How To Treat Jowls & Avoid Sagging Skin There

As we age, our face and body change. It’s just a natural part of life, and it’s nothing you should ever feel ashamed about. After all, so much of aging is dependent upon factors we can’t control, like genetics and body shape.

With that being said, just as there’s no shame in the natural aging process, there’s also no shame in wanting to pursue anti-aging treatments. And for many, a pain point of getting older is losing definition in the jawline and neck, leading to the appearance of jowls. 

If you’re curious about how to treat jowls (or get ahead of them), look no further. 

What Causes Loss of Elasticity in the Jowls?

As you’ve most definitely heard before, as we age, our skin loses elasticity. While a loss of elasticity can start happening in your late 20s depending on your genetics, it’s especially common in the late 30s to early 40s. This is most often when you start looking in the mirror and noticing that their skin is not as ‘tight’.

Not sure if you’re losing elasticity? We have a way to help you find out. If you pull on the skin and it snaps right back there is good electricity. However, if you pull on the skin and it slowly recoils then the elastic properties of the skin are diminishing.

Even if your face or other areas of your body bounce back rather quickly, your jowls (which refers to the area below your jaw leading into your neck) might not fare as well. That’s because the skin around your neck is thinner than most parts of the body, therefore, loses its elasticity sooner. As a result, that sagging, crepiness, and signs of tech neck are likely to appear in your jowl region before you notice changes on your face. Your neck also has a different collagen content making it particularly prone to the wear and tear of aging.

Outside of aging, extreme weight gain and loss can also play a role. Think about a balloon. If you blow it up and let the air out the elastic shrinks down. But if you blow it up and let the air out several times, the balloon loses its elasticity.

Another thing that can impact the loss of elasticity in the jowls? Smoking—as if it weren’t already bad enough. Smoking is the number one thing you can stop to improve your skin.

Now that you know the main reasons for jowls, let’s go over how to prevent and how to treat jowls. 

How to Treat Jowls That Are Beginning to Lose Elasticity

1. Opt for Products Formulated With Hyaluronic Acid

One of the most essential ingredients for promoting skin elasticity is hyaluronic acid, which naturally occurs in the body and is known to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water. As such, we recommend using products—especially neck creams when it comes to the formation and reduction of jowls—formulated with the hydrating and plumping ingredient.

2. Consider CoolSculpting

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can try CoolSculpting. For people who have submental and submandibular fullness and jowling—often referred to as a double-chin—we recommend a CoolSculpting treatment to freeze the fat, which destroys the underlying fat. As the fat is reabsorbed into the body the skin contracts and tightens, which is an observation from the clinical trials.

3. Opt for Skin Tightening With Thermage

If injections aren’t your thing, consider radiofrequency. Thermage is the gold standard for non-invasive skin tightening. It addresses the early signs of aging such as superficial fine lines, wrinkles, sagging jowls, crow’s feet, cellulite, and loss of skin laxity. What’s more, it’s non-invasive. 

Thermage (RF) technology delivers heat deep into the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous (fat layer) layers of the skin. It is the tightening of these layers of skin which produces the smoother skin texture and defined contour. There is no downtime, and you can return to all your normal activities right after treatment. Results may appear immediately after treatment with improvements continuing in two to four months.

4. Cozy Up to Products Infused With Collagen Peptides

Where collagen is a protein that’s responsible for the skin’s firmness and suppleness, peptides work to stimulate collagen production. As such, collagen peptides are a no-brainer for jowl treatment. 

5. Look Into Kybella

Kybella injections are the most popular—and most direct—jowl treatment. The presence of submental fullness in the jowl is a common concern that affects both women and men. In the past, the only way to permanently enhance the jowl was through surgical procedures such as liposuction or a neck lift which required anesthesia, incisions, and lengthy recovery periods. Thankfully, now Kybella exists. Kybella is the first-of-its-kind injectable treatment that melts away fat cells to offer long-lasting improvements to your appearance. Kybella injections can be used to treat moderate skin sagging under the jaw and is a great option for how to treat jowls.

The active ingredient in this injectable is deoxycholic acid which is a naturally occurring substance that destroys fat cells permanently. The best news? As little as a few treatments of Kybella can help trim down jowls and create a more defined jawline and profile. We partner with LivingYoung for such treatments as this, vitamin injections, and Botox and we cannot recommend them more highly!

6. Add Vitamin A or Retinol Derivatives to Your Routine

Retinol for aging? Groundbreaking, we know. But hey, it works! Retinol is a vitamin A derivative best known for its ability to neutralize free radicals, stimulate collagen production, and facilitate cell turnover, therefore smoothing fine lines and wrinkles. We note that it’s the gold standard of anti-aging and works best at night to improve the tone and texture of the neck—meaning it’s a shoo-in for how to treat jowls.

7. Book a PRP Treatment

Platelet-rich plasma treatments are another option because they concentrate growth factors from your blood directly into your skin, which can promote firmness and suppleness, minimizing the appearance of jowls. 

8. Approach Elasticity Loss From a Metabolic Level

Elasticity can be addressed from the inside out, as well. You could try hormone balancing at a clinic, although another option is to add a collagen supplement to your routine. One study found that participants who consumed collagen supplements regularly noticed significant improvements in skin elasticity. 

9. Schedule a Laser Treatment

Another in-office treatment revolves around lasers. For people who have slight jowling, there are many non-surgical options like energy-based treatments—Fraxel, picosecond, and IPL—to stimulate skin and induce collagen and elastin production.

10. Make Room for Vitamin C in Your Routine

As one of the most powerful antioxidants, vitamin C helps fight free radical damage (which is known to accelerate aging), while also boosting collagen production, making it a must for an anti-jowl routine.

11. Take It a Step Further With Fillers

Hyaluronic acid fillers can help provide a more defined chin and jawline, taking away from the appearance of jowls. The biggest thing to note is that, like all in-office treatments, you want to do your due diligence so as to go somewhere reputable, like LivingYoung Health Center, which we recommend to all of our clients (they also come every 3 months to the spa)!

12. Consider a Nefertiti Lift

Another option is to get creative with Botox. While the injectable is widely used for addressing crow’s feet and forehead wrinkles, it can be beneficial for the neck and jowl area, as well. 

Botox injections can be used to help reduce the look of bands across the neck. As you get older the main muscle in the neck, the platysma muscle, can look as though it is separated, creating two vertical bands up and down your neck. Botox injections into the muscle helps it relax, reducing the appearance of the bands. Botox can be injected into the platysmal bands across the neck to lift the lines and wrinkles giving the neck a more youthful appearance—this is also referred to as the Nefertiti Lift.

This lift is a non-invasive option for those looking to restore contour to the neck and jaw. 

The treatment is two parts. The first part consists of injections of Botox across the platysma muscles and jawline. The Botox causes the muscles of under the jaw to relax which causes an upward pulling of the facial muscles reducing the sagging jowls. The second step in the treatment is injecting dermal fillers along the jawline to increase the volume further correcting any sagging.

13. If You Want the Fastest Solution—Consider Liposuction or a Face Lift

If nothing else works, or if you simply want a faster solution for your sagging jowls, liposuction is on the table. Facelift is surgical and involves lifting the skin of the neck and cheeks and tightening the underlying muscles and then gently repositioning and smoothing the skin and removing any excess skin. This is the most effective and beneficial treatment for people who have a lot of excess skin.

For all of your facial and anti-aging needs for sagging skin, call Botanica today and we can help steer you in the right direction for how to treat jowls!

Love,

Gen