How to Get Rid of Double Chin
Written By: Dr. Aashim Singh Kukreja
Updated On:December 13, 2023
What causes a Double Chin?
Submental fat, another name for the layer of fat that develops beneath your chin, is a common condition that results in a double chin. Even while having a double chin is frequently linked to weight gain, anyone can have one. Another possible reason for a double chin is genetics or aging-related skin loosening.
Exercises to Remove Double Chin
Despite the lack of scientific evidence, there is anecdotal evidence that chin exercises can help reduce double chins.
These are five exercises that could help tone and strengthen the skin and muscles around your double chin. Repeat each exercise many times daily. However, before beginning a new workout routine, always check with your doctor.
Exercise 1: Straight jaw jut
To do this exercise, you would need to look toward the ceiling as you tilt your head backward. As you move your lower jaw forward, feel the stretch under your skin. Hold and count to ten. Return your head to its neutral position and relax your jaw. Repeat as necessary.
Exercise 2: Ball exercise
This exercise requires a 9 to 10 inch ball. Place the ball under your chin. Push against the ball with your chin. Repeat as necessary.
Exercise 3: Pucker up
For this exercise, you need to tilt your head backward facing the ceiling. Stretch the area under your chin by puckering your lips as if you were kissing the ceiling. Return back to your natural position. Repeat as necessary.
Exercise 4: Neck stretch
This exercise requires that you tilt your head backward and toward the ceiling. Put your tongue up against your mouth’s roof. Hold for five to ten seconds, then release. Repeat as necessary.
Exercise 5: Tongue Stretch
For this exercise, you would need to stick your tongue as far out as you can while looking directly ahead. Lift your tongue toward your nose. After holding the position for ten seconds, you can release your hold. Repeat as necessary.
Treatments of Double Chin
Exercise can help you tighten up the area if your double chin is inherited. It's unknown if losing weight will be beneficial for double chin removal. In this situation, your doctor might advise invasive procedures to remove your double chin, such as the following:
- Liposuction: This surgery contours the chin and neck by removing fat from beneath the skin.
- Submentoplasty: This procedure tightens muscles under the chin while doing chin liposuction.
- Neck-lift: Several neck-lift techniques try to tighten the neck muscles (platysmaplasty) or remove excess skin (cervicoplasty) in order to improve the neck and chin contours. This technique is frequently performed in conjunction with a standard face-lift, which may result in a stiff neck for several months.
- Deoxycholic acid, a therapy that can be injected for a double chin, is one recent advancement in anti-aging technology. The gallbladder uses deoxycholic acid to break down dietary fat. This chemical is injected under the chin to melt fat, which the body then absorbs. This nonsurgical method calls for a number of treatments spaced out over a few weeks. According to the patient and the quantity of extra fat in the treatment area, it can take up to six treatments, however most individuals only need two or three.
Liposuction
A cannula, a tiny tube used in chin liposuction, is inserted into the chin in various places to perform the procedure. Little and precise amounts of fat are carefully suctioned out of each area. The end result is a smoother, more uniform profile with less submental fat.
The basic procedures for chin liposuction are as follows:
- Your surgeon will inspect the chin and neck and make notations with a pen to indicate the locations of the cannula insertions.
- An antiseptic solution is used to completely cleanse the skin, lowering the risk of infection.
- The surgeon will then give any sedatives that the patient requests or inject local anesthetic (a numbing drug) directly into the skin.
- Afterwards, they will create a number of tiny skin incisions just big enough to insert the liposuction cannula.
- The extra fat will then be suctioned away using a liposuction cannula that has been inserted and moved back and forth. For a smooth, even facial appearance, they'll pay particular attention to how much fat is eliminated from each location.
- Lastly, if required, bandaging is applied.
Submentoplasty
A submentoplasty is a surgical technique that creates a more defined neckline with long-lasting benefits. It entails removing fat deposits and strengthening the muscles in the neck and submental region.
A small incision is made beneath the chin during submentoplasty, and the neck's vertical bands are freed as well as the central neck muscles are strengthened. The cervico-mental (submental-neck) angle is sharpened as a result. To further clarify the neck lines, concurrent liposuction is frequently used.
For three days, a tight dressing is placed on the neck. During seven to ten days, there may be bruising and swelling. After one week, stitches will be removed. For 3 to 4 weeks while your body heals, you might feel tight, hard, and itchy.
Neck-Lift
Platysmaplasty is the medical word for a neck lift. To address age-related wrinkles and creasing in the neck and create a smoother, slimmer profile, the surgery surgically removes extra skin and fat.
A cosmetic neck lift can be carried out alone or in tandem with additional procedures like a facelift, eye lift, or soft tissue augmentation with dermal fillers.
Neck surgery can be performed at a hospital, an outpatient surgery center, or the surgeon's office-based surgical facility.
By employing anesthetic, the surgeon will make sure the patient is at ease throughout the process. In order to have surgery, a general anesthetic puts the patient into a profound sleep. Patients who take sedative drugs can stay awake while feeling calm and pain-free thanks to local anesthetic.
The actual process lasts many hours, and during that time, the doctor makes a few tiny incisions beneath the chin, behind the ear, and all around it. The surgeon tightens the neck muscles and trims any excess skin and fat before closing the incisions and wrapping the patient's head and chin in a pressure dressing.
Double Chin Surgery Complications
There are risks involved whenever foreign objects are put into the skin. To make sure you are fully informed before the surgery, a doctor should go over things with you beforehand.
Risks of double chin surgery include the following:
- Asymmetry of the facial features
- Bleeding
- Anesthesia-related complications, such as breathing issues
- Reduced sensitivity of the skin
- Discomfort
- Infection
- Nerve damage
- Scarring
- Swelling
It's also possible that following surgery, you won't get the outcomes you were looking for. To make sure your goals for your appearance after surgery are reasonable, it's crucial to discuss them with your doctor.
Post Double Chin Surgery Considerations
Following the operation of double chin removal, you should prepare for some swelling and discomfort. Due to swelling and bruising, the skin around the neck and chin may feel extremely tight. A doctor will typically remove facial drains that were placed to lessen blood and fluid buildup in your neck in a day or two.
Applying antibiotic ointment to any incision sites may be advised by a doctor. For a few days, they'll typically advise staying out of the sun or applying excessive amounts of water to the face and chin.
The length of recovery from double chin removal varies depending on the surgical technique your doctor employed. Recovery from chin liposuction might take up to a week; whereas recovery from necklifts can take up to two weeks.
References
Ascher, B., Fellmann, J., & Monheit, G. (2016). ATX-101 (deoxycholic acid injection) for reduction of submental fat. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 9(9), 1131-1143.
Daher, J. C., Cosac, O. M., & Domingues, S. (1988). Face-lift: the importance of redefining facial contours through facial liposuction. Annals of Plastic Surgery, 21(1), 1-10.
Feldman, J. J. (2014). Neck lift my way: an update. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 134(6), 1173-1183.
Goode, R. L. (1997). Removing double chins--the role of submentoplasty. Western journal of medicine, 167(6), 427.
VIÑAS, J. C., LYRIO, H., CORUJO, M., & PARCANSKY, J. (1972). Surgical treatment of double chin. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 50(2), 119-122.
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