dominant. Filler placed along the cheekbones creates a horizontal shelf of volume that visually breaks up the midface. Filler in the chin can lengthen the lower third, which proportionally makes the middle third appear shorter by comparison.
These effects are temporary, lasting anywhere from 6 to 18 months depending on the product and placement. They’re a useful option for people who want to test whether a change in proportions would make a meaningful difference before committing to anything permanent.
Choosing the Right Approach
The best strategy depends on what’s actually causing the long appearance. If the philtrum is the main issue, a lip lift alone can make a significant difference. If the bone structure is genuinely excessive, maxillary impaction is the only way to create a true skeletal change. If the proportions are within normal range but just bother you, styling and fillers can shift the visual balance without any permanent alteration.
Many people combine approaches. A maxillary impaction might be paired with rhinoplasty to manage the nasal changes. A lip lift might be combined with cheek filler to maximize the proportional shift. Starting with the least invasive options and working up gives you the clearest picture of how much correction you actually need.