The New V – Noninvasive Face-Lift Procedures

The New V – Noninvasive Face-Lift Procedures

allure logoOriginal Article By Elizabeth Siegel. We’ve all been there: sticking out our chin and pressing our tongue against the roof of our mouth in pictures. Popping the occasional collar. It’s a stubborn problem, that double chin, one that’s un-suck-in-able, un-cover-up-able, and un-Instagram-filter-able. But everyone deals with it eventually. “Your skin begins to thin in your 20s, and then you start losing bone, fat, and muscle in your jaw around age 50—and these changes to your facial structure make your jawline sag like a loose blouse on a wire hanger,” says Jeannette Graf, a dermatologist in New York City, who has no problem telling it like it is. On top of that, your jaw is one of the three areas on your body that “gravity is working against all the time,” says Amy Wechsler, a dermatologist in New York City. (The second and third: boobs.) Until recently, the only procedure that could do a damn thing for jowls was a face-lift. But now there are noninvasive ways to get rid of a paunchy chin. Give her a syringe and a doctor can reshape your jawline. Says Ranella Hirsch, a dermatologist in Boston: “It’s endlessly gratifying.”

The Filler Up

You probably think of filler as something for wrinkles. You may even have a few cc’s in your wrinkles right now. But in the jaw, dermatologists use filler very differently. Remember how we told you that the jawbone shrinks, contributing to sagging? “We use stiff fillers, like Radiesse and Restylane, to add structure back to the jaw—like using poles to stretch a tennis net taut,” says Ava Shamban, a dermatologist in Los Angeles. “First, I inject the parts of the jaw that are under the chin and ears, where the mandible bone has shrunk. If that’s not enough support to lift the entire jaw, I’ll inject all the way along the jawline.” The main side effect is a small chance of bruising. This approach isn’t for everyone, though: “If you’ve got a lot of laxity, fillers aren’t going to lift your jaw,” says Hirsch. But for the right patient (with mild to moderate sagging, between the age of 40 and the mid-70s), “it’s very effective at lifting and smoothing the jaw in a natural way,” says Ellen Marmur, a dermatologist in New York City, who is wrapping up a yearlong study on the effects of filler in the jaw.

Cost: It varies, depending on how much lifting you need, but “plan on spending a grand or two,” says Shamban. In better news, the effects can last up to two years.

The Jowl Melter

The sun, smoking, genetics—these are the main causes of aging in the jaw and, you know, everywhere else. But there’s also a more surprising source of sagging: “Just as gravity pulls down on your jaw over time, so can a pocket of fat under your chin,” says Graf. “Kybella is an injectable, synthetic form of the fat dissolver deoxycholic acid, which exists naturally in your body.” It breaks down fat cells so they can be flushed out of the body by your circulatory and lymphatic systems. It’ll get rid of a double chin, or what Shamban calls a “jeck,” and as a secondary benefit will tighten tissue, which could help prevent sagging in the long run. “Longer-term results can be excellent, but there’s a period of swelling for one to two weeks, so it’s best to get it in the winter, when you can cover up,” says Hirsch.

Cost: $1,000 on average per session; it can take up to six sessions to deliver results.

The Muscle Relaxer

If you’re not a Bravo enthusiast—and that’s cool, you probably do other things, like read books—Google “Bethenny Frankel jawline before and after.” And click, bam, proof that you can go from having a square jaw to one that’s shaped like a V. “You can narrow the lower half of your face a couple of millimeters by relaxing the masseter muscle—the one at the edge of your jaw—with a botulinum toxin, like Botox or Dysport,” says Marmur. It’s especially useful for teeth grinders, whose jaw muscles bulk up over time; relaxing the muscles also relieves chronic headaches caused by grinding. And it’s got one more happy side effect: “When you smile, your skin should move back and naturally crease a little. But if the masseter muscle is too big, it adds resistance that makes the skin wrinkle around your jaw,” says Doris Day, a dermatologist in New York City. “Just relaxing that muscle can smooth the jaw spectacularly.”

Cost: Around $700 a pop, with effects that last for at least six months.

The Skin Tightener

Radio frequency is an expensive procedure that goes by fancier names, too, like Thermage and EndyMed. It heats up deep layers of skin, causing controlled damage that stimulates new collagen and firms the skin. Some dermatologists start patients in their 30s on it with the goal of mitigating aging down the road. Others swear by it for tightening sagging tissue along the jaw. Many who use it do so in conjunction with fillers, though. “If a face-lift is a home run for lifting the jaw, radio frequency is like getting to second base, and sometimes that’s enough for patients to stop obsessing over that area,” says Wechsler. “But it doesn’t work well for smokers, sun worshippers, or yo-yo dieters, because all those things break down new collagen in the skin.” And sometimes even nonsmoking vampires won’t create enough collagen to be happy with the results: “A concern is it doesn’t work optimally for all patients, and it can be difficult to know who’s going to respond best,” says Hirsch.

Cost:From $2,500 to $6,000, depending on the level of treatment a patient needs; the effects can last one to two years.

View Our Other Blog Articles:

Transitioning Summer Skincare Into Fall

Top Tips for Taking Your Skin and Skincare from Summer to Fall Be honest – how well did you do with taking care of your skin this summer? Did you wear sunblock every day? Always stay out of the sun during peak hours?  We’re not here to judge! Whatever the condition of...

Demystifying Facial Fillers

For more than four decades, experts in the medical aesthetics field have been offering facial fillers. During that time, there have been plenty of changes in what is available, what the FDA has approved for cosmetic use, and the results patients can expect....

Attaining Your Ideal Body with Ozempic and CoolSculpting

If you pay attention to the latest options for maintaining your weight and sculpting your body, you’ve no doubt heard about the FDA-approved prescription medicationOzempic. A treatment for type 2 diabetes, the medicine has made headlines for its bonus benefit of...

Don’t Believe the Hype About PDO Thread Lifts

While searching for the latest and greatest in skin-rejuvenating treatment options or simply scrolling social media, you may have come across the PDO Thread Lift. This treatment has become popular on Instagram and TikTok videos with many influencers touting it as a...

Heading Into 2023 with Confidence

While you’ll find plenty of advice for choosing and keeping New Year’s Resolutions online, a couple that always seem to make the list are losing weight and getting in shape. In fact, earlier this year, 41% of U.S. adults characterized themselves as...

How to Head into the Holidays Looking and Feeling Your Best

The season for giving is upon us, and we have a feeling you will be giving a lot – of yourself. During these months of extra cooking, shopping, and hopefully plenty of celebrating, it’s more important than ever to carve out dedicated time for self-care. At Greenwich...

Tips for Transitioning Your Skincare from Summer to Fall

Pumpkin is everywhere, which can only mean one thing – the fall season has arrived. As you start packing away your summer wardrobe (sadly) and looking forward to autumn’s bright foliage, don’t forget to make some changes to your skincare routine too. Less sunlight,...

Top Summer Skincare Travel Tips from an Aesthetician

There is no question that as the seasons change, our skincare routine needs to adjust too. While winter months may have you reaching for more moisturizer, summer can leave you asking what the heck you can do to combat high temperatures, sweat, sun damage and other...

Top Aesthetic Treatments for Making Self-Care a Priority

Wife, mother, entrepreneur, friend, daughter – you take on many roles. In fact, there are probably times you have been so busy, the first thing that falls off your to do list is your own care. But taking care of yourself should be at the top of your list because it is...

Guys, Are You Losing Sleep Over Hair Loss?

There are plenty of things to worry about today, but a receding hairline or thinning hair shouldn’t be one of them. Yet many men, or more accurately most men, will eventually suffer noticeable hair loss. In fact, according to the American Hair Loss Association, about 66% of men will join this club by age 35, and by age 50, that goes up to 85%. Not that it helps to be in the […]