Gravity is a pretty amazing thing. It’s the force that keeps us firmly on the ground, preventing us from simply floating up and away into the atmosphere. It keeps the planets in orbit around the sun and the moons in orbit around their planets. The gravitational pull from the sun and the moon create the ocean tides. Pretty cool, right?
Well, as incredible as gravity is, it does come with some pretty unfortunate side effects. As we get older, our skin begins to lose volume and collagen. Suddenly, that awesome force that holds our feet to the ground begins to do some not so awesome things. Without the same volume in your face, gravity begins to pull it down around your chin, causing the formation of jowls. Fortunately, you don’t have to live with them. Clarity Medical Aesthetics can help.
What Causes Jowls?
So, we’ve already established that gravity plays a part in the dreaded jowl formation. There are a few other things at play here as well.
- Volume loss in your temples. Fat and collagen (the foundation of the face) holds your skin up. As we grow older, the fat and collagen deposits begin to deplete. This causes the temple region to become hollow as your face loses its fullness. Without this support in your face, your skin begins to fall.
- Your skin loses elasticity. The skin begins to lose elasticity as we age. Loss of elasticity can also be affected by factors such as sun exposure. The lower cheeks are not tightly attached to bone. Skin and fat pads in the cheeks begin to hang down below the jawline, separating the peri-oral area from the cheek.
- Muscles in the neck become tight. Muscles change as we age, even the muscles in our necks. Muscles in the neck can become tight. As they do, this causes them to pull the skin from your face down, which then causes a loss of angle in your jawline.
- Excess fat deposits. Genetics can play a role in the formation of jowls as well. If your parents had jowls as they got older, your chances are much greater. Some individuals are genetically predisposed to excess fat deposits in the face. They can also form as a result of gaining weight as you get older.
The Right Treatments to Address Each Symptom
Restore foundational volume
Dermal fillers are gel-like substances that are injected into the skin. They are made up of hyaluronic acid, which is a naturally occurring substance that binds to water, restoring lost volume and plumping the skin in your face. Dermal fillers can be used to treat temporal hollows, restoring the foundational volume to your face. By lifting the skin, the appearance of jowls decreases.
One of my before and afters using foundational fillers to improve jowls.
Tighten skin
Fractora is a treatment that involves the use of radio frequency. It can be used to treat signs of aging, including the loss of elasticity. The handheld device has a head with micro-pins that perforate the skin while simultaneously delivering radio frequency energy deep into the layers of the skin, which then stimulates your body’s collagen production. This treatment is effective at helping to tighten the skin and reverse signs of crepey-ness as well.
Forma and Exilis skin tightening treatments also use radio frequency energy to stimulate collagen production and improve skin elasticity for long-lasting improvement. This helps the skin naturally contract, resulting in more refined skin texture and tone and improving the appearance of sagging skin.
The amazing results after just two Forma treatments.
Move or redrape the skin
We can move or redrape the skin using Instalift or PDO threads. These treatments, which provide an alternative to a traditional facelift, are minimally invasive and non-surgical. They involve the use of absorbable sutures, which are inserted under the skin. In addition to lifting the skin, they also help to stimulate collagen production.
PDO threads helped lift this patient’s jowls.
Reduce fatty deposits
If excess fat deposits are contributing to your jowls, Kybella can be used to help eliminate them. Kybella is the only FDA approved injectable treatment that is used to destroy fat cells. While commonly used to eliminate a double chin, it can also be used to treat other small pockets of fat around the body and face, including around the jawline. Kybella’s active ingredient breaks down and absorbs fat, destroying the fat cells. Once destroyed, they are unable to accumulate new fat, aiding in the elimination of your jowls.
Don’t let jowls drag you down! Clarity can help treat the symptoms that cause jowls to develop in the first place, and our solutions are all non-surgical. We recommend a combination of treatments to help you achieve the best results and we can help to determine the best treatments to meet your specific needs. For more information, and to schedule your free consultation, contact us today!
