12 Nov Double Chins and What to Do About It
Double chins can be caused by excess weight, but that’s not always the case. Many people have seen someone with a double chin and the person otherwise looks fit and of a healthy weight. The double chin, sometimes known colloquially as a “turkey waddle,” can make a person look older and overweight when they’re not. It can also lead to poor self-esteem and lack of confidence. The experts at RefinedMD specialize in treating a variety of skin and body ailments, including double chins.
Kybella is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medication to reduce the submental fat on the chin. A prescription medication designed for adults, there is no surgery or downtime required. It is important to tell your doctor if you plan to have surgery on your face or neck, have bleeding problems, or are pregnant. Since Kybella is a prescription drug, it is critical that patients tell their doctor all medications and supplements they are taking.
Who Gets Double Chins?
If a person is not overweight, they may develop a double chin for a few different reasons. One of the most common is age. Facial skin is among the thinnest and most delicate, and often the first to lose elasticity. It can cause sagging skin that looks like a double chin, and the development of “fat pockets” in the chin is also common with age. It is important to know whether the double chin is caused by fat pockets, sagging skin, or both. Kybella cannot tighten skin, and in these cases a better approach might be surgical.
Another cause of the double chin is genetics. If others in your family have double chins, you may be prone to poor skin elasticity in this area. First-degree relatives, such as parents and siblings, are your best marker for double chin propensity. Posture can also play a role. Poor posture that weakens the neck and chin can cause double chins. It is especially common in those who regularly have their chin tucked, such as individuals that work on a computer for several hours per day. Improving your posture via ergonomics and chin exercises may help maximize the results of Kybella.
Kybella vs. Surgery to Address a Double Chin
You don’t have to be overweight to struggle with submental fullness—oftentimes it’s inherited. VIDA Aesthetic Medicine is more than a medical day spa, offering a wide range of treatments to help you achieve confidence by looking and feeling your best. That includes getting rid of that double chin for good. Kybella is the latest procedure aimed at vanquishing double chins. It’s a minimally invasive procedure that requires no surgery and no downtime. Instead, it relies on synthetic deoxycholic acid to dissolve unwanted fat.
Kybella is an injectable, similar to Botox. However, unlike Botox which usually requires just a few injections per treatment, it’s not unusual for Kybella to require 20+ injections per treatment. The exact number of injections and sessions will depend on the client, the amount of fat, and how the client responds to Kybella. Deoxycholic acid already occurs naturally in the body, but not in the concentrated doses Kybella achieves. This acid destroys adipose tissue, and this fat is then expelled by the body naturally in the days and weeks following the treatment.
A Permanent Solution
Once adipocytes are destroyed or removed, either with Kybella or liposuction, they don’t come back. Once the ideal aesthetic is achieved with Kybella, clients will not need any future treatments. One of the biggest benefits of Kybella is that there’s virtually no recovery period after the injections. Most patients immediately return to their daily activities, although icing the area can be very helpful to minimize the risk of bruising or swelling.
Most clients need 5 – 6 Kybella sessions to achieve their goals. These appointments are generally scheduled 4 – 6 weeks apart to allow your injector to gauge exactly how much fat was dissolved by the previous treatment. This is very different from liposuction, which removes all the unwanted fat in one surgery. However, there are substantial fees associated with liposuction (such as general anesthesia and an operating room) as well as the inherent risk and recovery period of it being a surgery. Liposuction patients usually require a few days off from work and bandaging following their surgery—that isn’t the case with Kybella.
Cost is a factor considered by those choosing between Kybella and surgery, but what’s even more important for most patients is their lifestyle and the severity of their double chin. Learn more about Kybella and other complementary procedures by calling RefinedMD or filling out the online form.