Kybella or CoolSculpting for my double chin?

Hi, I’m Lauren, the aesthetic injector here at Colorado Plastic Surgery Center.
Kybella is an excellent non-surgical option for reducing small to moderate amounts of submental fat—commonly known as a "double chin." To ensure the best results, it’s important to consult with a skilled provider who can assess your unique anatomy and goals, and create a customized treatment plan tailored just for you.

Hi there,Both treatments are effective and safe. However, this is dependent on the results you are looking for and if you are comfortable with the potential side effects and downtime associated with the two treatments. With Kybella, swelling is guaranteed to happen and can take days to weeks to fully subside. This means the product is working effectively. There may numbness in the area after treatment and slight sensitivity and/or pain. Kybella may take anywhere between 4-6 weeks to see the full results. Both Kybella and Coolsculpting may require multiple sessions to achieve your desired results.
CoolSculpting does not typically cause swelling post-treatment but there is a chance for numbness, bruising, and firmness. You can also expect some redness. This treatment also takes longer than Kybella - Kybella is a series of injections whereas CoolSculpting requires an applicator to be applied to the area of treatment for about 45 minutes. CoolSculpting takes longer to show results compared to Kybella. CoolSculpting may take anywhere between 3-4 months to begin seeing results.
Both treatments are permanent solutions to fat reduction but it's important to keep in mind that a healthy diet and lifestyle are required to maintain the results. Surrounding fat cells are still capable of growth leading to the appearance of a double chin.

For a double chin, InMode FaceTite with VASERlipo would give you the best result.

With significant neck sagging you would need a facelift / neck lift with muscle tightening (platysmaplasty). At the same time, I would recommend lasers (Fraxel, CO2, Halo, or Erbium) and microneedling RF (Fractora, Morpheus8, PiXel8, Intensif) to improve the crepey skin and wrinkles. Overall, the neck can be treated with a combination approach:

1. Microneedling and laser treatments for texture

2. Botox, Dysport, Xeomin or Jeuveau to help platysmal bands

3. Intensif, Fractora, PiXel8, or Morpheus8 microneedling RF for crepey skin and lifting

4. Injectable fillers like Belotero, Restylane Silk, Versa, and Juvederm Volbella to improve lines and folds

5. Face/neck lifting if sagging is prominent or premature, with or without platysmaplasty (muscle tightening)

6. Renuvion (J-Plasma), ThermiRF, and InMode FaceTite/AccuTite for internal tightening

7. Ultherapy and Thermage for external tightening

8. Regular Venus Legacy, Exilis Ultra, or InMode Forma treatments with facials to maintain tightness

9. PDO NovaThreads or Silhouette InstaLift cone threads for lifting and long-term collagen production

See an expert for a formal evaluation and to develop a personalized treatment plan based on your individual situation and goals.

Best, Dr. Emer

Thank you for your question. Kybella and Coolsculpt are both excellent treatments to remove submental fat, however neither treatment is meant to truly define the jaw line. I recommend meeting with an expert in your area to decide which of the treatments will be best for your specific needs. I also recommend doing another tightening treatment or injections to give you a defined or more chiseled jaw line.

Dear ellajmz,
Kybella typically takes 3 to 5 treatments to work. This is why I've stopped carrying Kybella in my office. I recommend neck liposuction more often then any injectable procedure for the neck now. It provides superior results gives me more control over the area than any injectable. It also costs about the same as what you paid for your first kybella session. The liposuction can be done under local while awake in the office and recovery is about the same as kybella.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Kybella and CoolSculpting are both great options. Depending on how much fat you have, if you have enough to fit a CoolSculpting applicator, I would usually suggest CoolSculpting. Be sure to consult with your doctor to see which option is right for you.

Thank you for your question! A good way that I like to help patients choose which procedure is to explain that CoolSculpting is better for overall decreasing the volume of the area and then Kybella is best to fine tune any minor spots that are left behind. If you have a larger double chin it would be best to start with CoolSculpting and then fine tune with Kybella if necessary. I hope this helps!

We do not recommend either one of these procedures since they're not as effective as liposuction or a surgical neck lift. It's important to understand that there are two compartments of fat in the neck, above and below the platysma muscle. Liposuction can only remove fat deposits above the muscle, while a surgical neck lift is required remove fat deposits below the muscle. If there is a recessive chin present, consider placement of a chin implant. A full set of facial photographs are going to be required to make a determination on how best to proceed.

Both of these options are inferior compared to Liposuction which can easily be done as an office-based procedure.

Chemical fat destruction is probably superior to cool sculpting.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD