A double chin is a common sign of aging skin. When fat accumulates underneath the chin and causes loose skin to form there, it creates the appearance of a “double chin.” Some people may call it a turkey neck, depending on how much loose skin and fat has actually built up there. Aside from aging, weight gain and genetics can play a role in the formation of a double chin as well.

In any case, a double chin is not an attractive look by any means, and it embarrasses a lot of the people who have them. But the good news is there are treatment options available to help slim down the double chin considerably. The easiest and cheapest solutions are to perform chin exercises daily and maintain a healthier diet with more natural foods.

For instance, if you simply chew gum a few times per day, you will exercise the small muscles in your face and cause some facial fat to go away. Other facial exercises that work well are a pouting stretch and lion’s yawn. The pouting stretch involves making a pouting face repeatedly for 3 seconds at a time. Repeat up to 20 times.

This helps work the neck muscles. Then you can go for the lion’s yawn, which works several of the muscles in your jaw, neck, and chin. Do a large yawn for 10 seconds at a time. Repeat up to 10 times.

Surgical Treatments

Facial exercises may help slow down the growth of your double chin, but they won’t eliminate it. If you want to see some real progress made toward reducing or eliminating your double chin, then you need to seek out a professional cosmetic practitioner who specializes in such treatments.

The most extreme treatment solutions include liposuction, facelifts, and neck lifts. You’ve probably heard of liposuction before as a fat removal treatment for the tummy area. The plastic surgeon basically goes into the skin and removes the fat deposits that are underneath it. A local anaesthetic is administered to numb the pain.

Well, the same concept would apply to a chin and neck liposuction procedure. To slim down your double chin, the surgeon would try to remove the fat deposits in your chin and neck through liposuction. A small incision would be made under the skin, followed by a tube inserted into this area. The tube is connected to a special machine which creates a suction force. Once the machine is turned on, the fat deposits get sucked up through the tube and leave the chin and neck.

However, if you already have very loose skin on your chin and neck, then liposuction can’t do anything about that. You’ll need a facelift and/or neck lift to remove the excess skin on these areas. A facelift will remove both the excess skin and fat around your neck and chin. You’ll be administered a general anaesthetic for this procedure because it is very invasive. But if there is not a lot of skin to remove, then you may get away with only a local anaesthetic. The decision is up to the surgeon.

Neck lifts are usually done alongside facelifts. Not only is excess skin removed during the procedure, but your neck muscles are tightened. This will enhance the contours of your chin and neck. The result will be a tighter and firmer look underneath your chin. And most importantly, no more double chin!

Injectable Treatments

If you are not interested in surgical treatments for slimming down your double chin, then consider some of the injectable treatment options instead. The two most popular non-surgical treatment options are mesotherapy and Kybella.

Mesotherapy involves the use of several natural compounds which have the ability to dissolve fat. These compounds may utilize a combination of plant extracts, hormones, enzymes, and vitamins to form one fat-dissolving solution. The practitioner injects the solution into the chin in order to reduce the fat there.

This is a very delicate procedure which can take as long as 6 months before the full results are noticeable. Some people may need more than 100 injections in different areas of their chin. It is important that you choose a highly skilled practitioner to perform these injections because there is a risk of nerve damage if the procedure is not done properly.

The other non-surgical injection treatment is Kybella. You may know it better by the scientific term “deoxycholic acid.” This is a drug which can also dissolve fat cells, making it perfect for reducing the fat cells within the double chin. The great thing is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Kybella drug for the purpose of chin injections.

Each Kybella treatment session may require as many as 50 injections into the fat tissue of your skin. You may need 6 separate treatment sessions over the course of each month too. Again, it all depends on the severity of your double chin.