Say Goodbye to Your Double Chin: Effective Exercises and Tips

Are you tired of hiding your double chin in every photo or feeling self-conscious about it? Well, you’re not alone. Many women over 50 struggle with this common aesthetic concern, but fortunately, there are effective exercises and tips to help you say goodbye to your double chin once and for all. 

In this article, we’ll explore a range of facial workouts, treatments, diet and postural adjustments, specifically designed to target and tone the muscles in your neck and jawline.

Causes of Double Chin

A double chin or submental fat can be caused by various factors, including genetics, age, and weight gain. 

Genetics, in particular, play a significant role in determining the structure of your jawline and the distribution of fat in this area. As you age, however, the skin loses elasticity, and the muscles beneath the chin may weaken, leading to the appearance of a double chin, so it’s not so uncommon in midlife to see our jawline less firm than it used to be.

Additionally, weight gain can contribute to the accumulation of excess fat under the chin, further emphasizing the appearance of a double chin.

“Whilst a double chin can be related to carrying excess body fat, it’s possible to be a very normal, healthy weight and have a double chin. Everyone has different fat distributions“, says award-winning aesthetic doctor, Dr Sophie Shotter. “However, the incidence and prominence of double chins increase with age as the skin loses its elasticity. Without the structural support of collagen and the elastin to pull things back to where they were before, gravity has the edge and starts to pull the skin south“.

Lifestyle Tips to Prevent and Reduce Double Chin

Actually, reducing and saying goodbye to your double chin requires a combination of diet, exercises, and, in some cases, professional treatments. 

Incorporating the following lifestyle tips into your daily routine can help prevent and reduce the appearance of it, but it’s important to be patient and consistent with your efforts, as results may take time to become noticeable.

1. Maintain Good Posture: Poor posture can contribute to the appearance of a double chin. Practice sitting and standing upright with your shoulders back and your head held high. This helps elongate your neck and promotes a more defined jawline.

2. Avoid Smoking: Smoking can accelerate the ageing process and reduce the elasticity of your skin, leading to the appearance of a double chin. Quitting smoking can improve your overall health and do wonders for your glow.

3. Limit Screen Time: Spending excessive time looking down at screens can cause the skin on your neck to sag, exacerbating the appearance of a double chin. Take breaks throughout the day to stretch your neck and maintain good posture.

4. Avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and excessive sodium: Many processed and manufactured foods and drinks are high in sugar, salt or saturated fat. These ingredients can cause many health problems. Opt for a diet rich in whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains to help you reduce overall body fat, including the fat under your chin. 

5. Drink plenty of water: It’s also important to stay adequately hydrated. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day can help flush out toxins and reduce water retention. Aim to drink at least eight glasses of water daily and limit your consumption of alcohol and caffeine, as they can dehydrate your body.

Effective Exercises for Reducing Double Chin

While we all know that collagen intakes and eating right are important to keep your body healthy, not everyone understands the importance of facial exercises, including face yoga and targeted stretching to improve the flexibility and tone of the muscles in your neck and jawline.

If you aim for a more defined appearance in that area, here are the most popular ones:

1. Chin Lifts: Sit or stand upright and tilt your head back, looking towards the ceiling. Pucker your lips as if you’re trying to kiss the ceiling and hold for 5 seconds. Relax and repeat 10 times. 

2. Jaw Release: With your mouth closed, move your lower jaw forward so that you feel a stretch in the muscles under your chin. Hold for 5 seconds, then release. Repeat 10 times. 

3. Tongue Press: Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth and slowly lower your chin towards your chest, feeling a stretch in the muscles under your chin. Hold for 5 seconds, then release. Repeat 10 times. The tongue press exercise targets the muscles in your chin and neck, helping to reduce the appearance of a double chin.

4. Neck Extension: Sit or stand upright and gently tilt your head back, looking towards the ceiling. Hold for 10 seconds, then return to the starting position.

Facial Massages to Tighten the Skin and Reduce Double Chin

There are techniques of face, neck, and jaw massage, which if done correctly and consistently can greatly prevent and reduce the appearance of a double chin. 

Regularly giving yourself a manual face massage with the help of the gua sha, can also be a great temporary fix as it improves the lymphatic drainage. Better when combined with your favourite serum to leverage the effect, you can use its curvy sides to run along your jaw bone, under your chin, around your ears and the sides of your neck regularly.

Gentle pressure with your fingertips to the muscles along your jawline can be very effective, too. Start from your chin and move towards your ears. Then, massage in upward, circular motions for 5 minutes daily.

Alternatively, tone the muscles in your chin by placing your thumb under that area and applying gentle upward pressure, moving towards your ears for 5 minutes daily.

Non-Surgical Treatments for Double Chin Reduction

If you’re looking for additional options to reduce your double chin, there are several treatments that can provide impressive results, and not all of them involve surgery, but they need to be supervised by a qualified professional to determine if these procedures are right for you and to discuss potential risks and side effects.

They typically involve the use of injectables, such as Kybella or deoxycholic acid, which help break down and absorb fat cells under the chin. Sometimes, used in conjunction with Botox to dissolve fat cells, in this case, you may need multiple treatments to see long-lasting results.

Radiofrequency is amazing for facial fat burning, double chin reduction, lifting, and sculpting too. The benefits are not only a sharper jawline but also increased skin tightening and collagen production, which helps overall complexion and minimizes lines.

Another popular treatment is CoolSculpting. It uses a cooling applicator and vacuum-like suction to freeze fat cells, which the immune system then clears.

Surgical Options for Double Chin Removal

For those mature women with severe or persistent double chin concerns, surgical options may be considered. Liposuction and neck lift surgery are two common procedures used to remove excess fat and tighten the skin in that area. 

However, these surgeries are quite invasive. Neck and chin plastic surgery is generally safe, but the neck contouring procedures do come with certain risks, and may include pain or swelling that lasts longer than expected. They also require a recovery period and are typically performed by a plastic surgeon under general anaesthesia.

The recovery time depends on what surgical approach your doctor used. For chin liposuction, this is usually a few days to a week before returning to work. For a neck lift, you may not return to work for about two weeks.

The Takeaway

Remember, a double, weak, or sagging chin doesn’t have to limit the life you live. By incorporating the exercises, stretches, massages, and lifestyle tips outlined in this article, you’ll be on your way to a stronger, more defined jawline. Just avoid a quick fix and too drastic diets: you may be able to see some results on your waistline in a short time but your jawline will drop too.

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