The More Chiselled Me

Men Are Spending Millions on Jawline Procedures. Our International Grooming Guinea Pig, Garrett Munce, Investigates What We’re Getting Done – and Which Approach Is Best for Him.

Robin was my gateway. The jawline of Batman’s sidekick wasn’t the squarest, but at six years old in my bedroom, I knew something was different about him. That led me to Batman, Superman, Thor, the Human Torch. I could draw dozens of their faces from memory even before the Marvel Cinematic Universe began making gods out of guys named Chris. The one thing they all have in common? A jaw that looks like a block of granite. And I’ve wanted one ever since.

I’m a 34-year-old man with the facial structure of a baby, something that was adorable when I was an actual baby. But now that I’m an adult? It’s still adorable. I’ve struggled with my weight and body image my whole life, but my face has always been a particular problem. When I was at my heaviest, people couldn’t resist pinching my cheeks. When I was at my thinnest, and hospitalised for anorexia, another patient told me I had “chipmunk cheeks”. No matter what your body looks like under your clothes, you know what you can’t hide? Your face.

“The sharper the jaw, the stronger the man” is such a natural way to think that we don’t even question it. A study in 2013 discovered a link between a wider jaw and higher levels of circulating testosterone in men. A Duke University study found that CEOs with stronger facial features were seen as more competent. Another study reported that voters preferred leaders with more masculine features in wartime. In comic books (and conference rooms and the Oval Office), a square jaw suggests power. And more men like me are looking for ways of getting one.