The Benefits That Come With Choosing Kybella®

You’ve put in a lot of hard work dieting and exercising, and the work has paid off — mostly. While you’ve shed the pounds, you might still be left with submental fullness, better known as a double chin. It’s a common problem, but there’s an easy solution — Kybella® injections.

Here at Med Physique Center for Aesthetics in Austin, Texas, our expert team of aestheticians specializes in treatments that boost your appearance and your self-esteem, including using Kybella to eliminate your double chin. Keep reading to learn why your double chin is resistant to most treatments, as well as all the benefits that come with choosing Kybella to treat it.

What causes a double chin?

Double chins are quite common; as many as 68% of people have one. It’s an area of sagging skin surrounding layers of fat that reside under your jawbone. It has a number of different causes, including: 

• Age: Skin loses tautness and volume as you get older
• Genetics: A family history puts you at greater risk
• Unhealthy diet: High calories and fat can cause weight gain, which may lead to a double chin
• Fat storage: One place the body stores fat is under the jaw
• Position of airway: An airway thrust forward expands the submental area
• Poor posture: Neck and chin muscles weaken, causing sags

DIY and surgical treatments: the problems

You should always start your weight loss journey by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly. However, you should also know that, when it comes to submental fat, that may or may not be effective since your body may naturally store some of its fat under the jawline.

There are some DIY techniques you can try. The first is to do stretching exercises that target the chin area, helping to decrease fat deposits. The second is using face masks. Some support the work of targeted chin exercises, including those made from green tea, coffee, or glycerin. Others tighten the skin to reduce the appearance of a double chin. And some claim a daily mask made of egg whites, lemon juice, and honey reduces their submental fat. However, all of these are hit-or-miss techniques, and it’s usually a miss.

Quite unsurprisingly, plastic surgeons use different surgical procedures to reduce a double chin, including:

1. Liposuction: vacuums out the fat while sculpting the chin and neck contours
2. Facelift: removes fat and saggy skin while tightening and contouring remaining skin
3. Neck-lift: improves neck and chin contours

Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to these procedures. They’re all invasive (e.g., incisions and sutures), require general anesthesia, and produce swelling and bruising that last about two weeks. In addition, general anesthesia may pose serious risks for some patients with underlying health conditions. And people taking blood thinners, as well as smokers, face an increased risk of bleeding both during and after the procedure.

The benefits that come with choosing Kybella

The FDA approved a synthetic version of deoxycholic acid, a substance your gallbladder uses to break down dietary fats, for the treatment of submental fullness in April 2015. This injectible, now sold under the brand name Kybella, proved to be a game-changer. At Med Physique Center for Aesthetics, we rely on it to treat double chins.

Don’t confuse Kybella with a weight-loss medication; you need to be at or near your ideal weight and have only moderately loose skin to benefit from it. It works by destroying fat cells under the chin, giving you a more “chiseled” jawline.

Most people need 2-4 treatments, each spaced a month apart, to achieve a substantial reduction in submental fat and realize their aesthetic goals. However, some people may need as many as six sessions. 

Either way, the beauty of the treatment is it produces permanent results; once the Kybella destroys the fat cells, they’re flushed out of your system completely. And they won’t grow back or plump up unless you put on a lot of weight again. We recommend you continue with your diet and exercise routine to maintain your results.

If you’re bothered by the appearance of submental fullness, Med Physique Center for Aesthetics can help. Give us a call at 512-361-2650 to learn more about Kybella and whether you’re a good candidate, or book your appointment online today.