What Supports Your Facial Contours?
A clear look at facial retaining ligaments, fascia, and the SMAS—and why their connections matter when discussing facial therapy.
By The re:FLOW team4 min read
Beneath the Surface: Understanding Your Face — Part 2 of 5
Your face changes expression all day. You smile, speak, laugh, and relax into rest. Beneath those movements, connective tissues help support the structures that give your face its shape.
Two names often appear in conversations about this support: retaining ligaments and the SMAS. Understanding them begins with a useful idea: the face needs support while still allowing expression.
In Part 1, Your Face Is More Than Skin Deep, we introduced the tissues beneath the surface. Here, we look more closely at some of their connections.
Fascia: the connections between structures
Fascia is connective tissue associated with the structures it surrounds and connects. In the face, its arrangement varies between regions and around different muscles.
Anatomical dissections have described areas where superficial and deeper fascia are closely attached, alongside areas with looser tissue between them. This helps explain why the face cannot be understood as identical layers stacked the same way everywhere. Read the anatomical study of facial fascia.
For everyday understanding, think about relationships: which tissues are connected, where support is concentrated, and where neighboring tissues can move relative to one another.
Retaining ligaments: fibrous attachments that support
Retaining ligaments are fibrous attachments that contribute to the support of facial soft tissues. Their name describes a supporting role, but their anatomy differs from one region to another.
Some arise from bone; others connect with deeper fascia or muscles. A 2024 dissection study described differing attachments around the cheekbone, chewing-muscle region, and lower face. It found that several named ligaments connected with fascia, muscle, or the SMAS rather than following one universal bone-to-skin pattern. Explore the study of facial retaining ligaments.
An anchor can be a useful starting analogy. In the face, these attachments belong to a three-dimensional arrangement of skin, fat, muscles, and fascia, with connections that vary in shape and extent.
What does SMAS mean?
SMAS stands for superficial musculoaponeurotic system. The term is used in facial anatomy and surgery when describing relationships between superficial muscles and connective tissues.
Its exact definition remains a subject of anatomical research. A study combining dissections and microscopic examination challenged the idea of one distinct, continuous SMAS layer connecting the facial muscles across the face. Read the research examining the SMAS.
The practical lesson is that a simple facial diagram is a guide. The arrangement of tissues changes with location, and researchers may describe those relationships differently. A description of the SMAS is most useful when it identifies the region and tissues being discussed.
Understanding changes in facial contours
Looking at a cheek or jawline does not tell us whether a particular ligament is involved. As we explored in Part 1, facial appearance reflects contributions from skin, fat, muscles, connective tissue, and bone.
It is more useful to ask what someone has noticed and what they hope to understand than to assign every change to one hidden structure. Later in this series, we will explore muscle tension and the distinction between facial fat and tissue fluid in more detail.
What this means for facial therapy
At , facial therapy includes attention to the neck, head, and surrounding soft tissues. Before your visit, share your goals, sensitivities, recent procedures, and comfort preferences with the studio.
Anatomy helps us explain that approach and set realistic expectations. Studies describing facial structures do not establish that hands-on therapy tightens retaining ligaments, repositions fat, or produces a surgical lift.
Understanding your face can make conversations about care clearer. Bring your questions to the studio, and we can help you choose a session suited to your priorities.
Next in the series: facial movement and muscle tension—how expression and chewing involve different muscles, and why those differences matter.