Image: Skims
In late July 2025, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear line Skims released a new product that, like many of its garments, promises to shape and offer support — except this time, it was for the face. The item, currently sold out online, retails for $48 and looks similar to the dressing you might receive from the doctor after jaw surgery. The Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap goes around the head, with openings for the face and ears, designed to create a sharp, snatched jawline.
Shapewear for the face might sound like a weird (and completely unnecessary) new invention, but it’s anything but. In fact, in East Asia, similar products have been on store shelves for years. In countries like Japan and Korea, having a small, softly angular face with a subtly pointed chin is the dominant beauty standard, yet many East Asians naturally have round profiles. And wherever there are insecurities about personal appearance, there are gadgets and treatments marketed as the perfect solution.
The face-slimming products of Asia
Browse the aisles of Loft in Tokyo or Olive Young in Seoul and, tucked between the sheet masks and eyelash curlers, you’ll often find an assortment of face-slimming thingamajigs that have predated the viral Skims offering. On YesStyle, an Asian fashion and beauty e-tailer, there are numerous face-sculpting products, such as the Skims-esque Simbler V Line Lifting Mask and the jawline-hugging Line Lifting Hydrogel Patch made by Korean brand Marshique.
@azumanatsumi0725 【検証】30分つけるだけで本当に小顔になるの？浮腫みはめっちゃ取れた✌️✌🏻💖 #検証 #小顔マスク #正直レビュー #美容 #浮腫み ♬ オリジナル楽曲 – 🍊🐆尼崎のなつみかん🍊🐆
On YouTube, Tokyo-based creator Yllah posted a video in 2022 documenting her experience using a Japanese face roller designed to slim the jawline for one month. (Spoiler: It didn’t seem to have an effect on her face shape.) And on TikTok in 2024, @azumanatsumi0725 demonstrated how to use the Japanese stick-on sculpter KogaO+ V-Upper. But even long before the 2020s, face-slimming gadgets and tools were marketed in countries like China, South Korea, and Japan.
Of course, they don’t all have Skims’ jaw bra-like design. Some, such as the classic gua sha and jade roller, are meant to be rolled and swiped across the face. Others rely on electric currents or face exercises to shape the jaw.
Do face-sculpting products work?
Before you add the Skims Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap, or one of the OGs from Asia, to your wishlist, know that many face-sculpting products are more of a temporary fix than a real solution — and, of course, there’s no need to slim or shape your jawline in the first place. That said, if occasional puffiness is getting you down, a tool for lymphatic drainage, such as a gua sha, can help, but it’s also important to rule out allergies, poor diet, medication side effects, and other health conditions first. If you notice heaviness in the jaw and you also experience pain and tension, you may be better off seeking medical treatment for jaw clenching (such as masseter Botox), rather than wrapping your face in a sculpting device. And if weight gain has caused a more rounded appearance, a holistic health and weight loss plan may be more effective than face-specific products.
