What Makes Breast Implants Look “Natural?”

A big personal decision

All the right reasons

The decision to have breast augmentation is a personal one. Women decide to have the surgery for a wide range of reasons:

• To restore volume to their breasts after weight loss
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding
• To wanting to enhance a naturally small chest.

While women might differ in their reasons for wanting the surgery, they often share one concern: many women want implants that look and feel natural.

Back in the day, it was often easy to tell when a woman had implants. But advances in materials, technique, and technology mean that more and more women are getting a natural-looking result. Several things about an implant determine how natural they look and feel.

Implant Size

Breast implant profile

Breast augmentation is all about proportion. One way to make sure proportions are even is to choose implants that are the right size. During your breast augmentation consultation, your surgeon will help you choose the right-sized implants based on your current breast size and your body type.

Implant profile types

• Low-profile breast implants (4 inches in diameter and 0.8 inch tall)
• Mid-profile breast implants (3.5 inches in diameter and 1.1 inch tall)
• High profile breast implants (3.2 inches in diameter and 1.4 inch tall)

The amount of breast tissue you have and the width of your chest also play a role in determining what size looks natural. You’ll be able to try on sizers during your consultation to get an idea of how a particular size will look and feel.

Implant Shape

The breast natural shape

Implant shape also plays a role when it comes to whether the final result looks natural or not. Usually, implants are either round or teardrop-shaped. The round implants tend to make the breasts look full and round on the top, a look that many associates with fake-looking breasts. In contrast, teardrop-shaped implants are designed to imitate the natural shape of the breast. The one drawback of teardrop implants is that you can usually tell if they shift position or turn over after being placed, as it will affect the way the breast looks.

The profile of the implant is related to the shape. Generally speaking, implants can be low, medium or moderate, or high profile. High-profile implants tend to be pointy and narrow and often create a rounded look at the top of the breast. Moderate and low-profile implants are usually wider and create a fuller look overall. Whether one profile looks more natural on you or not depends in part on your body type and the natural shape of your breasts.

Implant Material

Silicone look more natural than saline implants

As a general rule, you’re likely to get a more natural result from silicone implants rather than saline implants.

There are several reasons for that. For one thing, silicone implants tend to feel more like real breast tissue than saline.

Saline implants tend to feel firm to the touch. They also tend to be more visible beneath the skin. Depending on the thickness of your skin, it is sometimes possible to see the edges of a saline implant rippling beneath it.

Implant Placement

Under or above the muscle

Where the surgeon places the implants during the surgery is another thing that influences whether or not your results look natural. Usually, the implants are placed either under the muscle or above the muscle. A third option, known as DualPlane, partially covers the implants with muscle.

Whether under the muscle or over the muscle placement creates a more natural appearance depending on a number of factors. Women who naturally have a fair amount of breast tissue might be better suited to having the implants placed on top of the muscle. If you have very little natural breast tissue, it’s common for a surgeon to recommend putting the implants under the muscle. The extra layer created by the muscle helps the implants to be less visible beneath the skin.