Your face is the first thing people notice about you. It’s a huge part of your feminine image.
Not surprisingly, there are many subtle and not-so-subtle differences between male and female faces.
What can you do if you have so-called “masculine” features? The good news is that you DON’T have to start shopping for a surgeon!
In this article – written specifically for MTF transgender women and crossdressers – I share 7 key differences between male and female faces.
Then I show you how to feminize your face with specific makeup, hairstyle, and beauty techniques. (No plastic surgery required!)
This post is filled with tips and helpful tutorial videos, so let’s get started!
1. Forehead
The forehead isn’t usually the first feminine facial feature that comes to mind – but it’s a key indicator of gender. There are 3 major differences between male and female foreheads:
- Men’s foreheads tend to be higher and wider than women’s foreheads.
- Men have a bony ridge called “brow bossing” that runs across the forehead above the eyes. Women have smooth foreheads.
- Men’s foreheads tend to slope backward while women’s foreheads are more vertical.
Fortunately, there is an easy, non-surgical fix for disguising a masculine forehead: bangs. Bangs are a great choice for crossdressers and transgender women. Here are some tips:
- Go for wispy bangs. Wispy bangs hide your forehead while softening the rest of your facial features.
- Avoid blunt cut bangs. Blunt bangs create a horizontal line across the face, emphasizing the angularity of your features.
- Say “no” to short bangs. Instead, go for bangs that are long enough to fully cover the brow ridge.
2. Eyebrows
It’s no secret that men have thicker eyebrows than women. But beyond that, there are other important differences:
- Men’s eyebrows tend to have a straight shape; women’s eyebrows are more arched.
- Men have lower eyebrows than women. The eyebrows sit below the orbital rim bone in men and above the orbital rim bone in women.
Updating your eyebrows can change the appearance of your entire face. Here’s how to feminize your eyebrows:
- Visit a salon to have your eyebrows professionally shaped. While it’s easy to pluck your own eyebrows, it’s also easy to overdo it. I recommend having a professional create your ideal shape. Then you can maintain that shape yourself.
- Create beautiful eyebrows with makeup. Here’s a great tutorial on creating feminine eyebrows – even if you can’t pluck.
3. Eyes
Your eyes are the first thing people notice about your face. Beautiful, feminine eyes are a must! Here are the differences between male and female eyes:
- Due to the brow ridge, men’s eyes appear more deeply set than women’s eyes.
- Men’s eyelids tend to be slightly closed, giving the eyes a narrower look.
To feminize your eyes, you need to create the illusion of larger, more open-looking eyes. Here’s how to do it:
- Enhance your lashes. Lush lashes are the key to larger looking eyes. Use an eyelash curler to help open up the eyes and invest in a great mascara. Also, check out my article on 4 Eyelash Innovations that Will Transform Your Face.
- Master the art of eye makeup. Learning how to apply eye makeup correctly is one of the most important skills a girl can possess. Here is a great tutorial on creating bigger, sexier eyes:
4. Nose
First of all, if you feel self-conscious about your nose, relax! There are loads of beautiful women with prominent noses.
That said, here are the differences between male and female noses:
- Men have longer, wider noses, while women’s noses are shorter and narrower.
- The bridges of men’s noses tend to be straight or arched, while women’s noses tend to be more concave in profile.
Here are some tips for feminizing your nose:
- Bring attention to your other features. The best way to downplay a prominent nose is to enhance your eyes, lips, and cheeks. If you do a good job with the rest of your makeup, your nose should fade into the background.
- Contour your nose with makeup. Nose contouring can be tricky, but it’s a great option for the evening or for photoshoots. (Contouring makeup usually looks too obvious in daylight.) Here’s a tutorial to get you started:
5. Cheeks
Cheeks are very important to the overall proportions of your face. Here are the differences between male and female cheeks:
- Men tend to have flatter cheekbones, while women have prominent cheekbones.
- Women have more facial fat, giving the cheeks a fuller, rounder appearance.
Here are some tips for creating fuller, more feminine cheeks:
- Apply blush correctly. A common mistake is to apply a stripe of blush along the bottom of the cheekbones. This enhances the angular appearance of your face. Instead, blush should be applied to the apples of your cheeks. This gives you a feminine glow and creates the illusion of fuller cheeks.
- Try injectable cheek fillers. While this is definitely a more invasive option, dermal fillers such as Restylane or Voluma can give you fuller, softer-looking cheeks within minutes. These treatments are costly ($700+), but they last 1-2 years and make a huge difference to the overall appearance of your face. An added bonus is that filling your cheeks can make you look younger as well.
6. Lips
Lush lips are a symbol of beauty and femininity. Here are the specific differences between male and female lips:
- Men’s lips tend to be thinner than women’s lips – particularly the top lip.
- The distance between the base of the nose and the top lip tends to be longer in men.
Fortunately, it’s very easy to create fuller, more feminine lips:
- Use a cosmetic lip plumper. For an instant boost, try a lip plumper like Sublime Lips Manuka Honey Lip Plumper. It adds volume while hydrating and nourishing the lips.
- Avoid dark lipstick. Dark lipstick makes your lips look even thinner, so opt for lighter, brighter shades instead.
- Enlarge your lips with makeup. Here’s a great tutorial on creating the illusion of larger lips:
7. Chin And Jawline
While a strong jaw tends to be associated with masculinity, many of the world’s most beautiful women have square jawlines: Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore, Gweneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, and Gisele Bundchen.
Here are the specific differences between male and female chins and jawlines:
- Men tend to have longer chins than women.
- There is often a sharp angle between a man’s chin and jaw, giving the chin a square look.
- Men’s chins tend to have a flat end, while women’s chins come to a point.
- Men have wider, heavier jaws than women.
Here are some tips for downplaying a masculine chin and jawline:
- Choose a soft, shoulder length hairstyle. Go for wavy, layered hairstyles that gently cover the jawline. Short or chin length hairstyles that reveal your jaw should be avoided if this is a problem area for you. Shoulder length hair is most flattering.
- Contour your jaw with makeup. You can also soften the angles of your chin and jawline with makeup. Here’s a tutorial on how to contour and feminize your face with makeup:
Put your best face forward
Looking beautiful isn’t about having perfect features. It’s about working with your natural features to create an overall look of beauty and femininity.
These tips on how to feminize your face will greatly enhance your female beauty!
The more of these tips you apply, the more feminine your face will look!
I’d love to see your results, so please share a photo in the comments below. Let me know what’s working for you and if you have any other tips or suggestions to share.
And as always, thank you for reading and participating!
Love,
Lucille
P.S. Want to discover even more advanced techniques to feminize your face? Learn how to transform your appearance in the next 2 weeks with Makeup Magic: The Ultimate Male to Female Makeup Program.
Pre HRT with a wig Age 21 ( Blonde Haired one )
2 Weeks HRT no makeup ( Brunette Haired Picture )
Any advice on what i need to feminize a bit more?
Wow so not fair
You look absolutely amazing in both pictures! I agree, blonde is definitely your color. 🙂 I also think the first picture is a better angle, but overall, if your goal was to pass, you do it quite well!
Honestly, you look adorable without the hormones, and using the blonde wig. Blonde is definitely your color! Beautiful, and you look totally passable in the first pic. Like, you look like any other young, cute, blonde.
Been growing my boobs for 3-4 weeks seen a small sorry in growth
My lips are already fuller naturally
My slow and gradual progress
Slow and steady wins the race. We’ll all get there if we just take it one day at a time. I’m still searching for a therapist to get prescribed HRT. It’s not easy finding one in Ohio. Finding clothes to match my manicures always improves my mood though
I have regular appointments with my beautician to femininiz my facial features eyebrows and in general it’s who I am on the inside. Yet being cautious due to my traditional culture and My status as father to two daughters. No body ever said it would be easy I know first hand it’s not and proposed I hope
I noticed that my only real problem was the chin and jaw because I fell over one day back in high school and fractured it, it just came together all rough and large when it healed. Other than that; probably my eyes because of my insomnia, and while I don’t necessarily have a visible brow bossing; I can feel it when I run my fingers over it and my eyebrows sit very low, especially when I’m not focusing on raising them throughout the day, which is why I hate every photo of myself that isn’t a selfie, especially school photographs; something doesn’t sit right with those people. But I’m so happy to have the eyelashes, lips and nose I have because of my deviated septum and mixed racial genes.
In transgender, I’m young, so I don’t have as many problems, and I have very feminine features!!! And I’m lucky, but I suffer from my for head, I mean my brows are higher and feminine but an area above it looks slanted, any advice ?
I can see the slant you’re talking about, but because your eyebrows are high and perfect, it’s hard to notice and it looks naturally feminine anyway; I don’t think it should really be an issue but if it bothers you I’d suggest any type of fringe, I don’t have visible brow bones per say, but I have a nasty pressure fold from the dry skin there; fringes work wonders for me; they can compliment your eyes in ways you never thought they could; especially Eyelashes and Eyebrows.
Bae you’re beautiful just the way you are I can’t even tell that you have a male head you look 100% perf.
here’s a recent photo of me… i do suffer from the recessed eyes and prominent brow bone. i do as much as i can to lighten that area but i’ve found that i have such Full lips that i can go with a darker color which distracts people from the circles under my eyes that never go away!
plus the shoulder length hair works the best for me… when i grow it 8-10 inches longer the weight alone of the hair, flatten’s me out. but when i had it cut back … POP… my beautiful natural curls come back. any tips or tricks for me? i love hearing from everyone out there in Internetopia!
Hmmm… First of all your lips are perfect and I’m a tad envious of your jawline and chin, because mine are insufferable. I would suggest trying some concealer for the eyes and even the forehead; I’m not sure what type, but whatever works best with your skin tone. Then I would probably suggest moving your side fringe more to the centre of your forehead; also, I’ve seen plenty of Cis women who don’t look half as good as you and have really thick brow bossing so I would also suggest not worrying and wearing your beautiful face with confidence, you go girl!
A long and layered hair cut allows you to keep the.longer length without the weight of the hair flattening or straightening it out. I have long layered hair – it looks full and full of body vs looking flat when it’s one long length.
Also try putting your (layered) hair in a twisted bun on top pf your head for a while or overnight…it will add loose curls/body and lots pf volume! Dry hair.Wet hair may not dry fully while twisted up.